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Hello! I'll keep this short as it may not be the most relevant topic. I'm a manual worker who plans on quitting their job soon since injuries are getting worse as are conditions.

I'm very creative but I've not had much practice in anything since i'm either sleeping or playing games most my time. There is one thing I enjoy doing and can do very well.

I'm very good at model prepping. I know this isn't an impressive skill but I guess people must find it boring due to the amount of models i see that have clearly been badly prepped. I wouldn't mind eventually going into painting, and custom models (i'm an ok painter for the 2 months exp I have, and the same goes for modelling with green stuff.) Since my work as labourer I haven't been able to enjoy any of this.

What i'm asking is if there would be any work for a model prepper, taking a box of models and sending them back fully assembled, with all mold lines removed (i'm very good at spotting these pre-paint) and all part seals filled in with green stuff (I tend to find the heads of mounts get these down the centre a lot. I would also take any spare parts provided to be used to modify / enhance models in whatever way the customer wanted (humourous, badass, futuristic).

Because of post costs i'd probably have to do this purely in enlgand for it to be a realistic service. (I'd still appreciate opinions from elsewhere though!).. I'd probably charge the postage costs I had to cover + £6 per hour of work, so a box of 10 basic figures might take at most 2 hours which would be around £16 - £18 with what i'm guessing would be about £4 - £6 postage. Postage i guess would be less when more models are sent at once and newly purchased boxes could be sent straight to me from the seller to save it completely. I would ofcourse offer a quote before the work if the customer wanted one, and would stick to the quote once agreed on.

It's an odd job to me but i've known people do mass commissions of say 120+ figures where they've only painted them (to a basic standard) for something like £150. It's a hobby where a lot of people seem happy to throw whatever money at it and a lot of em end up flogging it anyway.

Anyway it'd be great to hear from people if this could be a realistic way of earning a living for sometime, until I can advance my music and painting and such.

I'd be surprised if there was much/any money to be made in just doing that.

There is a ton of money to be made doing that.

I'm one of the people who actually care about properly prepped miniatures, and the vast majority of painting services out there are underwhelming.

Not only that, but there's also massive pain involved with assembling resin kits, which I'm sure you have no trouble with, according to your statement.

What I would do if I were you, is contact as many painting services in the country and offer top-notch assembly services .

You can work outside of the UK, but the minimum order size goes up as postage does.


As it is something many hobbyists hate/despise/would rather avoid, there is a CLEAR business opportunity, even with people who are adamant on painting their own miniatures.

Don't hesitate to PM if you want more business advice.


Why this will make money:
- high quality service
- low competition (compared to painting)
- wider market
- strong B2B opportunities (compared to painting)
- I fething hate assembling miniatures, and I'm not the only one

inbredchimera wrote:
I'd probably charge the postage costs I had to cover + £6 per hour of work,

Are you looking to this as income to support you? Or pin money for something you enjoy anyway to be done in your spare time? If it's the first, you are pricing significantly below UK minimum wage rates for anyone over 20. You'd also have to account for costs of tools, glue, green stuff etc which although they would be low per model, would have to be covered in that £6/ hour.

It's an interesting idea. Do you have experience magnetizing miniatures? It would be another way to add value to your service.

I imagine that there is a market in the bigger kits, for example, the only thing that has prevented me from buying a titan is that I can't bear the idea of assembling one. I'll grit my teeth through 100 marines, but no way I'm going through the hassle of anything that size. The only thing is though, I'd want to see a proven track record if I'm handing over a kit that price.

Thankyou all I was slightly worried the response would be purely pessimistic!

I'll respond in the rder I read comments..

I wasn't sure whether there would be any market for it, though I have noticed that in displays, dioramas and showcases (especially in game workshop stores) the quality of painting might be decent enough to thoroughly impress a stranger to miniature painting but the prepping clearly was not a priority. Flash, part seals and sometimes bubbles are present and i quite bugs me.

I had suspected due to this that many other people do not enjoy assembling miniatures. What is B2B?

And yeah, higher postage allowing larger orders makes sense. Resin is ok i think as long as it isn't citadel finecast. In the 4-5 times i've worked with them I still can't undertand how they sell, the casts are such a mess, and so so flexible and soft. swords and spears and the like, they just don't hold a realistic shape. .. Still, i'd do what I could.

