Buying gifts for Warhammer fans? Start here
Looking for gifts for Warhammer fans? Buying for someone deep in the hobby can feel like walking into a foreign country where everyone is shouting about primers and edge highlighting. The good news: it is actually one of the easier hobbies to buy for, because it has so many entry points — models, paints, books, tools, dice, storage — at every price. The trick is matching the gift to where they are in the hobby, not guessing at a specific unit they may already own three of.
This guide walks through the safest, most-loved Warhammer gifts by budget and by hobbyist type, so you can pick something they will be genuinely chuffed with rather than something that quietly goes on a shelf. We are a tabletop shop in Barry, South Wales, and these are the things we actually reach for when someone comes in asking: my partner is into the little army men, what do I get them?
The 30-second answer, if you are in a hurry
Short on time? Three gifts are almost impossible to get wrong, whoever you are buying for:
- A starter set — if they do not play yet but keep talking about it. Everything in one box.
- Paints, brushes or a shade — consumables. Everybody runs out, nobody is disappointed.
- A gift card — not a cop-out. In a hobby with this much variety, it is the considerate choice. Our gift guide for the hobbyist who is impossible to buy for explains how an eGift card works.
Want the reasoning and the detail? Read on. Everything below is sorted so you can jump to your budget.
First, work out what kind of Warhammer fan they are
Warhammer is not one hobby — it is several stitched together, and different people are in it for different reasons. Getting this right is 90% of a good gift. If you are not sure which army they collect, a quick browse of our 40,000 faction pages will help you match the colours and symbols on their shelf to an army name.
The painter
Some hobbyists barely play a game at all — they are in it for the painting. For them, the models are miniature canvases. If your person spends more time at a desk with a brush than rolling dice, lean towards Warhammer Colour paints, brushes and hobby tools rather than more plastic to add to the pile. Not sure which paint set to pick? Jack's round-up of the best value paint sets is a good place to start.
One thing worth knowing before you shop: Games Workshop has renamed its paint range from Citadel Colour to Warhammer Colour. The pots, colours and names are the same (Nuln Oil is still Nuln Oil), so do not panic if the label looks unfamiliar. The Shade paints have been reformulated, and GW has since announced a brand-new range, Warhammer Tone Pro, which we cover in our Tone Pro news piece. Our guide to the paint types explains which does what, if you want to buy with a bit more confidence.
The general (the gamer)
Others live for the tabletop battles — list-building, tactics, the thrill of a well-timed charge. These players value new units for their armies, rulebooks, dice, and anything that makes game night smoother. If they talk about their army by faction name, they are a gamer.
The collector and lore fan
Plenty of people love the universe itself — the grimdark stories, the characters, the sheer scale of it — as much as the models. For them, novels, art books and iconic character models land brilliantly, even if they never field them. If they would rather display than paint, a fully painted Warhammer action figure from JoyToy is a showpiece straight out of the box — our JoyToy collector's guide explains the range.
The complete beginner
If they have mentioned wanting to get into it one day but never taken the plunge, you can be the person who gives them the push. A starter set is the single best gift here, and our guide to the 11th Edition starter sets walks through picking the right one. If you want to know what else they will need on day one, our honest shopping list for starting 40k covers it box by box.
Best Warhammer gifts under £25
You do not need a big budget to get something they will love. This is the sweet spot for stocking fillers, Secret Santa and just-because gifts.
- A shade or a wash. If you buy one pot of paint, make it Nuln Oil. It is the single most-used product in the entire hobby — a dark wash that flows into the crevices of a model and makes an average paint job look deliberate. Agrax Earthshade is its brown twin and equally beloved. Both are cheap, both get used constantly, and nobody has ever owned too many.
- A good brush. A quality synthetic or Kolinsky sable detail brush is something many hobbyists will not splash out on for themselves but will use every single session.
- Plastic glue. Deeply unromantic, permanently needed. Buy the proper polystyrene cement, not superglue.
- A painting handle. A weighted grip that clamps a miniature so they are not holding a 28mm space marine by the ankles for four hours. One of those things people do not buy themselves and then cannot live without.
- Dice. A nice set of themed dice is a lovely, low-risk gift — every gamer wants dice that feel like theirs, and you genuinely cannot have too many.
- A paperback novel. Black Library puts out a huge range of Warhammer fiction. A well-chosen novel is perfect for the lore lovers.
Best Warhammer gifts £25 to £60
In this range you can get something with a bit more heft — a proper centrepiece for a gift.
- A paints and tools set. Games Workshop does a boxed Paints + Tools set pairing a spread of paints with clippers, a brush and a mould-line remover. For anyone building out their kit, it is the tidiest single purchase in the hobby, and our painting kits cover the same ground at a range of budgets.
- An introductory set. The 40,000 Introductory Set is the cheapest genuine way in — a small force for each of two armies, a few paints and the basics to play. Ideal if you want to give someone the whole experience without committing to a big box.
- A larger unit or squad box. A full multipart kit gives a gamer real value for their army and a painter plenty to sink their teeth into.
- A spray primer. The unglamorous step that makes everything else work. Chaos Black and Wraithbone are two of the most-used undercoats in the hobby — browse the primer range if you are pairing it with models.
- A hardback art or lore book. Gorgeous, coffee-table-worthy things that make a collector's day.
