Paper Miniatures

As always, one of the entry barriers to any wargame is the initial investment in supplies -- rules, dice, minis, terrain, etc.  One idea I've been kicking around for a while is recommending people print out paper miniatures to put on stands and using them with "stat bars" to reflect Systems and Damage.  And several months ago there was a question asking about this on the MFZ subReddit.  Way back in the old days of the Battletech game the starter set included a set of these paper minis, as can be seen in this vintage box set for sale (third image).

One of the great things about paper minis is that you don't really have to worry about size.  You can have Robotech paper minis on the table next to Battletech, next to whatever.  If you don't want to purchase them, or there's no paper versions of the mecha you want to put on the table, you can always make them yourself.  Like this video tutorial on how to make paper minis for Lancer.

20mm Card Stands.

You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find images for paper mini bases, and search engines generally like me.

There is also an "Old School" DIY way of basing paper minis.  As you can see in the first link paper minis were designed in a long strip that folded in the middle that had a front, a back, and tabs at both ends that either folded over one another or attached to a base.  Back in the day people used to tape pennies to those tabs to act as a weighted base to hold the mini upright.

And if you don't little, paper standees, you can also make actual physical miniatures out of folded paper.  Here's a constructed paper mini for sale.  Here's another constructed paper mini for sale.