What's the going rate for commission work?

Some of the folks I know charge anywhere from $30-110 per hour. Depending on the complexity of the build it can get pretty expensive, but you get what you pay for. Some charge separately for the kit and any aftermarket accessories, some roll it into the hour charge.

If you are considering entering the bizz start out with what you are comfortable charging. As your reputation grows so will your fees. But if you are not an above average modeler who places well at contests, you may be in for an up hill battle finding customers.

Nothing pisses a customer off more than seeing something done that is twice as good for the same price he paid for the what he purchased. The surge in the ready made kits are putting the pinch on commission builds for the common subjects. The next generation of releases will be hard to beat even by a good builder, they are that good.  

Here is a link to hyperscale, bret green is selling some models and he is asking top dollar for it.

 http://www.clubhyper.com/modelshop_10.htm

 

 

As a general guideline, I use 3X the price of the model for an OOB build with a few corrections or additions and mounted on a simple wooden base with minimal ground work.  For example, a $25 tank kit, I will sell for $75 built and mounted on a base.  If I am adding resin or a doing a major conversion, figures, buildings, etc., I generally come to an agreed upon price with the buyer before building it.  For a dio with a couple vehicles and 4-5 figures and a building, I would generally charge about $200, but it depends on the subject.

I've built two car models that I've sold. Both of them for about $100 ea. This covers all my expenses with a little extra for me. I kinda figure cost plus about $60 depending on the detail desired for the build.



This is the first car I built to sell. It's a replica of one of my old instructors Land speed record holding ElCamino.
I won't say exactly what I sold it for, but it was almost twice I paid for in supplies.

Mike

Here's an example at the Andrea figure site:

WINCHESTER 73 54 mm 1/32

Kit 23,72 €   Painted 98,80 €

An outstanding diorama builder we have here locally sells many of his finished builds in the $70 to $100 range for his smaller pieces (1 or 2 small vehicles and up to 12 figures) all the way up to $200 - $300 for his larger pieces like a recent 36" x 18" railgun and locomotive at a rail depot he built. However, and I should stress this, he does NOT charge for labor! His only motivation is to recoop his expenses to build the next diorama.

I guess the simple answer is to charge whatever the buyer will pay. I know that sounds simple, but our builds are really no different than any other piece of artwork, collectible, or valued item...the market will ultimately determine a price based on the desire of someone to own the item. The ideal situation is for 2 or 3 people to ALL want the item very much and the price will rise as they each try to over bid the others.

$10 per hour doesn't sound overly high-priced, but you may find that even at that rate, many people may be priced out of the negotiations. My advice would be to give it a shot and see what happens...