I would start with fairly low prices and work hours just so i keep keep a job going alongside for a little while. I suppose i'd also have to consider tax which might make it not worth it atall but I don't know if tax is based on overall income or per individual sources of income. Once i'd got a decent customer base to provide semi-steady work and vouch for me I'd up the hourly price to whatever I thought reflected the value of the service.


I have experience magnetizing which I have little issue with, though i've not done this for a larger model yet (10cm+), only tiddy ones. Pinning I have done both to repair models (along with greenstuff) and to reinforce potentially weak models that are expecte to undergo a busy life. As I said, greent stuff skills are enough to cover damage areas or casting flaws, I suspect I would eventually be able to add limbs / clothing and offer a custom model / modified model service. That said I may stick purely to good quality mass model prep until I can start earning from music.

Bigger kits (as long as it fits through the door) don't bother me.. and yeah I suspect I would need accountability to take on huge kits of significant value. I also currently know nothing about shipping these kits once assembled, I assume it can be done in parts but I don't know what the costs might be.

Thanks for the info though guys, really helpful and good to see it's an option!

Your market may well be existing Miniature Painters.

The few I know that are popular and often have extensive backlogs of painting work.

They like painting and I'd suggest that they would prefer to do more painting than prep/making.

You need to be making at least 15/hour tbh.

That said, if you focus on the more lucrative high end market and B2B for volume, it should be possible.

B2B means business to business, i.e. the existing miniature painting services.

Are you good at prepping forgeworld/resin models? Most people are not experienced prepping resin due to the high cost of the models and concerned about making mistakes in the learning phase. (Makes their mistakes more expensive.)

I know people who paid money to have blue table painting to porely prep their forgeworld models... I do not think their is as much market for having plastics prepped.

I'm in the U.S. but I have paid for prep-only services, and I would do so again. (It was a paint studio.) I have limited hobby time so skipping that step is worth the price.

I would start with fairly low prices and work hours just so i keep keep a job going alongside for a little while. I suppose i'd also have to consider tax which might make it not worth it atall but I don't know if tax is based on overall income or per individual sources of income

In the UK, it's based on overall income. You've got a tax-free allowance of up to £11,000 a year, and you pay tax on anything you earn more than that, regardless of the source of income.

It seems like a decent idea, and I'm sure that there are at least a few people out there who would appreciate the service – I suspect that there are as many people who'd pay for proper prep as for a painting service; the question is whether you can make it work for you.

Whether you set up for a proper small business which will allow you to claim on expenses like craft knives, glue, a computer (for invoicing) etc.; or simply work cash in hand, is up to you. Setting up a cheap or free webpage (even a blog) to demonstrate your work and to give a point of contact would be a good way to reassure people to try your service out, as would clear pricing and some testimonials from people you've assembled stuff for.

 JamesY wrote:
the only thing that has prevented me from buying a titan is that I can't bear the idea of assembling one. I'll grit my teeth through 100 marines, but no way I'm going through the hassle of anything that size.

Whereas I don't mind working at a single larger model, but the thought of scraping each and every component of 100 marines makes me weak at the knees. I don't mind assembly, but I hate scraping mould lines, and though I'm a cheapskate the idea of handing over a box of sprues and saying "clean these up" has a certain appeal.

Personally, I'd keep on with the sculpting too, which might pay a little better if you can do it well and fast enough. (It's usually per item than per hour) In both cases I'd ask: got any examples? Any pics that show off your results?

 Vermis wrote:
Personally, I'd keep on with the sculpting too, which might pay a little better if you can do it well and fast enough. (It's usually per item than per hour) In both cases I'd ask: got any examples? Any pics that show off your results?

I know you've done some cracking sculpts @Vermis - did you ever take it further and sell them or get them cast up?

To the OP - I have friends who break out is a sweat when the thought of pinning, gap-filling, working with resin comes up. And I can't convert models with GS to save my life. And while I can magnetise big models, the thought of working with little 2-3mm magnets just puts me right off. I'm sure there's a market out there.

Get yourself a FB page and get marketing on the forums! Approach the companies selling the models with a video of your work on their models and see if they'll host or pay. Showcase your work at local games shows. There are courses for business startups, and an accountant will give you a free hour or so to take you through the basics of setting up a company. You can earn a LOT more before tax than the £11k for salaried employees if you do things right.

As Vermis says, pictures and videos are everything. You can make some money from Youtube views as well, and you may well be able to do some vids of the bigger and more difficult models out there.

Best of luck!