Miniature Painting Commission Rates
Everyone has different needs, requirements and budgets. There is no one-size fits all approach to costing painting work.
For an estimate of costs, feel free to get in touch
Painting Standards
Probably the biggest influence on the cost of commission work is the standard of the paint.
Primer undercoat
Basic cleaning and assembly
Base coat using a few colours
Basic shading and basic highlights
Varnish to protect the paintwork
Use of more colours
Build up more layers
More shading and outlining
More highlighting
Edge highlighting
Fine details
Weathering, rust and battle damage
Example Costs
Here are some examples of how much commission work might cost.
Rank and file soldier
Tabletop Standard
- A simple rocky base
- A few colours
- Basic shadows and highlighting
Higher quality soldiers
Higher quality
- More layers or paint
- Improved highlighting and shadows
Character Models
High Standard
- Many more colours
- Many layers of paint
- Lots of highlights and shadows
- More fine details
Large vehcile
Tabletop Standard
- Basic assembly
- Single coloured hull
- Highlights and shadows
- Some additional details
Higher quality vehcile
Higher quality
- Added weathering, wear and tear
- More elaborate base
Flagship Vechile
Very High Standard
- Many more colours
- Many layers of paint
- Lots of highlights and shadows
- More fine details
- Battle damage
Other Cost Considerations
See below for information on other considerations that affect cost
Basing
The appearance of a model is greatly affected by the base that it is on. A simple “rock” base is often enough, especially if the rock colour contrasts with the miniature’s paint scheme.
People often build an army or miniature collection with a common theme for their bases, for example, they all have snowy base representing the environment of the planet Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back
Varnishing
By default, models get a single coat of a matt varnish to protect the paintwork. It may be that more varnish is required, say if you expect models to get handled more than usual.
You may also want a satin or gloss varnish on parts of the model (say, on bright white Stormtrooper armour), or all over the model.
Painting techniques
There are often a number of different ways to approach painting a miniature . Some methods are quicker than others. This especially applies to large models.
Cleaning
Most models have some kind of production defect – for example – mould lines.
If your models have a non-trivial amount of cleaning required, this may add to the time to the project.
Not all defects have to be removed, however.
Pre-assembled models
Pre-assembled models typically take longer to paint and may result in painting defects due to hard-to-reach areas.
Large models (eg, vehicles)
Usually larger models take more time and paint, but this is not always the case.
Batching-up
Painting many of the same type of miniature at once can often reduce the cost of painting them slightly.
Complex models
Some models are naturally more time-consuming to paint. For example, models with faces take longer than models that have helmets or hats that cover the face.
Games Workshop’s models, for example, are often superbly details. This comes with the downside that they can take longer to paint than say, a 3D printed Stormtrooper.
Extra Photography
One miniatures are finished, you’ll be sent some photos for your approval. Additional photos can be arranged.