I want to get my Kickstarter Reaper Bones minis painted, but not sure what to do.

[pogre]

Another thought: You might want to make a post in the Painters Wanted Forum over at Bartertown.com. I should think a post similar to the one you made here would get you several bids/offers from painters and painting companies.

Bartertown Painters Wanted Forum

 

[Riocardio]

Is it too late if I propose a miniature painting serivice company?

 

[MGibster]

I would suggest you host a painting party. Basically you provide the paint, brushes, and figures, (and snacks) and your friends do all the painting. But, this will not guarantee quality or any sort of uniformity. Also you'll have to host this a couple times to put a dent in hundreds of minis.

When I read the OP I immediately thought of this as well. Don't expect quality or any sort of uniformity, but these are Bones miniatures we're talking about. I mean, they're not bad for what you paid for but we're not exactly talking boutique miniatures here. And even a bad paint job is going to look better than white plastic.

My question is, these minis need to be re-based and many of them need parts glued together. I was wondering if minis painters prefer to have them based & all glued together before they start painting?

That depends on the painter I guess. For me, like I said above, these aren't boutique miniatures, and the soft plastic they use for the line often results in poor detail and bent weapons so I'm not putting a whole lot of effort into these suckers to make sure they look good. i.e. The odds of me putting them on a different base are close to non-existent.

I'll make some exceptions for some of their bigger models. Many of those are fantastic miniatures for the price and it's just well spent money in my book.

None of my players paint minis. I would prefer someone that can paint them in a style that I like (I do art for a living, so I'm picky). I went to a FLGS nearby and met a few employees there that were really nice guys.

On Youtube, Squidmar paid some artists from Fiverr to paint a few Warhammer miniatures using his tutorials as a guide. He got some great looking miniatures but a regular sized miniatures was $40 and a squad of 8 came out to $30 a each. If you're picky, then I think commissioned work for that many miniatures is going to be prohibitively expensive.

But, hey, if you're not too picky about quality I'll paint your regular sized Bones Miniatures for $5 each! Let's start out small with an order of 20. Below is my Bones Cthulhu which is a work in progress

 

[Bawylie]

It takes me 2-4 hours to paint a mini, depending on size and complexity/detail. I charge $50/hr for my time.

Because I value my time at that rate, I have not painted most of my own minis. I tend to, instead, color code them by type. Along the lines of Magic the Gathering’s 5 color scheme. (Although, there’s a backlog even for that). I do a full job on PCs, recurring NPCs, and a few notable villains.

I’ve also purchased paper minis from trash mob minis, which take about 5 minutes to assemble. There’s a KS on that right now that I’ve backed. It’s just a much better use of my time (which, to me, is too expensive to waste on skeleton #18).

 

[Bawylie]

When I read the OP I immediately thought of this as well. Don't expect quality or any sort of uniformity, but these are Bones miniatures we're talking about. I mean, they're not bad for what you paid for but we're not exactly talking boutique miniatures here. And even a bad paint job is going to look better than white plastic.


That depends on the painter I guess. For me, like I said above, these aren't boutique miniatures, and the soft plastic they use for the line often results in poor detail and bent weapons so I'm not putting a whole lot of effort into these suckers to make sure they look good. i.e. The odds of me putting them on a different base are close to non-existent.

I'll make some exceptions for some of their bigger models. Many of those are fantastic miniatures for the price and it's just well spent money in my book.


On Youtube, Squidmar paid some artists from Fiverr to paint a few Warhammer miniatures using his tutorials as a guide. He got some great looking miniatures but a regular sized miniatures was $40 and a squad of 8 came out to $30 a each. If you're picky, then I think commissioned work for that many miniatures is going to be prohibitively expensive.

But, hey, if you're not too picky about quality I'll paint your regular sized Bones Miniatures for $5 each! Let's start out small with an order of 20. Below is my Bones Cthulhu which is a work in progress

View attachment 134173

You’re under-charging by miles, friend.

 

[MGibster]

You’re under-charging by miles, friend.

You don't know what a $5 miniature I paint is going to look like.

 

[Bawylie]

You don't know what a $5 miniature I paint is going to look like.

If you spend even 10 minutes and 2 colors on it, you’re working at a loss lol

 

[Retreater]

If you spend even 10 minutes and 2 colors on it, you’re working at a loss lol

You're suggesting a rate higher than some professional carpenters and plumbers.

 

[MGibster]

If you spend even 10 minutes and 2 colors on it, you’re working at a loss lol

You're not kidding. But I'm not looking at it from the perspective of someone who is actually trying to make money. The few times I've done commissions, and it's been a long, long time, I looked at it as making a little extra scratch to pay for paints and brushes while simultaneously giving me time to practice my skills. I am not a pro level painter and I'll never win any awards for what I do. But I find it relaxing, I enjoy it, and a painted miniature on the table looks better than bare metal or plastic.

 

[Bawylie]

You're not kidding. But I'm not looking at it from the perspective of someone who is actually trying to make money. The few times I've done commissions, and it's been a long, long time, I looked at it as making a little extra scratch to pay for paints and brushes while simultaneously giving me time to practice my skills. I am not a pro level painter and I'll never win any awards for what I do. But I find it relaxing, I enjoy it, and a painted miniature on the table looks better than bare metal or plastic.
View attachment 134201

Looks beautiful.