Must Contain Minis Christmas Gift Ideas for Wargamers
Upgrade your favorite wargamer’s hobby bench and game table with these great choices.
Do you have a gamer friend on your shopping list this year? Perhaps you are a gamer looking for inspiration on what to buy yourself this holiday season. Whichever you are, this post is for you. Welcome to my top 5 gift ideas for miniature wargamers.
I come at this from a slightly different angle than my mainstream counterparts. Rather than focusing on the latest Warhammer models, I like to focus on a plethora of games. Indy, Historical, whatever. I play and research tons of systems. As such, this list will focus on accessories. Accessories are useful no matter what game system your loved one is into.
With that said, if your loved one gave you a list or has a Friendly Local Gaming Store that they would like you to support, go with that. Otherwise, let’s move on with my top five gift idea suggestions for miniature wargamers.
Number 5 – A Gaming Mat
Want a way to make a wargaming table pop? Buy a gaming mat to go under your loved one’s terrain. The first companies that come to mind to me for this are Monster Fight Club, Cardboard Dungeon Games, and Cigar Box Battles. There are other options out there, but all three of the above ones are based out of North America, and I know their quality is good.
A game mat by Cigar Box Battle. They make excellent mats of all sizes in a fleece fabric. Image from their webstore.
A game mat by Monster Fight Club. Image from their webstore for Monster Scenic Terrain.
A double-sided gaming mat by Cardboard Dungeon Games. If you head to their store, keep in mind that their prices are in Canadian Dollars.
Number 4 – Terrain
No gaming table is complete without terrain. I use my terrain to work across multiple genres. Some companies that come to mind immediately include Monster Fight Club, XOLK, and GameCraft Miniatures.
Some awesome looking terrain by Monster Fight Club. This stuff comes pre-painted and it feels very durable.
A couple of blown out houses by GameCraft Miniatures. Their prices are very reasonable. Image from the the GameCraft Miniatures Webstore.
Anyone feel like playing Blackhawk Down? You can build an entire compound for 28mm gaming! Image from the GameCraft Miniatures Webstore.
XOLK has great MDF terrain kits at great prices. They are one of those companies that are also priced in Canadian Dollars. Image from the XOLK Webstore.
As a note, all three of the companies I mentioned above are North American based. Some other terrain companies worth a look include Black Site Studio and Things from the Basement. Six Squared Studios is another one of my favorite terrain companies, but there are tons of manufacturers out there. I am sure you can come up with some of your own too with an easy Google search.
Number 3 – Paint
No matter what game they play, ask your loved ones what paints they needed. For a miniature painter, there is no such thing as too much. This is actually what Mrs. Must Contain Minis bought me for my Christmas gift this year. You can easily buy these from your local gaming stores (to help keep them in business during these hard times) or online.
Number 2 – An Hobby Organization System
HobbyZone makes one of the prettiest Hobby Workshops Systems out there. I have one of them and love it! This helps keep your painting and building area clean (which keeps the family happy) and gives all of your tools and paints a home. Win-Win!!! It was actually Mrs. Must Contain Minis that encouraged me to get one of these systems, and I love it!
A look at my Hobby Room. Check out my HobbyZone articles and reviews on Must Contain Minis.
Number 1 – Upgraded Lighting
Okay, there are a number of options for lighting while you paint. In the picture above of my set up, I have two 100W equivalent desktop lights and one 100W bulb aimed at the ceiling. All of them are daylight in temperature. This certainly beats my kitchen table light, which is what I started with years ago.
Being able to see what you are building and painting makes a huge difference. It instantly increases the quality and enjoyment of your work. Recently I was shipped a GameCraft Miniatures Double Wide Extra Tall Workbench Light. This thing is amazing. I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did, but when I got it I instantly put it to use.
Now, these lamps are really popular, so you may have to give your loved one a raincheck on this one. There should be some in stock, but if they don’t, don’t give up. Wait for them to build a few more and grab them when you can. I am loving mine!
My GameCraft Miniatures lamp put into use as soon as it arrived. It is great!
As you may notice in the picture above, my paint station is in a different location than the previous picture. Due to having to work from home during COVID times, I lost my painting space to my home office. This is a temporary setback for my hobby, but I am really happy not to lug around a floor lamp and desk lamp whenever I want to paint or build models. This lamp is great and it is awesome for taking photographs too. Like my previous lamps, these lights are also daylight temperature. On top of that, they wrap your entire model in light. This means that you don’t have to worry about shadows while you work.
A Video About the LED Lamp
Here is a video of the owner of GameCraft miniatures talking about the Double Wide LED Lamp when it first came out. I still have to do my review of it, but my first impressions are off the charts positive. The only drawback I see at this time is that there is no on or off switch. You have to unplug it or use a power-bar with a switch to turn it off and on.
Allen Rockwell (the owner of GameCraft Miniatures) shows in this video is his double-wide LED lamp. That lamp is the first thing that he covers. After that, he also shows off some other really cool MDF terrain kits that he was working on at the time. He also discusses sprue cutters, some products of the time, and gaming conventions.
Wrapping it up…
Thank you for joining me in my top 5 countdown of Gift ideas for your wargaming friends. Of course, this list is good for wargamers too. A lot of us buy our own gifts and ask our spouses to give that to use for Christmas. If it works, it works. I know I am getting some paints and Firelock Games stuff under my tree this year. I am looking forward to actually using them.
If you liked this list, come on over and check out the original post with different pictures on my personal site, Must Contain Minis.
Until next time, Happy Gaming Everyone!!!
Read more about great Indie and Historical games on my site!
Must Contain Minis is my personal reviews, showcases, and battle reports website where I look at mostly Indie and Historical Games. Mainstream games and products also enter the mix. You can also follow me on Social Media. I am very active on Facebook and share posts of a wide variety. I upload my best pictures to Instagram and am also on Twitter. Oh, I am on YouTube now too!
My aim is to promote gaming with companies outside of those that already dominate the gaming market.
