Pricing a well painted army...

[Ast4rtes]

What is the going rate of commissioners these days? How much do painters charge?

Per infantry model? Per vehicle? Per character?

[BuFFo]

What is the going rate of commissioners these days? How much do painters charge?

Per infantry model? Per vehicle? Per character?

Whatever you want.

[Petite Francois]

Hi Ast4tes,
I don't know a lot about pro-painting, but I did hear one of the hosts of 40K radio quote some prices from one of their sponsors. A nice table top paintjob with protective colored sealant 'Dip' was under $2 a model. They said they'd seen higher grade paintjobs go for $5-10, even $25 dollars, I believe. But it varies a lot from place to place, so your best bet is checking out specific companies and knowing what you're willing to spend/charge in advance.

Best of luck!
Frankie

[Stubber]

We've all seen "Pro Painted" stuff on ebay and we know that most of us could do a better job if we drunk while painting. The main point that effects price should be the quality of the work. Do you want something that looks good at a glance or a masterpiece work of art, after that you can haggle the price all you want.

[Lerra]

Collectors will pay many hundreds of dollars for a single figure that is exceptionally painted. There are also painting services out there that will paint your whole army for free if you buy the figures through them (example: they get a $35 box of space marines from GW for $20 because they are a vendor, paint it, and sell the completed models for $35). It really does run the whole gamut.

If you're the painter, it's probably easiest to charge by the hour, or estimate how long the project will take to complete and use your target hourly wage to set a price.

[Polonius]

As has been stated, there is literally no standard price. With the internet and the current economy, there's no shortage of people willing to paint armies for cheap. it all depends on what you want to pay, and what quality you expect. In general, you get what you pay for, although there are plenty of counter examples. Bartertown has a forum dedicated to painters for hire, you can post what you want painted and they'll quote you a price.

One factor to keep in mind: shipping. Packaging and shipping a full army costs money, and a lot of the time it goes two ways. that's ~$40 that you've spent before any paint goes on a model. sometimes dealing locally can avoid that.