"What to Charge" Topic

A friend of mine recently asked me what I would charge to paint some figures for him, and I really have no idea what would be a fair price. What would be an appropriate fee for painting 15mm and 28mm infantry figures to what I will modestly describe as a "pretty good" standard? How about vehicles in each scale? Any information will be very much appreciated.

Have any samples of your work?

I do some painting for acquaintences, and I generally charge them $2.50 USD for a 28mm figure including basing. I might charge more for a more complicated figure.

It all depends on how good the paint jobs are. For a basic block painting job, $2.50 USD for a 28mm figure sounds about right. For a figure with shading and highlighting, I charge between $8 USD and $15 USD a foot figure.

Agree. And for 15mm $1 USD each, again assuming we're not talking Napoleonic Higlanders here, but SciFi or simepl uniforms like ACW.

I can get very cheap painting done…

I can get very good painting done…

I can get a very quick return of painted figures….

Pick one!

I have paid for quality for an individual role playing miniature… and it cost two to three times the miniature plus about a fiver.

I have had painted twenty four figure units, with highlighting and washes, painted for half the metal cost, when my friendly speed painter needed some money quick.

My friends sometimes paint the odd figure or two… for me, I treat them to a proper lunch out with drinks.

If it's a business arrangement… work out how long it takes to do a figure on average, and then calculate at minimum wage how much it costs.

You also need to consider the degree (if any) of assembly required. This takes time and glue. A five piece tank in 15mm is a snap compared to some multi-part 28mm vehicles.

I've been painting for a few acquaintances for many years now and find I tend to charge less that if I was doing it professionally. My standard is 2 to 3 hi-lights over a block paint with a under paint-on "dip" there is a bit of time with shields, faces, etc. So a good "standard" job I also throw in basing and self made (on the PC) flags I'm charging at the moment $4 USD per foot guy and double that for horse mounted bigger stuff is on a model by model bases, if my mates are not in town they pay postage as well.

Now that may or may not seem a lot but it does take time and it does hit the eyes so they lay down the mula and I crack on (2013 painted 60 moors, 60 Landsknecht 70 old Saxon fryd and 200 WW2 Germans and Russians plus 6 vehicles, this does help me out but does nothing for my own stuff ;-( and in the end it can be taxing so I'm planing to up my prices a bit as it would be a real chore to my mates who have money but no time, so a fair exchange in the end- sorry these are all 28mm(15mm are done as units but because they are fiddly to do I charge about 80% of the bigger stuff) and I've managed about 80+ of my own figures sneaked in and finally as it is an exchange of money for paint and skill, I tend to do the right thing and stay focused (this is a fair amount of my income at this time) and I usually have the 60 odd figures done in about 3 weeks depending (weird but those drab berber types took 4 weeks..Christmas time;-).

Another thing I don't paint at night its too hard on the eyes and enthusiasm, no matter how young you are get in to it early morning if you can instead, more done and better results and when them eyes say to you "tired" stop. Hope this all helps and happy painting. Cheers. Now to win the lottery and get my stuff painted ha!

These are for a friend? Don't charge too much then. What ever you and your friend work out.

I am in Zargon's camp, IF I were to paint I would charge a nominal price but I truly cherish my personal paint time for MY stuff. You might think me selfish but I rarely paint these days. I need too as it is good for the soul so to speak :-)
I have rarely sold anything I have painted for this reason. Too much heart and soul goes into what I do to just sell it. I have painted for prizes for a tournament. Those that paint a lot more often, can afford to be generous.

Having said all this, if someone were new to miniatures and I could tell that me painting for them would get them going and they were really enthusiastic about the hobby, I would paint them stuff up gratis. I believe in doing whatever I can to support the hobby locally first.

I think John the OFM charges $2 USD a figure for 25mm foot figure for friends. But again, these are prices for friends :-) I don't see a problem with charging more as whatever you do will probably be better for the price than almost any painting service I can think of :-)

To be clear, I am painting these for a friend, but he plans to sell the figures. Painting figures for a friend to use would be entirely different.

Why not start small? Paint a week's worth, for a low-ball price, and see how you feel about it at the end. Was it worth it? or did you find yourself dreading it and regretting the agreement? I'd avoid a long commitment until I knew how I felt about the work versus the money.

I would say charge what ever you would normally charge for this type of commission. Since the friend is not planning on using them in a game you happen to play together there is no reason charge any less. Really need to know what type of miniatures you are talking about to give you an idea what to charge.