"mini cost and pro-painting" Topic

Okay, we are in early stages of this, but I now have stl files (from Knuckleduster) of things like dead horses and bison and standing horses for my dismounted rangers, and so forth. Once you have the 3d printer the minis are only pennies each. It will not be long before I can get some really nice minis for maybe a third of what I pay now, buying the stl files and printing as many as I want.

I have only rarely paid Fernando to paint for me, but -- especially as I get old -- I think that will be far more attractive when the money I save on the minis can go into a pro paint job. TOTAL cost to me might stay the same, within my hobby budget.

Thoughts?

Knuckleduster has just started to release stl files (for personal use only, per end user agreement) for their Old West factions, which have a half a dozen gunfighters in mounted and dismounted versions. If you only get one the cost is pretty close to what you pay for their own-printed physical mini, but a lot of the cowboys are generic enough that I'd want three of four of each painted distinctly. Counting the cost of the stl, which is about $4 USD/figure for the mounteds, and with resin prices, I think were I to do say 2o riders and same on foot, each to be painted uniquely, it would come to maybe $2 USD or $3 USD per pair, which is 20% or 30% of normal. At that cost for the "lead: -- the resin -- I can easily justify paying for a good paint job.

Of course I enjoy painting my own, but there are times when you have money but not TIME, or when the octogenarian eyes just are not up to it anymore.

Age can certainly affect one's desire to paint. The figs I recently completed could easily be the last ones I paint.

The figs I recently completed could easily be the last ones I paint.

My brother, who was my last wargaming buddy (and had been for the last ~55 years) passed away in 2024 with MND. I didn't paint at all for 9 months after that, and now I only paint to finish off armies.

I enjoy the painting. The difficulty in finding opponents is frustrating, but at least I have the joy of creating the miniature army--or even the complete miniatures game.

That said, if you don't enjoy the painting, or the quality of your own work bothers you, by all means talk to a pro. As noted, the price of a figure is falling rapidly.

robert, yes, and increasingly I am playing solo, and writing rules and scenarios and such.