Advice needed: Longtime lurker, finally ready to jump back in

[Gatadawgs77]

Hey guys, first post! I played 40k way back when 2nd Ed came out in the mid 90s (bought the box set with blood angels and orks).

I really enjoy the whole 40k universe and have gone as far as buying up a couple of codexes for my iPad over the course of the past year, and am really interested in playing, but have a bit of a conundrum and would love some feedback:

I'm married, just had our first child this year, and have a fairly demanding job....one of the reasons I didn't continue to play 40k when younger was due to the fact that painting simply took up a lot of time and I really didn't want to put the time/effort in to developing my craft in that area.

I am interested in playing, but want to get feedback on what the general sentiment is on folks who play with armies that are painted by a 3rd party?

Bottom line is that I just don't have the time to paint a couple of 2000-3000 point armies...I am looking forward to the new Imperial Guard release, and think that I would like to collect both Tau, IG, and supplement with a possible Marine force, as well.

Any and all feedback would be welcomed...also, if anyone has experience in what I should expect a full 2000 point army that is painted well would cost would be, it would be greatly appreciated. Is $4k enough?

[SON OF ROMULOUS]

it all depends on what you want and what your looking to spend. are you looking for local or out of state? out of the country? there are alot of 3rd party painting services some here on bols im sure do it. i know a few people in Pittsburgh who do it. it all goes back and forth between client and painter for what they decide on.

[Lord-Boofhead]

Are you planning on entering a Tournament that has a painting score if so you have to declare that you didn't paint it. Other wise its all good...

[Pssyche]

Everybody and his dog would prefer to play against a fully painted army.

[Wolfshade]

I have been contemplating buying a painted army as I suck at painting.

At the end of the day the miniatures look great/good who cares?

As for the money side, a lot of comissioners will vary the quality of painting based on the money you spend.

For instance, Goatboy of BoLS fame does painting and you can see what sort of price he is charging for what quality.

http://goatboy40k.blogspot.co.uk/p/commission-painting-and-art.html

It is all about whether or not you feel it is good value for money.

There is of course one massive advantage to having an army painted it is all teh same colour, otherwise if you buy pre-painted from ebay you can end up with an army that is about 50 different shades of red/blue etc.

[Tyrendian]

There is of course one massive advantage to having an army painted it is all teh same colour, otherwise if you buy pre-painted from ebay you can end up with an army that is about 50 different shades of red/blue etc.

or worse - my friend's Tau are largely the standard ochre, but he has a blue Fire Warrior squad, a green Crisis, some unpainted stuff... someeimes it's useful (as in "the green dude is the commander/has XY) but mostly it just looks odd...
on the other hand, while none of us have commission painted armies, I would definitely not mind playing against one, so no worries there for you I'd say

[Wolfshade]

My BA suffered from GW rage.

The oldest squads are BA red spray, then there are some painted BA Orange, then some are painted Blood Red. Then there are some with black rimmed shoulder pads, and ones without, night mare! Hence repainting them slowly but surely!

[Pssyche]

One way to look at the cost of somebody painting your army is this...

Estimate how many hours it will take you to paint the models to a good standard.
Work out your hourly rate of pay.
Multiply them together.
Add the cost of paints and modelling tools and equipment.
There's the base cost to you.
Take that away from the cost you will be charged by the painter, let's call it "Painter's Profit"

Now some unquantifiable factors to think about that will have differing values for different people...
How soon would you really, really like to play with a painted army.
How good are your painting skills.
The timescale involved in completing the army if you were to paint it.
How many months you would save by having them painted for you.
What you could do with the time that would be freed up by having your army painted for you.

Now see if you think that the Painter's Profit is higher or lower than the value that you have ascribed to the unquantifiable factors.

You'll know if a painted army is for you.

[Chadddada]

There are lots of places out there that paint armies for people right now. Generally think of it as you are going to pay double to 2.5x of what the army would normally cost. So if the plastic would cost you $1000, it would probably be around $2000-2500 for you to buy the models from them, have them assemble and paint them.

As far as, what do people you play against think? For me, I could care less. I understand the lack of time and don't judge someone on the fact that they don't have time to paint. Go for it IMO.

[Anakzar]

I have seen some very good deals on fully painted armies on E-bay in the 2k range for $300-$500. Those type deals are as is. So while they are fully painted they might not be the models you want in the colors you like.

Also seen some that are commission type. 2k typically runs $1500 - $3000 for those. If you have $4k to spend on an army that should be more than enough... Also you might want to check in with your local shops, a lot of those guys will paint on the side or have people that they can refer you to. And that way you help your local shop out as well as getting a nice painted army. Another plus of this is you could get units added easier that match.

[DarkLink]

Every excuse I've ever heard from someone claiming you should paint your own army came off as arrogant, elitist douchebaggery. Having a busy life should not exclude you from being able to play with a painted army.