Commission advice

Tanker - Builder

 Are you used to working to a deadline ? It's the hardest thing to do when you are the Contractor , Laborer and Publicist , Oh ! and Secretary and Gofer !

Hi;

   What I usually do is this . First , find out to what level they want the build .Builders Models , Normally seen in Shipyard offices and Shipping offices are Not super detailed in one way .They do not weather or superdetail with P.E. or figures.

 If they want a detailed , ( artistically ) model then that's higher in price . Figure labor for your first contract at the level G. Morrison suggests . Now I do get about that , well actually more , But they are " Museum " ( Presentation level ) models , Or actual models of working craft with super - super details . The Clients seem to like that .

  Mostly it's just a model . And many want it done to a photo or a drawing seen somewhere .Do NOT let anyone tell you it's easy . Are you used to working to a deadline ? It's the hardest thing to do when you are the Contractor , Laborer and Publicist , Oh ! and Secretary and Gofer !

     This is all said with a hearty , Good Luck !  Tanker - Builder

Great info and tips. I'll see what happens today and post pics if I get the build.

$ 500 base, $ 1000 deluxe and be sure and quote both, which probably nets you $ 10/ hour if you are lucky.

When I estimate labor, which I sell for a living; I look at three things.

1) What it'll cost me to do it if I value my time on profit+compensation, no overhead.

That math is usually 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 so the no-overhead gives the customer a 33% break.

2) What the customer can stomach. Who can say, but that is the deal.

3) What another builder would charge. Actually that is the easiest, because if you are honest about 1 and 2 above, so would another good provider be.

As for resources, steelnavy and modelwarships have great WIP threads. look at stuff like "calling all RN modern ship fans", "calling all frigate fans", that kind of thing. We ship builders are a pretty plain spoken crew.

For a basic finish, charge about 3-5 times the average cost of the kit.  For a more deluxe finish, 10-12 times the kit cost.  The cost recommendations are based on the kit or finished prices from BlueJacket Shipcrafters.   

You might also want to do some sort of basic contract for the work.  Some items to consider in the contract are: description of the project; payment terms (deposit & balance due); delivery date; and delivery of work to customer.  Do a search for "artist contracts" or "model commission contracts".