Hi,

Never been much of an active gamer within the Warhammer but have always collected different figures over the years of other sets, just for the collection value.

I am now looking to start a collection of hobbit figures, but would appreciate some guidance on a good place to start.

Thanks!

Sam

If you aren't planning on playing, then just buy the miniatures you like the look of the most. Also I find that the nicest sculpts are metal IMHO.

Also I would recommend trying to find someone near you to play with as it is really fun even if you aren't a Tolkien enthusiast.

Best to start is by deciding what you want to collect. Heroes, troops, good guys, bad guys. Some kind of faction? I dedicated myself to only collection the Elves for example.
Decide what you like and go from there.

Do you want to paint them yourself? Finding painted ones can be pretty hard and the real good ones often come at a real good price if you get the point If you want to paint them yourself, you'll find yourself investing in paints and brushes at some points. There's enough information on here that can help you with that.

GW's site is the easiest place to buy figures, but can also be the most expensive. Have a look if you are lucky enough to get them at a local hobby store. Otherwise, the second hand market places like ebay are a great source to get figueres too, and you'll find the retired ones her too (again, at a price).

Good luck on getting started.

congratulation on starting your adventure! I've been collecting for the past 10 years. when I first started collecting (LOTR) I purchased them from the GW store that used to be open (paying full MSRP ) after it closed I switched to e-bay where you can find some great deals. by my local hobby shop sells GW products 20% off which is where I've gotten most of my hobbit figures from, so I would definitely stop by your local guys and see what the prices are.

also this site has some awesome resources like the collector's guide by Miniman viewtopic.php?f=30&t=15007

and the list of discontinued/OOP minis
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26609

Start small.
Choose a theme. Think "I want an army of (for example) Mirkwood Elves."
Think in terms of both gaming utility and prettiness. Get a box of the Mirkwood Rangers and maybe Tauriel and Legolas. Paint them as well as you can. See how you feel. Note how long the project took. Plan accordingly in the future.

Then think about expansions. Maybe some allied dwarves? Or maybe some Orcs to fight them. Then think about storage. Storing minis is a constant challenge. Once you have stored your first few projects, then plan the next set. It really reduces the stress levels on you.

My collection is/was an example of a magpie like set of decisions: "ooh pretty" and projects that took way too long to complete. That really drains the fun in the end.

_________________
Dreaming of getting back to painting...any month now.