Can I collect and paint Warhammer models without ever playing the game?
Yes, you can. Painting is a core part of the Warhammer hobby and the game is optional. Buy the kits you want to paint and the paints to do it, and skip the rulebook, boards and dice. The Paints and Tools set holds 13 paints, a brush, clippers and a mouldline remover. It costs £22.83 and is sold out at the moment. A Getting Started box gives you a Combat Patrol and 11 paints together.
Why painting on its own counts
Warhammer Community, Games Workshop's news site, calls painting one of the core elements of the Warhammer hobby. One of its writers, who plays and paints, describes painting single miniatures for display with no army in mind, slowly and for the pleasure of getting better.
Golden Demon, a painting competition that began in 1987, was described by Warhammer Community in 2023 as one of the longest-running and most prestigious miniature-painting events in the world. It judges painted miniatures and nothing else.
You need no excuse to buy models and never play.
What a painter buys and what a painter skips
Buy paints, a brush, clippers and a mouldline remover. The miniatures arrive unpainted, so you need paints and tools. The Paints and Tools set covers the start. Then buy the kits you like the look of. Choose by what you want to see on your shelf.
A Getting Started box is a good fit for a first project. It holds a Combat Patrol, 11 paints, a brush and a texture spreader. There is a Space Marines box and an Orks box, £86.11 each.
Usually skip the Warhammer 40,000 Starter Set. Its boards, terrain, dice and rulebook are game gear, and its contents list holds no paints. Skip the card decks and the tape measure as well, because they exist to run games.
These boxes and sets include paints:
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£86.11RRP
£109.00Save 21%Sold out
Choosing what to paint first
Pick the model you would be proud to put on a shelf. A lone character gives you a small project. A squad of identical models lets you repeat one colour scheme until it feels easy.
If you want background on the setting without buying a rulebook, the Combat Patrol Companion at £17.00 is a 184-page introduction with lore, artwork and quick hobby tips. It is written for new builders, painters and players.
The texture spreader in the Getting Started boxes is for bases. A painted base makes a model look finished.
If you change your mind about playing
Painting first does not stop you playing later. The core rules are a free download, and the Combat Patrol rules in the Warhammer 40,000 app are free as well. They need no rulebook, codex or subscription. A painted Combat Patrol is already a playable army.
One thing to avoid: buying a whole army before painting one unit. See how to deal with a pile of unpainted models.
Common questions
Is it weird to buy Warhammer models and never play?
Games Workshop runs painting events that judge nothing but painted miniatures, so painting on its own is part of the hobby.
Do I need the rulebook if I only paint?
The rulebook is for running games, so a painter can skip it. For lore and hobby advice, the Combat Patrol Companion at £17.00 is a better buy than a rule set.
What should a painter buy first?
A Getting Started box or a paint set. The Getting Started boxes hold a full Combat Patrol, 11 paints and a brush. For tools and 13 paints without models, Paints and Tools is £22.83 (sold out at the moment).
Painting as a core element and painting for display: Warhammer Community, 16 April 2025. Golden Demon: Warhammer Community, 27 February 2023. Combat Patrol Companion: Warhammer Community, 11 May 2026. Free rules: Warhammer Community, 1 June 2026 and 23 July 2026. Getting Started boxes: Warhammer Community, Sunday Preview, 5 July 2026. Prices and stock: this shop, read live.