Many models in the Games Workshop arsenal just haven't been updated, for many their age shows. To make matters worse often these models are critical to making a good army list. Flesh Hounds of Khorne are one such unit, combining a terrible looking model with amazing game play.
If you somehow forgotten just how terrible the current Flesh Hounds just look at the image to the right. You will also notice that they are currently Finecast, so you can imagine just how expensive a box of five are.
At $49.50 you get a menagerie of ill conceived animal and design left-overs, and with the Deamon codex still fresh, don't expect an update any time soon.
So, what is a gamer suppose to do?
Well you are in luck, there are excellent alternatives around to create a veritable kennel of demonic doggies. The best place to start is by keeping in-house. GW provides a few alternatives depending on what breed you are going for.
The most common Flesh Hound alternative you will see around are Warriors of Chaos Warhounds.
You get a pack of 10 for less than 30 bucks making your dogs $3 per model. The good part, is they keep with the Chaos feel, are easy to assemble, and most of all plastic. In my case, I went with something a little different. I like to make my armies with a specific theme having units across "fluff boundaries". So, for my Nurgle themed army I decided to make "Flesh Hounds of Nurgle" out of the Vampire Counts Dire Wolves. These little undead looking doggies fit perfectly well with my decaying vision of Nurgle.
The Dire Wolves are the same deal as the Chaos Hounds. The major problem with these options is the fantasy formation constraints; making poses which don't seem fitting for my idea of Flesh Hounds of Khorne. In addition, while having character, they're still not as dynamic as the newest GW kits would be. So, with that in mind how about looking outside of GW for an alternative?
Frankly, my favorite is one you cannot get anymore; the Sineshra from defunct Rackham miniature makers.
Those doggies really harkened back to fond memories of sinewy, but deadly 2nd edition Bloodletters. They also look other worldly, which is an often an over looked aspect of Deamon armies. Now, other companies make fleshy type dogs, like Trollforge and Heresy Miniatures, but neither really capture the essence of a Flesh Hound, one more than just an evil looking dog.
The Barghest fiends combine an alien aesthetic with a pit-bull body. They have different heads and dynamic poses that you, don't see with many third-party miniatures. These models are fairly new for Puppetwar and showcase their increasing casting skills. The price point for these alternative models is between the inexcusable Finecast GW Hounds and their Warhammer Fantasy alternatives. The best part is Puppetwar has gotten the scale right if you want to keep your Flesh Hounds 40k only. No matter your budget there are plenty of models to choose from that aren't the terrible current GW sculpts.
If you somehow unsure on just how good Flesh Hounds of Khorne are check out Blood of Kittens review of their current rules.
Warning
40k Buying Guide is rated empty your pockets. These articles are meant to help you continue complaining about GW pricing schemes at the same time you are buying used models on Ebay