If the player cannot purchase new miniatures at the moment then let them use their current minis as proxies.
Stick them on a counter of the right type or stick labels to the base with the actual names - and just get the player to pick a pak fleet that allows sensible proxy use (eg light ships for light ships, heavies for heavy.) - or just use pak counters if such exist.
That way you are accomodating the player's needs, probably still using miniatures and they get to play a pak fleet for a bit. Especially if they are likely to want to change once they know the game.
That gets them into the game with their models and not by tweaking the rules.
Stick them on a counter of the right type or stick labels to the base with the actual names - and just get the player to pick a pak fleet that allows sensible proxy use (eg light ships for light ships, heavies for heavy.) - or just use pak counters if such exist.
That way you are accomodating the player's needs, probably still using miniatures and they get to play a pak fleet for a bit. Especially if they are likely to want to change once they know the game.
That gets them into the game with their models and not by tweaking the rules.
