Kia Ora! My name is Zachariah, and I’m going to be talking about my current experience as a noob in the world of miniature building!
So where did I begin? It first started when I was down in the South Island of New Zealand for a national aviation course. During dinner, I sat down with a friend of mine, and we began discussing history, Star Wars, and eventually Warhammer. I only knew a tiny bit about Warhammer at the time, so I wanted to learn more. After a while, my friend showed me a photo of his tabletop collection. He had rows and rows of miniatures on his shelves from different factions like Space Marines and Necrons. I was baffled by how he could build something the size of a palm, let alone paint them all. It was at that moment I knew I had to give it a try!
I wasn't completely new to building things, though. When I was younger, my dad introduced me to scale model kit building when I joined the cadet forces. We bought a 1/72 A-10 Warthog, and building it all the way through to painting made me fall in love with the hobby. Over time, I grew a large backlog of unbuilt model kits and Gundam models that still haven't been completed! So there was no surprise that I was willing to try something new and much, much smaller.
My first real experience getting into wargaming miniatures was back in June. I had saved up just enough money to buy a small set, so my mom took my siblings and me on a trip to Auckland for the weekend. The first store I went to was the Warhammer store in Mt Albert. The staff were amazingly friendly and helped me get my very first Space Marine built and painted. They told me about the Miniature of the Month, so I snagged that as well! After visiting a few more stores to pick up essential supplies like paints, primer, and brushes, I had everything I needed to begin my adventure.
Now miniatures are much smaller than what most people might think and I was still baffled trying to figure out how I was going to paint my Tau pathfinders. But over time you learn and grow more patience with such small bits and pieces and the fear of your miniature not being perfect. Mine definitely are not the most perfect and it takes getting used to painting something smaller but in the end it is well worth it and you will look back to appreciate and be proud of the work you did.
A few months later, I started looking into a tabletop game called Star Wars Legion. As a huge Star Wars fan, it was something I simply couldn't ignore! I sat in my living room trying to decide what to buy, even though I probably should have been focusing on expanding my small Warhammer collection instead. I spent countless hours crunching numbers, trying to work out budgets, and seeing which sets offered the best bang for my buck, and that’s when I discovered Zatu Games. Here in New Zealand, local retail stores often have to raise prices significantly due to piling taxes and international shipping rates. But Zatu offered something very different.
Now, I will be honest: at first, I actually thought Zatu was a fake website because I simply could not believe how much cheaper their prices were compared to what I was used to seeing in New Zealand! After checking things out, I saved up my money and ordered the Star Wars Legion: Galactic Republic Starter Set. To my surprise, the set itself cost around $130 NZD, plus an additional $40 for shipping. Even with overseas shipping included, the combined total was still significantly cheaper than buying the same set locally here in NZ.
The delivery speed was just as impressive. A day after placing the order, my package was already in transit, and about a week later, it arrived right at my door. I dug straight into the box and ended up assembling 90% of the miniatures within the first 48 hours of it landing on my porch!
Getting into tabletop gaming can feel intimidating and expensive when you are just starting out, but finding an affordable shop with fast shipping made all the difference for me. I can’t wait to get these Clone Troopers primed, painted, and onto the table.
