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I dont mean to be critical or anything, but maybe someone can explain this to me.

Why would someone use a painting service? Half the fun of the hobby is painting your own figures (49% is modeling and converting them).
They are expensive, in some extreme cases coming to $1 per point (rhinos, for example), on average costing $35 dollars per squad, more for vehicles.
If you just want to get them on the table, you can pick up all you need to get them to tabletop quality at wal-mart for less than $20 bucks. If you want them for display, take the time to learn it yourself, you'll get more out of it in the end.
I guess it's just for people that dont have time, but both modeling and playing are time-consuming, so maybe they're in the wrong hobby.

Not trying to be critical, just confused.

Because some people are horrible at painting but want their units to look really, really good. I'm going to send off my SM Honour Guard to be painted up good and proper so that they stand out from the rest of my army, as I'm a painfully average painter.

Some people dont want to take the time to paint the models, and if they have the money then it makes sense to. Some people just like to play the game, not paint the models.

Some people want professional quality models, but cant do it themselves.

You're confused? I'm confused that you're confused.
Seriously, how can you not understand that sometimes people have more money than time and want their armies to look good?

Canonness Rory wrote:Half the fun of the hobby is painting your own figures...

To you perhaps. Do not presume to know how and for what reasons others may derive enjoyment of this hobby.

I, myself, despise painting. I'm no good at it, find it boring, and would rather spend the 'hobby time' I have doing something I enjoy - playing the game, writing fluff/missions for games and building terrain.

Those are the three things I enjoy most and regard as the most important to my hobby 'experience'. But at no point would I try to force such an opinion down one's throat. Not everyone likes playing the game. Some people are just happy to play whatever and don't care about well written and crafted missions. Some people (and you can see this in the BatRep forum) will play on any old table using whatever's handy as terrain. And none of these people are less than or greater than me. They derive enjoyment from the 'hobby' in different ways that not superior to my way of enjoying the hobby nor are they inferior.

So again, don't presume to know how and for what reasons others may derive enjoyment from this hobby. It shows ignorance and a lack of scope in one's character.



As to your question, I, myself, have never used a painting service. Were I ever to go down that road the reasons would be as I have stated above - I'm no good at it, find it boring, and would rather spend the 'hobby time' I have doing something I enjoy.

ph34r wrote:You're confused? I'm confused that you're confused.
Seriously, how can you not understand that sometimes people have more money than time and want their armies to look good?

If you want your army to look good, learn to do it yourself, you will feel much prouder of it than when it comes back in the mail.
Hell, i remember the first noise marine I painted up to standards I was satisfied with, I was so happy I danced.

So again, don't presume to know how and for what reasons others may derive enjoyment from this hobby. It shows ignorance and a lack of scope in one's character.

Please don't start in with personal insults.

It's not a personal insult. Perhaps read my entire post rather than fishing out something you rail against me for.

It sounds like a personal insult when you are calling me ignorant and saying I am presuming anything. I am simply asking a question, and I am recieving insults mixed-in with answers.

Well thats you. Again, some people dont have the time, and some people dont really care about the personal satisfaction from painting stuff. Do you realize how good buying stuff can feel? Some people like buying stuff.

Also. At this point, I (not you apparantly) wouldnt mind having a 1500 point forgeworld deathgaurd army, painted absolutley brilliantly, even if a didnt paint it.

Some people just like assembling.

Which is why 75% of the armies at my FLGS are unpainted, which is fine by me, but painting services are more expensive than the models sometimes, which seems crazy to me. Maybe I'm in the wrong hobby, not them, because I lack that kind of disposable income.

Just beacuse you dont have the money to, doesnt mean other people dont. I dont have the money, its kinda crazy too. But if i were to start a new army, i might actually want to save up for a long time and hire a painting service. Have you seen what bluetablepainting can do?

Also, unpainted models are terrible looking, even just primed ones. Models that are just basecoated look better.

Also, the people i imagine hiring a painting service are middle-aged men, that are happy spending a portion of thier paycheck (in order to get great looking models)

If you like painting so much, shouldnt you be on the other end, painting other people's models?

Canonness Rory wrote:Which is why 75% of the armies at my FLGS are unpainted, which is fine by me, but painting services are more expensive than the models sometimes, which seems crazy to me. Maybe I'm in the wrong hobby, not them, because I lack that kind of disposable income.

