Recommendations for 'cheap' miniatures

[Lagmonster]

My son is interested in learning to paint miniatures. As it stands, though, he's still a bit young for the hobby, and I don't want to sink big bucks into something he may give up on quickly. I'm looking for some miniatures that are both a) ultra-cheap, and b) reasonably badass-looking. He's still young enough that 'cool' is less what the backstory of most games strive for and more "my imagination says it's a space robot superhero piloting a 'mech shaped like a T-rex that is indestructible and can do anything".

I tried the local hobby store, but was limited to either Warhammer 40K, which are way too expensive, or the Fantasy Flight game that I know nothing about called "Dust Tactics". I ended up buying him a pack of three pre-built miniatures from the Dust set for $15.00 which look cool, but I'd like to hope I can find something cheaper that he can build an 'army' out of, paint to his liking, and then play with according to his imagination.

Strictly sci-fi stuff; he's not interested in fantasy, which kills my options significantly (there were some pewter figures from a nameless fantasy set for $2.00 each that he dismissed instantly). I just don't know enough about the smaller players in that market to do much good. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd be happy.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

I was actually going to recommend some DUST dudes; they're on the cheaper side, they're pre-assembled, and they're marketed directly at the miniature-gaming neophytes.

Bones, by Reaper Miniatures, might be more up your alley, though. They're similar in that they're cheap, ready to paint, and work very well for newbies. Depending on how young your son is, they also have the advantage of being soft plastic and virtually indestructible, able to endure the abuses only little boys are capable of. (As a test, I took one of my Bones minis and threw it with my best fastball at the closest wall. Totally unscathed). Bones is mostly fantasy, but has a few non-fantasy and sci-fi in its line. If you can't find any Bones to your liking, then DUST is your best bet.

edit: Is your son really not that into fantasy? Bones has some bad-ass dragons. What little boy doesn't like bad-ass dragons?!

[Grumman]

Would these be of any interest to him? There's a conversion pack too with unhelmeted heads and other stuff.

Mantic might be an option later this year, but at the moment they're pretty crap.

[Lagmonster]

Is your son really not that into fantasy? Bones has some bad-ass dragons. What little boy doesn't like bad-ass dragons?!

We play a variety of his kind of games free-running role playing games, normally where I am the bad guy stomping around the living room and he pounds the crap out of me with Nerf. His response to anything I introduce to the game is to announce "I transform into AWESOME Superman Space Marine. His shields can't be broken, and he fires a MILLION BILLION lasers at you plus freeze breath and he always wins.".

[Elheru Aran]

I'd ask if they have a "bits box" and check that out. You might be able to put together some odd little bits to form a whole figure for a lot less than store price.

If nothing else there are some online services like Spikey Bits to check out... Ebay is also one source for cheap bits and figs.

[Vendetta]

Mantic miniatures tend to be on the cheaper end, and they have a sci-fi line.

[Cykeisme]

Assuming questionable legality is not an issue, if you have any interest in Games Workshop's franchises (including Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy), there are companies in China that produce knockoff recasts of the official model kits. In terms of quality, I've heard that once a basecoat is applied, they're indistinguishable from the originals.

Of course, again, legality..

[GuppyShark]

Mantic will have hard plastic Enforcers available soon, which will satisfy A) Cheap B) Sci-Fi C) AWESOME Superman Space Marine. His shields can't be broken, and he fires a MILLION BILLION lasers at you plus freeze breath and he always wins

[InsaneTD]

I don't know if you would consider this guys stuff as cheap, he does do really good minis and other stuff. He's also recently started carrying some extra ranges from other people on his online store.