- Storage or transport. A foam case or figure carrier is the unsexy gift that hobbyists are quietly thrilled to receive — protecting an army they have spent months painting is a real relief.
Best Warhammer gifts £60 and up
For a big occasion — a birthday, Christmas, or a frank acknowledgement that this is clearly their whole personality now — these are the crowd-pleasers.
- A starter or boxed set. The best value in the whole hobby. The 11th Edition Starter Set puts two full Combat Patrol armies (Space Marines and Orks), a battlefield and the rules in one box, usually at a serious discount versus buying separately. See our 40k starter sets for the current line-up.
- A Getting Started set. A step up again: a full Combat Patrol force for either the Space Marines or the Orks, paired with paints, a brush and a beginner booklet. If you know they lean towards one of those armies, this is the gift that visibly grows their collection in one go.
- A large centrepiece model. A big dramatic kit — a dreadnought, a knight, a monster — is the sort of showpiece a hobbyist would love but might not buy themselves.
- A bundle. Our 40k bundles pair models with the paints and tools to actually finish them, which is the bit most gift-buyers forget.
- A JoyToy figure or helmet. For the collector: an officially licensed, fully painted 1/18 Warhammer action figure, a Primarch centrepiece, or a 1:1 replica Space Marine helmet. Zero painting required.
The mistake almost every gift-buyer makes
Buying models without buying anything to finish them.
It is a lovely thought and it happens constantly: someone spends good money on a box of miniatures, the hobbyist opens it, and then discovers they need glue, clippers, a primer and half a dozen paints before a single model looks like the picture on the lid. The gift ends up as another entry in what the hobby cheerfully calls the pile of shame.
If you are buying plastic, buy the means to paint it too. A box of models plus a paint set plus a spray is a far better gift than a bigger box of models on its own — and it is the difference between a present they use and a present they intend to use.
What to avoid buying
A couple of gentle traps to sidestep. Try not to buy a specific army unit blind — if you get the faction wrong, or they already own it, it is an awkward return. Stick to universal gifts such as paints, tools, dice and gift cards unless you know their army for certain.
Be a little wary of very cheap unbranded paints and brushes as a main gift; they can be a false economy that puts a beginner off before they have started. And check the edition: Warhammer 40,000 moved to its 11th Edition in June 2026, so a rulebook or starter set from an older edition is a well-meant gift that lands slightly out of date. When in doubt, ask us — we do this all day and we are happy to steer you.
Buying Warhammer gifts at Christmas
Two bits of practical advice for the December rush. First, buy earlier than feels necessary — the most giftable boxes, especially the current starter sets, are the ones most likely to sell out in the run-up to Christmas, and they may not come back before the 25th.
Second, do not assume you have to pay full RRP. Games Workshop sells at full price on its own site, while UK independents often sell the same boxes for less. We wrote an honest price comparison of the UK Warhammer retailers that names our competitors and quotes real figures, including the times they beat us. It is worth five minutes before you spend a hundred pounds.
If you would rather have the decision made for you, our Christmas gift bundles guide rounds up ready-made presents for painters, gamers and little builders.
Frequently asked questions
I do not know anything about Warhammer — what is the single safest gift?
A gift card, followed closely by a set of paints or a good brush. All three sidestep the risk of buying a duplicate or the wrong faction, and they are things every hobbyist uses regardless of what they collect. If you know they are a total beginner who wants to start, a two-player starter set is the standout choice.
How do I find out which army they collect?
The easiest way is a casual question — what is your army called again? — which usually gets an enthusiastic answer. Failing that, glance at their painted models: the colours and symbols identify the faction, and our guide to the Warhammer 40k factions helps you match them up. If you cannot check without spoiling the surprise, play it safe with a universal gift such as paints, dice or a gift card rather than guessing at a specific unit.
Are starter sets actually good value, or just for beginners?
Both. Starter and boxed sets bundle models, rules and dice together at a real discount compared to buying the contents separately, so even an experienced hobbyist can find them worthwhile — especially two-player boxes, which are a cheap way into a second army. For an outright beginner, they are the best possible first purchase.
What is a good gift for someone who paints but does not play?
Lean into the craft side: quality brushes, a spread of paints — shades and contrast paints are always welcome — hobby tools such as a sharp knife or files, and a single interesting model to paint as a project. Painters value good tools and fresh colours far more than another army box.
How much should I spend on a Warhammer gift?
Under £25 buys something genuinely useful — a shade, a brush, a painting handle. Around £40 gets a paints and tools set or an introductory box. From £60 upward you are into starter sets and full faction boxes, which is where the hobby offers its best value per pound. There is no price point at which the options run out, so spend what suits the occasion.
Can you help me choose if I am still stuck?
Absolutely — that is what we are here for. Pop into the shop in Barry or drop us a message with a rough budget and anything you know about their hobby, and we will point you at something they will love. We would genuinely rather help you get it right than have you guess.
The best Warhammer gift is rarely the biggest box. It is the one that lets them finish something — because a painted squad on the shelf beats an unopened kit under the bed every single time.
Further reading: new to all this? Start with our beginner's guide to Warhammer 40,000, or if you are picking a box, our guide to the 11th Edition starter sets breaks down what is in each one.
