My story is very similar. I wanted to get into wargaming but hated the upfront and continued cost, especially with 5 kids and a wife who would all want to play. My first crew was done with these guys from amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/SCS-Direct-Astronaut-Action-Figures/dp/B07G9QGJFB

Allowed for 4 crews and data and physical loot. The scale was way off, but everyone enjoyed the game and now we have been buying/printing crews so that we can keep playing. Even in the book, I believe that it makes mentions that it is more important that the minis all be the same scale than what scale you use.