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So today as I am finishing priming my Reaver it occurred to me that the end cost of my titan is much higher than the purchase cost alone. Even things like primer have a much more noticeable cost when you end up using 3 full cans. Other costs are durable items like tools which aren't used up and I can use in the future like slide clamps. I decided to put together a list of my costs up to this point(keeping in mind I haven't gone beyond priming it since the primer is currently drying.


Consumed items:
Reaver kit w/ 2 weapons $1000
Magnets $100
3 cans of Citadel Primer $45
5 various super glues $25
2 Green stuff $20
1/8" and 3/16" brass rods $10
1 gallon Simple Green $15
2 rolls paper towels $2
2 Dust masks $10
My time $priceless


Durable items
2 small slide clamps $15
1 large slide clamp $20
1" Forstner drill bit $10
Sculpting tool $6

So a $1,000 model had an additional $278 in other direct costs(that I can think of at the moment). I'm wondering if this is a fair scaled cost for our regular models(+~28%) when we buy a model, what we will end up spending on it total, or does a titan end up having a skewed version of that?

Yeah, something as big as a titan is going to have a noticeable material cost, but it's nothing like what you're saying. That's all on your shoulders. I'm not sure how you managed to go through $278 of additional materials, but that's all your fault and has nothing at all to do with the model.

I have no idea how you somehow managed to blow $100 on magnets but that was certainly a waste. I assembled my titans with rare earth magnets so that the waist, torso, and arms can be easily removed for transport and storage, and total cost for one might be $15 max.

Same with how you blew through 5 whatevers of super glue. Starting off with one full bottle of locktite is more than enough.

Primer usage also seems massively wasteful. I can basecoat a reaver with one full 180 ml can of tamiya primer. You used 1200ml. Where did it all go?

2 what of green stuff? I buy the 100g tubes for $14, and have never needed more than a small fraction for an entire titan.

Simple green doesn"t count, unless you used that to deal with the mold release instead of soap and water.

Ultimately, yeah, $278 is a lot to spend on additional materials, but really, a reasonable total should've been a fifth of what you spent.

Also, everything I've seen says simple green should be reusable.

My future costs would be lower, since I learned a few key lessons, however some things, like seeing several magnets smash each other to pieces in the blink of an eye are costly, yet hard to avoid. I did magnetize the weapons and the head cover which is a bit more than just the waist. Next time I think I could avoid losing half my magnets to self destruction however they do count as part of my real cost in putting it together.

I'd love to know where all that primer went... well besides the obvious coat of it on my mask. I'm left wondering if I was burning through it faster due to temp. change and rapid use(not letting the can come back to normal temp after extended use). I expected it to be 1 to 1.5 cans, but it was double that. I really do like the citadel primer, but it doesn't seem to last.

The green stuff was used in securing the magnets and filling it the huge missing bubble of resin in one of the weapons.

Yes, the simple green was used for mold release, not sure why else I would use it. and thereby list it.

While smashing magnets would be part of _your_ real cost, it's certainly not a fair assessment to include them in what you'd expect an average titan project to cost. That was mishandling on your part.

As for paint, I don't think that should've effected output that much. For a reaver, I'd expect to use 5 cans total: 1 180ml can of primer, 2x100 ml cans of black to undercoat, 2x100ml cans of base color. That's still only 580ml, compared to the 1200 you used.

It looks like most of your costs, like the magnets, all that glue, and the paints, came from learning as you went, and would not be the standard expected cost for building a kit that big.

Why are you paying $45 for Citadel Paints? Are you high? Get some Krylon primer for less than 1/2 the price. Mother of god... I would never spend $15 on a can of spraypaint. Hell, I could barely get myself to buy the can of magnetic spraypaint for $8. Yeah. Magnetic spraypaint. It is actually magnetic (or at least magnets will stick to the surface, the paint itself is not magnetic), but you do need a lot of coats.

I've found krylon goes on noticeably thicker than citadel, and especially the aforementioned tamiya paints. I used krylon gray primer and spray paint to do some priming and basecoating, and with just two coats, when painting the model and holding it close I could see that the paint was thick enough that sharp edges on details had been dulled. That's certainly not an effect I would want to see happen to something as big and expensive as a reaver titan, and anyways, pk1 said that he just preferred citadel spray over the alternatives.

3 bottles of primer? I still have my original bottle of Primer??

how da heck are you burning that much material?????

i used a can and a half to prime my phantom, both revenants plus misc other stuff.

glue, yea ok i used a full bottle or pretty close on the phantom, and paint pots i needed 2 pots of boltgun and chaos black for the basecoat, (i blended them) but otherwise, can not see how you would use so much material!.

ive also seen and worked with a a reaver, and they do not require so much material cost. time and effort - well duh.... but your obviously either putting primer on too thick, or doing it, screwing up and having to strip and redo it. so clearly...your doing it wrong.

Yeah, not to pile on here, but I'm piling on. You spent WAY too much in extra bits for this model.

Seems a lot of stuff. Did mine with a single bottle of glue and one can of chaos black primer.

Citadel primer kinda sucks from my use. It doesn't last very long and doesnt seem to go on even. Army painter primer is way better it seems to last longer and goes on SUPER smooth.

How in gods name did you spend 10 dollars on only two dust masks!?

I can get around 5 for 5 (Disposable) where I live.

pk1 wrote:3 cans of Citadel Primer $45

The Wal-Mart Generic spray primer works really well, and it is less than a dollar a can...

^^^

Primed my entire Beastman force with the stuff. Shame I haven't deviated from GW paints.

Shadowbrand wrote:^^^

Primed my entire Beastman force with the stuff. Shame I haven't deviated from GW paints.

Yea, I get my Black, Purple, and Blue acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby.

The tube is $2.99, and the tube is 120ml

Compared to citadel (17-20ml) for $3.99. they work great and cost 75 times less per volume.

I'm a stickler for goin' with what I know.

But I'll keep this in mind. Though the Canadian Wal-Mart tends to leave some stuff out that our American Cousins get.

pk1 wrote:
3 cans of Citadel Primer $45
2 Green stuff $20

You paying for GW paint at retail or something? Even FW recommend an AUTO PRIMER for priming the models over GW spray paints.
Two "whats" of Green stuff? Two packs of GW issue (so 24" of it)? You do know you can get 50% more of the same stuff for the same price or less from elsewhere, right? It's not like GW make the stuff (PSInc do). I buy my GS 36"at a time and the lot lasts me at least a year. It also costs barely more than 12" from GW at local prices.

You don't have to spend more than 15% for assembly sundries.
You got gouged. It's not like the paints won't stick to the non-GW primer coat. If anything, they'll probably adhere better to the non-GW actual primer.

How has nobody mentioned pins and pinning? With anything made out of resin, especially something this freaking huge, you're going to need pins and such. Thick brass rod is a necessity.

Brother SRM wrote:How has nobody mentioned pins and pinning? With anything made out of resin, especially something this freaking huge, you're going to need pins and such. Thick brass rod is a necessity.

He did list the rod in his costs.

Also I spent around £15-20 on my mask, but then that's a 3M 7000 series half mask with gas filters that lets me breath in a room of toxic plastic fumes... Works a treat for dust too though :p

Think I'd rather spend 1.2k on an army than on a Titan.. dear lord.