I wanted to solicit some input from the board members here. I have many hand painted figures in both plastic and metal. A majority of the figures that I have, were relatively inexpensive for me to obtain, as I mold many of the metal ones myself, and I find inexpensive plastic figures to purchase. But I put of lot of time and effort into the painting and/or conversion process to create the final product. In your opinion, what do you think a fair price is for a painted figure?
Opinions on pricing of painted figures (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter GIGene
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aujj65
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Good question....I have painted many hundreds of figures, all of them in the traditional gloss style and all have been sold over the years. I buy the castings and after cleaning, assembling, undercoating and finally painting I feel that I have produced a figure that is as good (or may be even slightly better) than the prepainted available from that manufacturer and so I put a similar (or a little above) price on the figures. As you point out a lot of time and effort goes into this process and is certainly a labour of love (if you work out the hourly rate), but....I do it because I enjoy it!
Jeff
Jeff
kilted vampire
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Jeff I agree with you! Painting for us is a joy. I sometimes think tjat I would like to make some kind of business of it. But I would probably not be able to survive on it.
To answer your guestion Gene look at the prices in the catalogs. Figure out where your quality lies and then rate your figures, price accordingly. San Diego Toy Soldiers sells there painted plastic figures about six to eight dollars for foot figures. They are fairly crude for detail work but good for filling holes in a dio. Please show us some figures
My two cents is, that it is strictly up to you. Gary Dutko gets $8.00 a plastic fig just converted. If you like the soldiers you produce by converting and painting, you set the price. As you know, some converts take longer than others. Some times you need to cut up three guys, to make that what you deem perfect figure. The quality of the paint job will be viewed differently by each person that views it. Some of my painted converts, I would not part with at any price. They have special meaning to me, and I remember doing them at different times. Kind of like certain songs or smells. So I would say, the price is up to you.Mike
kilted vampire
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My two cents is, that it is strictly up to you. Gary Dutko gets $8.00 a plastic fig just converted. If you like the soldiers you produce by converting and painting, you set the price. As you know, some converts take longer than others. Some times you need to cut up three guys, to make that what you deem perfect figure. The quality of the paint job will be viewed differently by each person that views it. Some of my painted converts, I would not part with at any price. They have special meaning to me, and I remember doing them at different times. Kind of like certain songs or smells. So I would say, the price is up to you.Mike
Mod and Fish are the Gaekwars of Modification
I know, I do conversions too. At one point I used to say; "I would never cut up a figure"! Now I can't look at a plastic figure without seeing what it could be! As I'm sure you have already figured out, I'm a collector and wanna-be dealer. Though I'm only using the dealer part to fund the hobby part, nothing wrong with that I guess! But I DO LOVE PAINTING FIGURES! It really has become one of the more relaxing things that I do. I paint for me, but I want to also paint my figures for a little profit. I asked here, because I want to be fair. I've often looked at my collection of dime store figures and wondered about who might have once owned them, did they make a kid smile? Did they decorate the shelve of a collector? Were they used in kids mock battles? etc etc. I would hope some of my figures around around for a few generations! Thanks for the continuing input.
fishead19690
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I guess it would all depend on how well the figure was painted and also how much someone is willing to pay for that figure.
I have seen plastic foot figures sell from $4.50-$10.00 each and the quality has varied very much from figure to figure with better painted figures sometimes selling for less then figures that looked like the painter was blind folded???
The price of the unpainted figures would facter in as some figures are more costly then others. And some figures have much more detail and colors per figure or require more time and tecnique to complete.
Mounted figures,flag bearers and drummers ect. would be more work also and if a figure is to be converted as well as painted that could add to the cost also, even more so if the conversion requires parts from various figures.
Myself I couldn,t be bothered with trying to paint for profit. I like to paint figures when I,m in the mood and don,t have to many to paint at once, taking all the fun out of it for me. I,m no great painter but I think I paint a figure to a point where its good enough to mix them into a diorama with a bunch of other figures and have them look alright when seen in mass but to even to get the figures to that level it takes me quite a bit of time and the time it takes me to paint a figure to that standard I can,t see selling the figure for $5-$8 like most painted plastics sell for??? Besides when I create something like a conversion or my self painted figures it has a personal feel to it and I don,t want to part with it.
I guess if you really enjoy painting them and don,t mind parting with them and can make bucks its a different ball game.
So to answer your question from what I have seen the average price for painted plastics is average between $5-$8 each but Quality of the paint job and price of the base unpainted figure factor in as do mounted figures and flag bearers.
I have seen mounted figures from $8-$15 each and flag bearers around the same as mounted, depending on the flag detail.
I have seen plastic foot figures sell from $4.50-$10.00 each and the quality has varied very much from figure to figure with better painted figures sometimes selling for less then figures that looked like the painter was blind folded???
The price of the unpainted figures would facter in as some figures are more costly then others. And some figures have much more detail and colors per figure or require more time and tecnique to complete.
Mounted figures,flag bearers and drummers ect. would be more work also and if a figure is to be converted as well as painted that could add to the cost also, even more so if the conversion requires parts from various figures.
Myself I couldn,t be bothered with trying to paint for profit. I like to paint figures when I,m in the mood and don,t have to many to paint at once, taking all the fun out of it for me. I,m no great painter but I think I paint a figure to a point where its good enough to mix them into a diorama with a bunch of other figures and have them look alright when seen in mass but to even to get the figures to that level it takes me quite a bit of time and the time it takes me to paint a figure to that standard I can,t see selling the figure for $5-$8 like most painted plastics sell for??? Besides when I create something like a conversion or my self painted figures it has a personal feel to it and I don,t want to part with it.
I guess if you really enjoy painting them and don,t mind parting with them and can make bucks its a different ball game.
So to answer your question from what I have seen the average price for painted plastics is average between $5-$8 each but Quality of the paint job and price of the base unpainted figure factor in as do mounted figures and flag bearers.
I have seen mounted figures from $8-$15 each and flag bearers around the same as mounted, depending on the flag detail.
kilted vampire
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Let us see some of your stuff in the how to section or the dios
Sure, I'll need to snap some digital photos, give me a day or so to do that.
I have paid a poster here this forum about $10.00 per figure to paint some plastic Barzso Lewis and Clark figures. So that'll give you an idea. I had posted pictures of these figures she did for me here on forum somewhere.
So IMO , I think $10-12 for painted plastic is okay for higher quality paint jobs, not lke the Conte lesser painted Civil War figures he released a few years back.
The painter who did mine - her prices ranged from $5-$15 for standard 54mm plastic or metal.
Good luck ,
Greg
So IMO , I think $10-12 for painted plastic is okay for higher quality paint jobs, not lke the Conte lesser painted Civil War figures he released a few years back.
The painter who did mine - her prices ranged from $5-$15 for standard 54mm plastic or metal.
Good luck ,
Greg