Aliexpress finds for wargames

[tereydavi]

In this post we are going to put all those bargain pieces that we sometimes find on AliExpress for a really low price and that work perfectly for miniature wargames.



We will mainly focus on products useful as terrain in our gaming boards, and many of these products may have been seen in my fear of the dark and frontline heroes gaming boards (ww2 of modern).

I am sure that you have also found some similar products on AliExpress that have been useful on your game tables, so do not hesitate to share them in the comments and I will add them to this very same post.

This is the link to the blog post:

https://sukiwargames.blogspot.com/2025/03/aliexpress-finds.html

[anevilgiraffe]

Temu as well?

[tereydavi]

Yes, sure!

Any lowcost product useful as terrain for miniature wargaming.

Temu, AliExpress, Alibaba...  Everything helps

[Battle Brush Sigur]

A while ago I browsed Aliexpress for the first time, becuase I was looking for really niche stuff, and found it. Almost was tempted to buy from there too, as a test, but didn't pull the trigger.

I mean Temu especially is a pretty bad place and there's several good reasons it's under investigation by the EU. Maybe they manage to clean their act up, but otherwise I'd prefer to see that webstore sued into the ground.

[HerbertTarkel]

I just refuse to order to from Temu/Aliexpress. Flat out. Maybe there are some good finds - but I?ll never know ?

[tereydavi]

In Spain, AliExpress has a refund policy in case any problem happens.  The customer gets a full refund and usually keeps the product.

The main problem is to get the right product, as many times the description is wrong. I got a boat model kits advertised as 1:48 scale, and as It arrived It was clear It was quite smaller (1:72 or even smaller).

That's the reason of this post, to make a list of products that have been purchased and verified by the customers.

Many of the products listed are right now bought by online shops and sold five times more expensive.

[Dolnikan]

I've bought things like brushes on AliExpress. I don't like paying huge amounts for them and honestly don't think that more expensive ones would make much of a difference. That, and mine never last very long anyways.

Aside from that, I've bought things like trees there as well. I'd say they were okay.

[tereydavi]

I've bought things like brushes on AliExpress. I don't like paying huge amounts for them and honestly don't think that more expensive ones would make much of a difference. That, and mine never last very long anyways.

It's true that my brushes Don't last long either. Usually the tip starts to warp.
Do you have a link of those brushes? I could use a few.

[anevilgiraffe]

well I got a couple of orange trees (standard railway sort) from Temu, not very pretty but literal pence and tarted up ok...

[Malebolgia]

A while ago I browsed Aliexpress for the first time, becuase I was looking for really niche stuff, and found it. Almost was tempted to buy from there too, as a test, but didn't pull the trigger.

I mean Temu especially is a pretty bad place and there's several good reasons it's under investigation by the EU. Maybe they manage to clean their act up, but otherwise I'd prefer to see that webstore sued into the ground.

Yeah...Ali, Temu, Shein...so much wrong with their products and services. I sometimes see interesting stuff, but I refuse to buy and support this business model.

[HerbertTarkel]

Yeah...Ali, Temu, Shein...so much wrong with their products and services. I sometimes see interesting stuff, but I refuse to buy and support this business model.

This. I will pay for real things.

A brush? With no level of toxic awareness? Hard pass.

[mikedemana]

I agree with being responsible with our gaming funds. For example, I try to buy direct from the company selling the game or product -- not someone like Amazon. As an example, for a $20 rulebook sold on Amazon, I as the rules author receive less than $4. Yet on Lulu, we get much closer to the value (mid to high teens).

I try not to buy anything made in China, if possible. Nor Russia, for that matter -- but I may be getting political here... 

Mike Demana

[Belgian]

I also frequently buy on Aliexpress and never had any problems. I always pay with Paypal as back-up for possible problems.

While I avoid buying from Russia, I still buy from China as otherwise you just buy the same item with a significant price increase.

I would want to avoid buying from there too but much of production is based in China especially for toys and cheaper items.

I buy everything from brushes to trees and from toy cars to hobby tools and materials.

As mentionned above I avoid putting those brushes in my mouth you never know.  Think they were like 10 cent per brush.

[carlos marighela]

Utterly loathsome as I find Peter Thiel and unwilling as I am to support him or any other white South African neo-fascist, the advice to use Paypal or some other intermediary payment service is sensible when dealing with the Sheins, Temus and Ali Expresses of this world.

My daughter recently had some fraudulent charges put against her card. When I contacted the bank, who refunded her dosh, the lady on the phone said that she had noticed a number of purchases made with Shein and Temu. She noted that they had been associated with high volumes of card fraud as their data security was negligble and advised that if purchasing with them to use Paypal.

[tereydavi]

I Never had any kind of issue buying from AliExpress, and you may even use PayPal as It is safer.

You may not buy from AliExpress for ethical/political or whateever reason you may have, but that is not the point of this thread.

Those very same products are sold in online shops in your own country, but they price is Up to 10 times more expensive.

I have seen the streets lamps in a well know spanish online shop, but they cost 10? for 10 streets lamps... And the planes model.kits are sold for 10? each by local retailers.

And THAT is the point of this post. I want to.help every wargamer so that they Don't waste their money, and get the most from It.

That's the reason I would love to make a long list of lowcost wargame products.