Most tabletop hobbyists have never actually added up what their painted collection is worth. The numbers, when you do the maths, are uncomfortable. A typical 1,500-point army costs £400-£700 in raw plastic before paint. A character-heavy collection is more. Paint, tools, and consumables add another £100-£300. And then you put 100-300 hours of skilled brush time on top. By any honest accounting, the average painted army represents a four-figure project. And most of them live in a foam tray.
The argument in one paragraph
If you treat the army as an investment of money and time — which it is — then display infrastructure is the smallest line item by far, and the one with the highest return on enjoyment per pound spent. A £60 display setup that lets you actually see and enjoy a £1,500 collection is a 4% spend on the appreciation of the other 96%.
Do the maths on a typical army
Working from rough current prices for a mid-sized tabletop army compatible with Warhammer®, Age of Sigmar®, or similar systems:
- Core infantry units (3-4 squads): £120-£200
- Elite or specialist units (2-3 units): £120-£200
- Character models (2-4 leaders): £80-£160
- A vehicle or monster centrepiece: £70-£150
- Rulebooks, codex, and supplements: £80-£150
Plastic and books subtotal: roughly £470-£860 before any paint touches it.
Add the painting cost
- A working paint range (40-60 pots): £150-£250
- Brushes (basecoat, layer, detail, weathering): £40-£80
- Primer, varnish, basing materials: £30-£60
- Tools (clippers, knife, files, glue): £30-£60
Painting subtotal: £250-£450.
Now the time
A competently painted infantry model takes roughly 1-2 hours of brush time. A character model takes 4-8 hours. A vehicle or large model can take 10-20 hours. Multiply across the army:
- 60 infantry models × 1.5 hours = 90 hours
- 8 characters × 6 hours = 48 hours
- 1 centrepiece × 15 hours = 15 hours
Total brush time: 150+ hours for a mid-sized army. At minimum wage that's £1,500+ of labour. At professional commission rates (£15-£30/hour) it's £2,250-£4,500.
The total
A mid-sized painted army represents:
- £720-£1,300+ in materials, books, paint, and tools
- 150+ hours of skilled hobby time
- A second-hand sale value of £400-£1,500+ depending on paint quality and demand
And then it goes in a foam case under the bed.
The display economics
Compare against display infrastructure cost:
- A small modular display setup (3-4 tiers): £50-£80
- A full cabinet display (6-8 tiers): £100-£160
- A second-hand IKEA Detolf: £20-£60 in the UK secondhand market
Total typical display setup: under £200, often under £100. Against an army that represents £1,000+ in materials and £1,500-£4,500 in labour-time value.
Display infrastructure is 2-5% of the total project investment. And it's the part that determines whether the other 95-98% gets enjoyed daily or hidden away forever.
The psychology of "I'll do it later"
Most hobbyists know this maths intuitively. The reason armies still live in foam isn't the cost — it's the procrastination loop: "I'll set up a proper display when I finish this next unit." Then the next unit. Then the army gets shelved, then the next project starts, and the display setup never happens.
The escape from the loop is to treat display as part of the painting process, not as a separate future project. Each unit finished goes onto a display tier the same day. The display grows with the army rather than being a deferred final step.
Why second-hand value matters
Painted miniatures retain value far better than unpainted plastic. A well-painted army can sell for 60-80% of its all-in cost on the second-hand market. An unpainted, unassembled army sells for 40-50%.
Display quality matters for resale too. Photographs of an army on tiered stands inside a lit cabinet sell at premium prices. Photographs of the same army crammed into a foam tray sell at discount. Display infrastructure is, quite literally, an investment in the resale floor of the collection.
Where to start if you've never displayed properly
The lowest-friction path is a single tier per finished unit. A Classic stand for the troop choices, a Hero stand for the leader, and grow the display as the army grows. Browse the modular display system for starting points. The total cost to begin is comfortably under £30.
Treat this as the smartest 2-5% of your total hobby spend. It's the line item that determines whether the rest of the spend is enjoyed or hidden.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my army worth as much as the article suggests?
If you've painted a 1,500-2,000 point army to a tabletop standard with characters and vehicles, very likely yes. Smaller armies and skirmish warbands scale down proportionally but the relationship between army value and display cost holds.
Do painted armies actually sell for that much?
Quality matters. A neatly batch-painted army at tabletop standard sells for 50-70% of its all-in cost. A character-quality painted army with display elements sells for 70-90%. Poor paint can sell at a loss.
What if I'll never sell my army?
The financial framing still applies as a measure of investment — it's the appreciation argument that matters most. Display lets you enjoy that investment daily rather than seasonally.
How do I justify the display cost if I just spent £1,000 on the army?
Reverse the framing: not buying a display means treating the £1,000 spend as disposable. A £60 display extracts continuous value from that £1,000. It's the highest-ROI hobby purchase by a wide margin.
Can I build the display gradually?
Yes — modular systems are designed exactly for this. Buy one or two tiers now, add more as units finish. No need to commit to the full setup on day one.
Disclaimer: WarSplay® products are independently manufactured by Blubbercove Ltd. We are not affiliated with, authorised by, or endorsed by Games Workshop Limited or any tabletop publisher. Trademarks such as Warhammer® and Age of Sigmar® are used solely to indicate compatibility. Prices and time estimates are indicative.