How much to charge for building/painting?

[krushgroove]

I'm just wondering what's a reasonable fee to charge for building and painting a scale model to a nice 'shelf' spec.

For model wargaming charging the retail cost of the model just to paint to a 'tabletop standard' (fairly basic, 2-3 colors on the main areas, not much detail work) is normal as a base cost (e.g., the customer gives you an assembled, unpainted model). Of course the costs add up for 'hero' or 'character' models that require more time and detail.

However scale models are much more fiddly by their nature, and there's much more prepwork that needs to be done, so I was wondering: is 2-3x the retail cost of the kit is a good starting point for assembling & painting the model to a nice display level? Extra fees for modifications or replicating something that isn't in the box, of course! Finding or making decals or adding extra bits to the model is extra work and time.

[Paul]

I'm just wondering what's a reasonable fee to charge for building and painting a scale model to a nice 'shelf' spec.

For model wargaming charging the retail cost of the model just to paint is normal as a base cost (e.g., the customer gives you an assembled, unpainted model). Of course the costs add up for 'hero' or 'character' models that require more time and detail.

However scale models are much more fiddly by their nature, and there's much more prepwork that needs to be done, so I was wondering: is 2-3x the retail cost of the kit is a good starting point for assembling & painting the model to a nice display level? Extra fees for modifications or replicating something that isn't in the box, of course! Finding or making decals or adding extra bits to the model is extra work and time.

I wouldn't go on the kit cost to base your price on, it could be a cheap kit that could be a nightmare to build.

I think the best way to do it is to value how much your time is worth, and go from there. Maybe add more for materials used etc. Quite a hard one to work out.

[krushgroove]

Yeah the hardest part which makes it near-impossible to give a definite price is not knowing how long it will take to build & paint a particular kit. I thought using the retail price would be an OK starting point because **in general** 'more cost = more detail = more work', and add on from there based on how much extra work there might be, how much you think your time is worth, etc.

For example:

• a model might cost £20 (just to have a round number to start with)
• a friend asks you to build and paint it for you so can have something nice on his desk, so you say £40 (friend price) or £60 (to start with a high price for negotiations)
• extra weathering or similar things that can be done with paint, pigment, etc., add £10 or so
• base: add say £20-30 for materials and time, based on complexity
• super-realism (PE parts, turned metal tank barrels, etc.), add the 2x the cost of materials as a base price

[Lee]

Give yourself an hourly rate then work out how many hours it will take you to build, add materials and kit costs and voila, you have your fee

[krushgroove]

Yeah I know what you mean, I do have an hourly rate in mind (no lower than minimum wage, for sure!) - I guess I just have a hard time figuring out how long it takes to do particular things for one model because I usually have many projects on the go at one time. While waiting for one thing to dry or cure I might be doing something else, etc., and have several things painted and drying at one time. Is this simply a problem with my time management, should I change my working process?

I've tried finding model-builders' sites with their estimates for completing a model, but I haven't found any guide prices and I don't want to waste anyone's time asking for a quote. Do the 'pro guys' give an estimate and then complete the model and ask for an exact amount, or just give a total up front?

Sorry for all the questions, this is just the best place I know to ask these questions and as I do stuff and post it for friends I get a few questions here and there about painting stuff for them.

[UKscalemodeller]

Ahh, the last hourly rate I charged anyone for my services was £37.50 + VAT. That might be a little much for my work LOL.

[Paul]

Ahh, the last hourly rate I charged anyone for my services was £37.50 + VAT. That might be a little much for my work LOL.

Ha ha im not gonna even say my last plumbing hourly rate

[Lee]

Yeah I know what you mean, I do have an hourly rate in mind (no lower than minimum wage, for sure!) - I guess I just have a hard time figuring out how long it takes to do particular things for one model because I usually have many projects on the go at one time. While waiting for one thing to dry or cure I might be doing something else, etc., and have several things painted and drying at one time. Is this simply a problem with my time management, should I change my working process?

I've tried finding model-builders' sites with their estimates for completing a model, but I haven't found any guide prices and I don't want to waste anyone's time asking for a quote. Do the 'pro guys' give an estimate and then complete the model and ask for an exact amount, or just give a total up front?

Sorry for all the questions, this is just the best place I know to ask these questions and as I do stuff and post it for friends I get a few questions here and there about painting stuff for them.

You'll just have to take a punt on it then.

[coladito1]

In my opinion, without offending anyone of course, to get a more accurate answer You would have to ask in a forum that is known for having lots of commission builders (if it allows to talk about it that is), Forums such as hyperscale or ARC. I happen to have not one, not two, not even 3, but 6!! Yes 6 commission builders in my IPMS club. Most of them do work for magazines and collectors. They all charge different rates. There are some factors to take into consideration:

1. The kit- this is the #1 rate factor, it will determine the amount of hours put into it.
2. The scale- obviously the bigger the size the higher the price.
3. The weathering- lots of collector don't even like any weathering on their models. But usually if any weathering is requested, the builder should decide wether or not to charge extra for it. Lots of commission builders don't charge for it unless is requested by the buyer.

