Good websites to buy minis from cheaply

[me_in_japan]

OK, as I live in Tsu (i.e. the boonies) there are no mini stockists anywhere near me. I do all my shopping on t'internet, and here's where I do it:

http://www.games-workshop.com/
um, obviously. Theyre not cheap, but occasionally their flat rate postage (and auto-deduction of 17.5 % VAT, btw) can work out in your favour. e.g. large army case: postage 7.50, VAT reduction: more than 7.50.

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/
pricey, yet beautiful. Postage is surprisingly reasonable.

http://www.heresyminiatures.com/
Heresy Minis, run by Andy Foster. Absolutely top bloke, and really, really nice minis too. He always includes a hand-written note with every order, just saying howdy or whatever. V quick responses to questions n stuff, too.

http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/
There are lots and lots of rather dodgy general-mini-sales sites out there, and I've been stung more than once. Wayland are not one of them. They actually sent me a free sign-up-to-our-newletter ghoul. All the way to Japan, for one mini. Absolutely free. Good stuff. Also much, much cheaper than GW.

http://www.pegasomodels.it/products_en.asp?idcat=44
Ive never ordered a single one of this company's models. But I will, one day. When I'm a real painter.
WARNING! For those who would go wandering round the site, there are some very realistic (well, idealistic, actually) models of nekkid ladies. Be warned. No minors, and all that...

http://www.studiomcvey.com/
Y'all remember Mike McVey, doncha?

http://www.coolminiornot.com/
Finally, the biggest, acest collection of minis anywhere. This is where the big boys play. And kick my ass
If I could score over 9.0 on CMON I'd consider myself a painter (and then go and buy a pegaso model...)
They also have a very varied shop, where you can get a whole variety of non-GW models. If you want to spend all night browsing around mini web-stores, then just click on some of their banner ads, or go to their shop and then the homepage of the stuff they stock. (notably Avatars of War and Wyrd minis, but there are a lot of good ones.)

ps: brushes and stuff:

I buy paint from CMON (GW, Vallejo, and PP), and have just bought brushes from here:
http://www.rosemaryandco.com/pure-kolin ... 77_84.html
I've read good things, but I'll let you know

and for those who want to get technical...
http://www.airbrush.co.jp/english/index.html

If anyone knows anywhere I can get stuff, especially paint and good kollinski sable brushes, please let me know

-d

[Mike the Pike]

I have used Maelstrom games, Caliver Books and the Warstore with varying levels of satisfaction.

Caliver: is pretty good, but they don't have any pix on their site, it's hard to navigate (comparatively) and they are sometimes out of stock. Good discounts over a certain level.
http://www.caliverbooks.com/figures/

The Warstore: Great if you live in America or have family/friends there to post things on to you. However, their generous discounts are almost wiped out if you get things sent to you directly here in Japan. Caliver/Maelstrom and others have free delivery. Neil (the owner) is famous fro his great service, however his minions are not so hot. I had to go through all sorts of drama with an order they sent to the wrong address.
http://www.thewarstore.com/

Maelstrom: My pick of the bunch. Good discounts, generally free delivery, easy-ish to navigate site, loyalty program, lotsa special offers, you can see what's in stock or not , and a special Dark Elf discount!
http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/

[Mike the Pike]

M_i_J
I have used a couple of Japanese sites to get Vallejo paints (for FOW) in a hurry.

The best is Miniature park - http://www.miniature-park.com/

They have aforementioned paints and your beloved Windsor and Newton brushes. The English site only has info. on their models. The Japanese site has models/paints/brushes/tools etc for sale.You don't need a credit card either, you can pay by bank transfer.

One word of advice, don't let your significant other catch you leering at the adult figures, especially the one of Snow White taking on all 7 Dwarves at once

[me_in_japan]

sweet! W&Ns in japan! Just wish I'd known that before I ordered from R&co yesterday...

oh well, itll be handy for a comparison, I spose...

-d

[me_in_japan]

lions and tigers and bears! oh my! those brushes are expensive! I'm less aggrieved at having paid for shipping from the UK for the R&co ones, now.

[Mike the Pike]

The main Flames of War homepage*
http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=36

Not especially cheap but has tons of info. about the game, models and background.
Good if you wanna pick up some of the more obscure models that the big discounters don't have in stock.
Cheers
Mike

[Primarch]

Discount coupon for Maelstrom games.

Hi there, Crikey! It's summer, so it is, and thus our traditional Maelstrom Games (www.maelstromgames.co.uk) Summer Sale starts today with a cracking 15% off UK RRP voucher to ensure you can save enough money on toys to keep your holiday spending money safe! YOUR SUMMER SALE VOUCHER----------------------------------------------------------Your 15% off UK RRP discount voucher lasts for ten days, ending on Monday 13th of June 2010 at midnight (GMT) and it's a great chance to grab yourself all those superb new releases over the summer - the new Warhammer eighth edition rulebook, the new Hordes and Warmachine books and much more - as well as grab your favourites and try out all the superb new miniatures and hobby products we keep bringing you!It will work on all the items within our webstore, but: Apart from the above, the voucher will work on pre-orders and, crucially, you'll still earn Moneyback - although tiered discounts are disabled when using a voucher of course. Your voucher code is: SUMMERTIME To use this voucher simply register on the webstore, www.maelstromgames.co.uk (if you haven't already), copy and paste the code into the appropriate field in your basket when you have selected the items you want, press 'REDEEM', and the webstore will do the rest. You are not limited to one purchase and, indeed, we would ask you to recommend us to your friends with this voucher! Remember though that this voucher is intended for the webstore only - it does not apply to any of our auctions or shop inventory items on eBay. Happy Ordering!

[me_in_japan]

nice one maelstrom! mere days after dave puts in a hundred quid order for a warmachine force.

I swear, sometimes I think God hates me

[me_in_japan]

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/home

saw this site highly recommended by a lot of people on the PP forums. I have no idea how good they are in reality, but their prices are mondo low and theyre based in the US, so shipping wont be as bad as it is from UK sites.

[me_in_japan]

Just a quick update/site review/report:

a month or so ago I ordered my 1beta wave release of Dark Eldar from Wayland, and also ordered 5 battlefoam trays (for my craftworlders, actually, but thats by the by).

Anyway, a coupla days ago, on the same day, one after another, i got two emails. the first to tell me my order had been shipped, and the second telling me that the 50 model infantry tray from battlefoam was out of stock and not gonna be back in stock anytime soon cos Bfoam were redesigning it. in light of this Wayland had refunded me for that one tray. All well and good, but I now had a less than useful 4 trays which wouldnt fill my case, would rattle around, and most importantly, not hold my army.

So, I emailed back to Wayland and explained this, and asked em to replace my now unobtainable 50 troop tray with a 40 troop tray. (my eldar can squish up, i figure.) Now, I also mentioned (politely, of course) that I was a wee bit put out, as had they actually told me about the unavailability of the 50 troop tray before they sent out my order, I woulda just replaced it then and there, thus removing the need for separate shipping.

Lo and behold, they email back and say, all verra nice "no problem Mr. David sir, just place another order for a 40 troop tray and we'll pay the postage"

So, I just wanted to say: Wayland are getting a big thumbs up from me. Good communication, good prices, and most importantly, good customer service. (and they sponsor this site)

Wayland for the win!