Most Warhammer players love to receive gifts. Half the fun of the hobby is collecting a personalized army of little plastic soldiers, and there's no better way to make a Warhammer fan feel seen than adding to that collection. But if you're not part of the hobby yourself, it can be daunting to pick the perfect gift. Fear not! Wargamer's handy Warhammer Christmas gift guide is here to help.
Because Warhammer collections can be quite personal, a well-chosen gift is extra meaningful. But we know that Warhammer isn't cheap, so there's extra pressure to get it just right. This guide is designed to help you work out what the right gift is. So as well as product recommendations, we've included questions you can ask to help select the right gift, and extra information about the hobby that will help you to avoid pitfalls.
Doing your research for a personalized Warhammer gift
If you want to splash out on a big (expensive) model kit as a gift, you want to make sure it's the right kit. But how do you figure that out without giving the game away? It's all about asking the right questions.
There are actually a lot of different games with 'Warhammer' in their name, which are all set in different worlds and have different model ranges. The most popular ones are the science fiction games Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, and the fantasy games Warhammer Age of Sigmar and Warhammer: The Old World. Just for cost reasons, most people only play one or two of these games regularly - so it's important to work out which game that is before you buy a model kit.
Likewise, most fans only collect models for one or two specific Warhammer 40k factions or Warhammer Age of Sigmar armies. A kit that makes models that are part of a different faction may well be appreciated if they enjoy building and painting minis, but it won't be usable in games.
The good news is, most Warhammer fans are more than happy to talk about the faction they collect when they're asked about it. Every faction has an official backstory, and many Warhammer fans create even more detailed backstories for their specific collection of models. Asking them about their collection and its story is a great way to get them talking about the models they do have and don't have, why they've got those models, and what they think the army needs.
Where to shop
The widest range of Warhammer products is available from the official Warhammer webstore. However, this also has the highest prices. Independent games retailers almost always sell at a discount.
Model kits
So, you've found out what game and what army you're shopping for. But how do you narrow down your options? First, some pitfalls to avoid:
As a general rule, if a player already owns a hero model, they won't want a duplicate. It's pretty rare for an army to include multiple copies of the same hero, even if that's allowed by the rules. Then there's the 'rule of three'. In Warhammer 40k and Age of Sigmar, armies are limited to three copies of the same unit - for example, three 'Repulsor Executioner' battle tanks.
If you get the name of a unit they're interested in, do some research to make sure you get the precise thing they're after. For example, if they say they love Dreadnoughts, they're referring to a big war mech model - but there are several different Dreadnoughts on sale for Warhammer 40k, as well as war mechs that aren't Dreadnoughts, and Dreadnoughts for a different game system!
Characters
Character models are very expensive for the amount of plastic you get. But they tend to be beautifully designed and a real treat for people who love painting. For people who like playing the game but are reluctant painters, they're much easier to paint than a unit of infantry!
If the model has a name (like Commander Dante) rather than just a title (like Space Marine Captain), it's a 'special character' (a model of a character from the official lore), and you need to check that whoever you're buying a gift for doesn't already own one, since armies can't include two copies.
Monsters, vehicles, and elites
If the meat and potatoes of most Warhammer armies is regular infantry, then monsters, vehicles, and elite infantry (usually sold in boxes of three or five models) are dessert. They're always a fun building and painting challenge.
Centerpieces
Most Warhammer armies have a big centerpiece model - a huge vehicle, a giant monster, or a diorama of smaller characters. Some armies - like the giant Imperial Knights mechs, or the Sons of Behemat giants - are nothing but centerpiece models. These are very expensive, and often armies can only include one copy, so double check before you buy one.
Army starter sets
The person you're planning a gift for for may have expressed an interest in starting a new army. Games Workshop always offers limited run 'battleforce bundles' for Christmas which include a good chunk of a new army at a discount. The firm also sells specific army starter sets all year round, branded Warhammer 40k Combat Patrol and Age of Sigmar Spearhead. These only contain a small portion of a full army, but they can be used in special quickplay formats that are quite popular in their own right.
A new game
Some gamers are wedded to one game. Others like to play around! Games Workshop offers starter sets for most of its games, which come with the core rules and two small but usable armies, at a discount compared to buying the models separately. It also occasionally produces standalone board games. This year it's releasing a dungeon crawler game called Warhammer Quest: Darkwater - not much is known about it at time of writing, but the models sure look pretty.
Gifts for any fan
All Warhammer fans need to build and paint their minis, and these tools will help!
Spray paint
An incredibly practical gift - every Warhammer army painter needs spray paint to base their models. If in doubt, go for matt black.
Artis Opus drybrushes
'Drybrushing' is a technique for quickly painting models using very fine layers of paint roughly applied. Artis Opus' drybrushes are very well made, and are accompanied by a whole YouTube channel of tutorial videos showing how to get the most out of them. If you can't find Artis Opus, the Army Painter masterclass set is also very good.
Brush rinser
Trust me, this looks so gimmicky, but it's fantastic - here's my review. Brush rinsers are over-engineered water pots that drain away dirty paint water, so it doesn't transfer onto the brush, which is especially helpful for metallic paints. A good gift for people who are serious about painting.
Wet palette
Wet palettes are useful for keeping paint 'live' on the palette for longer periods of time. They're especially useful in hot, arid climates where paint can dry out incredibly quickly.
Paint markers
Paint markers are a fairly new tool that's great for speed painting - here's a write-up of what team Wargamer thinks of them. Unlike regular paints you don't really need a table to use them, so you can use them while sitting on the couch - great for painting alongside your friends and family.
Accessories and merch
There are many tie-in products for Warhammer. If you know which army your Warhammer fan collects, you'll be able to narrow the selection.
Warhammer Art
Thousands of pieces of art have been produced for Warhammer over the years, and you can buy official prints of many of them from the Warhammer art store. If you'd prefer to get a metal poster, Displate also makes a wide range of Warhammer prints.
Warhammer 40k Character encyclopedia
The Dorling Kindersley Warhammer 40k Character Encyclopedia is packed with information about every single Warhammer character. And it comes with an easy-to-build model of the character Titus from the videogame Space Marine 2. Aimed more at youngsters, but genuinely very good.
Faction dice
Games Workshop has made many official dice sets that replace one face of each die with the logo of a specific faction. These are a luxury item that most Warhammer players don't buy. But if they do own a set, they won't mind receiving a second one - Warhammer games use a lot of dice.
T-shirts, hoodies, and sweaters.
There's a wide and constantly changing range of official Warhammer t-shirts and hoodies, including options for just about every army. The clothing quality is fine - typical branded merch rather than high fashion - but the designs look great. There are even Christmas jumpers!
Oodie
I own a giant red squig Oodie for Warhammer and it's insanely cosy and utterly ridiculous. The ultimate in nerd comfort. And just look how cheery it is!
Plushies
Despite all the swagger and violence associated with Warhammer 40k lore, I have yet to meet a fan who doesn't covet the official plushies. Each one of these turns a violent monster or eldritch oddity into an adorable little fluffball.
If you want to ask for more advice - and meet a friendly community with interests in all kinds of different nerd hobbies - you're more than welcome in the Wargamer Discord community!