This are some of the FAQs to commission builders. I myself was looking into it and thats how i know that at the end of the day, it all depends on how you want to rate your time spent on the model. Hourly or by the model. Most builders charge by the model.

[Filo387]

I wouldn't go on the kit price. Some of the cheap kit could take you longer to build the an expensive one, with any fit issues. As you will see in the forums it would be difficult to even base a price on the make as some models go together good then another model by the same make could be a nightmare. Not to mention warping or other problems.

[MakingModelsAgain]

This is something I've looked at pursuing myself and it's a tricky one. I think there is a tendency to undersell ourselves in what we do. If you look at some of the top-class builds out there, they are veritable works of art that may have taken months (in some cases years) to complete and could incorporate just as much artistic skill as someone who stands at a canvas with a palette of oil paints, or a sculpture with a block of stone and a chisel. The thing is, the latter two can and do charge thousands, maybe even tens of thousands for their work whereas a modeller might feel they're pushing it asking for a couple of hundred. For example, how much do you think that Bugatti/Tesla racer that won at SMW would be worth? Given the nature of the build, I'd say it's worth at least £2K. But would anyone pay that for it? So, how much would someone be willing to pay for a clean build of a 1/72 Lancaster? Add some weathering and you could be doubling your work load, but the perceived value of that would be almost disregarded. It's a tricky one for sure.

[chief5437]

Whatever you decide, best of luck with it. I wish someone would pay me to build models all day!

[Panzermeister36]

Ahh, the last hourly rate I charged anyone for my services was £37.50 + VAT. That might be a little much for my work LOL.

Highway robbery for a kit that'll take 20-40 hours to build! That'll be around $2000!!

[krushgroove]

Thanks coladito1 and Filo387 for the additional help and info! I don't know how many commission builders are on this forum and it can be hard to judge build quality from a picture.

I realize just making the blanket statement 'the fee might be 2x to 3x the price of the kit' would be really 'off' for very cheap and very expensive kits, I should have clarified that I'm thinking of kits ranging in price from 20-30 (units of money, £, $, €), so I was thinking the fee for building & painting a 1/24th car, 1/35th tank or 1/72nd plane would be something along the lines of 60-100 £/$/€, depending on a variety of things. Of course higher quality kits would cost more but require less time for 'fiddling', which is something that would be explained to the customer!

I've tried using ebay to get guide prices but sadly I see some completed & painted models selling for just about the cost of the kit, while others sell at £5! (the sellers should have used a higher starting price methinks) so the research continues

[UKscalemodeller]

I remember a discussion during a re-enactment when a member of public asked our resident cordwain (shoe maker) how much a pair of shoes like the ones on display would be. his reply of, between £200 and £250 was not well received.

Its all down to the time taken in this instance, how valuable is your time?

I'd gladly build for commission but I'm not good enough to charge anything decent.

[krushgroove]

Its all down to the time taken in this instance, how valuable is your time?

Yes this seems to be the common refrain Like I posted previously my main thinking is to not charge less than minimum wage if it's something I wouldn't normally be doing. If I'm selling a kit I've already built for myself, for fun, that's one thing, but if it's a kit I wouldn't want to do for myself that's a different thing. My main problem is knowing how long a particular model takes to build, and failing that finding guide prices online.

I paint RC car bodyshells for model car racers, and will be painting wargaming models as well, and the prices for these items are very well established - I don't want to undercut anyone and sell myself short (I've done this with my first couple of customers and it's a bad precedent) but I also don't want to charge more than 'the other guys' because people will just not want to talk about what they want and how much is a reasonable charge.

I'd gladly build for commission but I'm not good enough to charge anything decent.

This is where I'm at also, but if people ask I want to know a reasonable cost to give them an answer no one else I know is a model builder or painter, so with my friends I guess I'm the one they come to!

[Coen]

The last time that I sold one I charged $200 Canadian for it.
It was a $40 US Kit, and it took about 120 hours to build paint and weather.
The vignette base took about 12 hours to finish and I charged $120 extra for it.
That's about $2.50 an hour. haha.
The dude that bought it said that it was a steal. I'd have to agree.
I didn't do it for the money though. I just wanted to get rid of it.
It wasn't built to commission though. It was just a built kit sale.

The only commission that I've done was that 1/144 Millennium Falcon that I did in the summer.
It went for the equivalent of about $900 Canadian.

[gosselin2112]

This is an interesting thread. I agree with Luis, the mainstream forums will have resources on this question. I, too, have a couple of modelers in my IPMS club that build commission models. The selling of built models is a tricky market, and one I have no real interest in pursuing at anytime soon. If you're starting out, I'd say just double the price of the kit. EBay is a good place to test the waters. I've seen everything Francois Verlinden builds to FSM cover builds. Good luck!

RTG