My profile picture is the Herogorge 3D image of my miniature. It was handmade by a friend at the time for free, so I really treasure it and am not in a hige rush to spend $40 on a new one. However, the was I wish to play Warlocks has changed significantly between then and now. Rather than a staff/scythe/spear/sickle, I would be using a rapier and shield with scale mail and warcaster. I’m still using a goblin-like creature in the Verdan, but if I had to do it all over again, part of me would have made some changes to the overall design.

i guess my question is how do I play with this mini and a different character on paper. Do I say he drops the stick and draws a sword and board for every battle you just can’t see!? 

I'm not sure why you think it matters. People use coins, free dice, and even little bits of paper with the first letter of their character's name on it. If a competitive TTWG doesn't care if your Calibans are represented as Line Kazaks on the table, then I don't think you need to care that your DnD mini doesn't quite line up.

Every table is different, but in my experience...

Nobody is really bothered. They show a bit of interest in your mini when you first show it off in session 1...then it becomes part of the furniture. I had one player play an entire campaign using a mini for a Human rogue...it was meant to be a Kobold. Another used a Palpatine mini. Shrugs.

I'd just keep the mini, and just imagine it using whatever weapon it does on the sheet. The weapons etc characters use will evolve over the campaign, I really wouldn't expect anyone to update their mini to match. 

If it's really a sticking point for you... it could be they use the scythe as a walking stick which they cast aside upon entering combat. Maybe it's their self image from before they made the swap. 

Don't lose sleep over it, though. We only ever use minis to mark positions on a map so we know relative positions...the real imagery is going on in our minds. What the mini is is irrelevant.

Agree with the above that your miniature does not need to match your character.  It is kind of fun if you do make them match, but not a necessity in the slightest.

If you want a cheaper alternative to HeroForge, but with more options than official content, you can find a whole lot of resin 3d printed miniatures on Etsy.  It is pretty easy to find one that fits the general vibe of your character, if you put the time to look for one.  Frankly, I think many things on Etsy are better than what HeroForge does - I am not overly fond of HeroForge’s design (it tends toward being bulky and oversized) in the first price, certainly not worth it when they charge four times what an Etsy resin mini costs. 

I bought a few HeroForge minis, and would usually find something close at the LGS if I could but I've also used a Harry Potter Lego minifig so whatever works I guess.

I'm perfectly comfortable using a skeleton, a goblin or even a box of matches to indicate where my guy is on the map. But sure, it's marginally more satisfying to have a miniature that actually looks like what I imagine the character to be.

My players use a totally random assortment of minis, Lego mini figs and just random tokens with a lot of them being carried forward campaign after campaign. It’s fun if everyone has a nice mini that exactly matches your character but as everyone else has said it’s far from vital 

D&D isn't a wargame. There's no WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) rule for miniatures. The only requirement when using miniatures are you're using tokens that 

1. Are the right scale for how you're using miniatures, usually 5ft = 1" and a medium creature = a 1" circle/square/hex 

2. Are easily identifiable so everyone can tell what is what

The official D&D creature case includes a bunch of differently sized discs and vinyl stickers for them, plus some generic numbers 

I have a 3d printer, and even then, I wouldn’t bother printing a new mini every time my gear changed. Too much hassle. I get the temptation, though. I had a mini I made with a warhammer and then got a magic longsword. It really bugged me that the mini was wrong.
So, I’d say it’s by no means required or expected, but if it really means a lot to you, go for it.

Thank you all. That really reassured me to keep going with my mini. I appreciate everyone taking the time to post.

It's not necessary, but if you'd like an assortment of minis that you could use for different characters, I'd recommend looking around whatever online resale market people use these days and find someone who is selling their minis. You can easily score dozens or even hundreds of minis for 10 bucks or even free, and the seller will probably be happy that they are going to someone who will use them.

Then if you really do enjoy matching your mini to your character, you have a large pool of minis who could donate arms, weapons, and other body parts to make a specific character. It's not too hard to learn how to Frankenstein a mini together, and it's more fun than ordering one online.

Quote from Davyd >>

D&D isn't a wargame. There's no WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) rule for miniatures. The only requirement when using miniatures are you're using tokens that 

1. Are the right scale for how you're using miniatures, usually 5ft = 1" and a medium creature = a 1" circle/square/hex 

 Exactly what I was going to say =)