How many models will you paint before it reaches decent table top quality? or before the resell value is above the price people offer to *buy and strip?
Assuming some people only stick with 1 army , it might be cheaper just to commission a painter , ( sure , spend $200 on painting a whole army , resell value goes up )
its like getting a free paint service when you decide to ebay your army.


Above is the (technical) reason.

And here are other reasons you really should realize ,

On the poll threads:
What aspect of miniature wargaming is most important to you?
Social life 17% [ 87 ]
Painting 25% [ 132 ]
Collecting 10% [ 50 ]
Playing the actual games 30% [ 158 ]
Background/Fiction 13% [ 66 ]
Other (Write in) 6% [ 32 ]

Some people can make $50 per hour , and use that to commission a full painted squad.
or spend 5 hours ( $250 worth) and come up with ..... well......

Hope this helps shed some light.

As a painting service I have to say that the people that ask me to paint just generally want a nice table top paint job and simply don't have the time to do it. they also have the disposable income to be able to afford it. There is nothing wrong with people not painting their models. Like HBMC said, everyone has their own part of the hobby they really enjoy.

Like I said, im not trying to insult anyone, no need to get defensive.

There are plenty of models I would like to own in a painted state but are not something I would enjoy painting, most Eldar schemes come to mind, especially Harlequins.

I haven't used one, but if i had the cash and knew one nearish to where i live i would use one simply because i hate actually painting models, i painted my eldar ulthwe so all i had to do was basecoat and add the details

I would because I am not good at painting, do not care to become good at painting, and do not really enjoy painting.

I also do not like to play with unpainted models, and can make the cash to pay someone (A LOT) faster than I could (learn to) paint them.

I have not paid anyone to paint, but I may do so - as there are plenty of folks that enjoy painting and they are good at it.

I have painted my models enough that they do not look BAD, and are legal in most any tourney. When I brought a friend's model to my FLGS one day I was asked by three people "Wow, you are painting your models for real, now?"

So I am pretty sure it is not just my thoughts on my painting "skills".

I hate painting, I don't have steady hands and therefore will never become a quality painter. Also If I purchased all of the materials for painting (and doing a good job) it would come close to costing me the same as a painting service.

Think of it this way, I can add $20 cost to every box I buy and save myself 3-4 hours of painting and end up with a superior product.

Its simple economics. If I can pay someone 20 dollars to do something that takes me 4 hours to do. And my time is WAY more valuable than $5 and hour, why wouldn't I use a painting service?


Oh and people enjoy different aspects of a hobby. Just like some people don't like tournaments, I don't like painting.

I hate painting Infantry, and enjoy painting vehicles. But for the most part Im a player, not a painter so If I did not have to take my Fiance' to the phillipines to meet her parents with her, I would have already paid for my IG army to be finished.

Time is very limited for a lot of people, many, like me have to either choose to spend that time painting or playing they dont have time for both.

Id rather play.

Not everybody can paint. They spend alot of money on the hobby, so they want it to look good on the table. You might say they should learn, but some people just don't have the talent for it. If one could just learn to do something we'd all be millionare atheletes, muscians and actors. Some people who invest in the game to play just don't have the knack for painting. If they have the money to pay for a service, who are we to judge or question them on it?

The reasons are many and varied, as others have already stated and will state in this thread.

But let me tell you why I'm paying someone else to paint my own army for me:
My job has taken me out of my home country. I hardly have any free time as it is, and it would've been impractical to bring all my models and painting supplies with me - nobody plays 40k where I'm at right now. Fortunately, I'm making enough money out here to have my army painted for me while I'm gone and done by the time I get back home. That way, I can immediately pick them up and dive right into tournaments which require all models being painted. Plus, it's a nice little "welcome home" gift to myself for when I get back.

One reason I know of is its a great present to give some one a painted army for Christmas/Birthday/Chanukah/Whatever and the few painting services I've looked at also offer a assembling so say I wanted to get a tau unit for friend of mine even though I know his wife can paint minis like no ones business. It would make a better present if I got them painted up and looking nice.

I travel. Constantly. I have not the time to paint on a regular basis. I have looked at the painting services time and time again. The only thing stopping me is the cash outlay. I can't afford it. So, I bring my paints and models with me traveling. Someday I hope to have enough disposable income to have models painted. I don't enjoy the painting aspect of the game. I enjoy the social aspect; playing, hanging out afterwards, etc. If I could wave a magic wand and have 180 orks painted in 4 weeks instead of carving out sleep time, I would. Not everyone enjoys the painting aspect.

Look at it this way - I can't understand why people would buy the models and paint them without playing - yet some people do. Different strokes for different folks.

Signal wrote:The reasons are many and varied, as others have already stated and will state in this thread.

But let me tell you why I'm paying someone else to paint my own army for me:
My job has taken me out of my home country. I hardly have any free time as it is, and it would've been impractical to bring all my models and painting supplies with me - nobody plays 40k where I'm at right now. Fortunately, I'm making enough money out here to have my army painted for me while I'm gone and done by the time I get back home. That way, I can immediately pick them up and dive right into tournaments which require all models being painted. Plus, it's a nice little "welcome home" gift to myself for when I get back.

Nicely said, thats pretty much the same answer people that commissioned me tells me.

They work on weekdays, and goes to LGS for a game , usually they'll commission a squad or 2 after the game.
by the same time next week , they have the units done and ready to go. So they love looking forward to weekends for so many good reasons

In general people I know use a painting service for one of three reasons:

1. They hate painting themselves

2. They don't have time to paint an entire army and want to be able to play with it in places games that require a completly painted army

3. They suck at painting & don't want their lack of skills to prevent them from competing on a high level for Best overall in tournaments. No matter how hard they try, they can't paint an army to a good tabletop standard (I fall under this).

asugradinwa wrote:

3. They suck at painting & don't want their lack of skills to prevent them from competing on a high level for Best overall in tournaments. No matter how hard they try, they can't paint an army to a good tabletop standard (I fall under this).

One thing I'd like to say about this...I used to really suck at painting myself, but after much work and practice even I was able to improve my painting to table top standard and above. Just because someone sucks at painting does not mean you should simply just give up and pay for someone else to paint for you.

All sorts of reasons why people use painting services ranging from time, motivation, skill, space, and in some cases financial reasons.

Buying primer, paint, base materials, clear-coat spray, airbrush, brushes, etc. all adds up to a costly investment; sometimes it might be cheaper to use a painting service for an army's worth of mini's than having to invest in a ton of supplies.

And if you buy stuff from Ebay, there's a boatload of already painted figs that are in many cases painted well which also helps in terms of saving cash and time.

One reason I had all of my models painted by someone else was because I lost a tournament due to painting scores. I found it INCREDIBLY frustrating that because I was a newer player (at the time) and was not practiced enough in painting that I could lose a tournament because of that, even though my other scores were fine. Granted, painting scores should have nothing to do with tournament play iMHO, but I can't stop certain events from using that metric as a way to judge a winner.

Just two toss my two cents in, I have considered using a painting service, and I am one of the better painters I know.

It all comes down to what you enjoy. I do not like to paint minis. It feels too much like work. If I make one tiny mistake I end up
having to do half the work over again. I have spent two months so far on an army, and have one single mini finished.
And if you make a mistake, it can be an expensive one. I tried to paint Imperial Fists at first, only to discover the horror that
is trying to paint yellow Space Marines, and wasting $30 in the process (10 for Simple Green to strip them the first time, 8 for two pots
of basecoat, 4 for a pot of regular yellow, 8 for a can of primer)

Now I am right back where I started, with a bunch of marines painted crappily. I am going to have to pay all that money again
to get them looking nice. Not to mention the hours and hours and hours of work involved.

My father was a handyman, but he always told me:

"If you don't know what you're doing, don't be afraid to pay a professional. After all, it's their job."

Canonness Rory wrote:I dont mean to be critical or anything, but maybe someone can explain this to me.

Why would someone use a painting service? Half the fun of the hobby is painting your own figures (49% is modeling and converting them).

I've had some figures painted; when money is right I'll have more done.

1. I'm not a good painter.
2. I like having good looking stuff.
3. Half the fun is painting your own figures to YOU. To me, none of the fun is in painting. 100% of the fun is in playing.

I think its absurd that you have $5 per little plastic man that you have to assemble and paint yourself. If I could get around it, I would.