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The guy I'm seriously looking at is doing just that. He hasn't done much red so is painting up a BA terminator for me. Entirely off his own back as well.

staju1985 wrote:
Omniscience posted some work of them. in Modeling
And showcase and realy? It sucked

How? I looked at his stuff. I didn't necessarily like some of the color choices, but he painted solid work. Clean, good texture, and detailed. Nothing "sucked" about his work, you just didn't like his style.

ids1984 wrote:
The guy I'm seriously looking at is doing just that. He hasn't done much red so is painting up a BA terminator for me. Entirely off his own back as well.

If you are going to pay £200 plus for a commission I would want a test model up front first as well. Don't forget non GW type painters as well. Lots of good painters out there who have never painted a GW figure in their life but if asked would make a stunning job of it

Find a local artist you can visit and ask, you might be surprised.

I have a friend who recently hired a nanny to look after the kids and the nanny just happens to be a great painter as well. £100 later and she had painted a shed load of Black Legion that looked stunning

I don't know any serious commission person that will deliver a test model up front. It's like asking a plumber to fit a radiator as a test, and if you like it, you might (MIGHT) get him to do the rest of the central heating. Go try that sometime.

You can try paying for a test job, but small jobs eat schedule time, so busier, better places are likely to tell you to take a hike on that as well.

winterdyne wrote:
I don't know any serious commission person that will deliver a test model up front. It's like asking a plumber to fit a radiator as a test, and if you like it, you might (MIGHT) get him to do the rest of the central heating. Go try that sometime.

You can try paying for a test job, but small jobs eat schedule time, so busier, better places are likely to tell you to take a hike on that as well.

I agree.

Even as a part time commission painter, I wouldn't do a "test piece" on the basis that the potential client might hire me to do more; it would be a waste of my time.

winterdyne wrote:
I don't know any serious commission person that will deliver a test model up front. It's like asking a plumber to fit a radiator as a test, and if you like it, you might (MIGHT) get him to do the rest of the central heating. Go try that sometime.

You can try paying for a test job, but small jobs eat schedule time, so busier, better places are likely to tell you to take a hike on that as well.

I have used 2 commission painters and they both provided test subjects. Yes you will have to pay for them in the end but at least you get to see the kit 1st hand

Looking at a commissioned painter is like anything else you are going to buy. Do your homework

Look at reviews. See if they have a web presence and if so how long? How professional is it? Do they have their terms set out in plain sight to see? How do they update? Is it email, on their website, Blog? How often can you expect updates?

Ask for references.

Look at Winterdynes website. Look at Arcain Paintworks (Meg Maples used to be a staff painter at PP). See how they have their stuff together.

See how they tell you what the levels they have are and what is included.

If you are going local look at his stuff in person. Talk to the references and folks at the local FLGS and see if the person meets deadlines (as much as possible) and is responsive.

When you commit make sure that your expectations have been understood and acknowledged by the person painting your models. You do not what to be disappointed and the painter does not want to have wasted time (and therefor profit) fixing a misunderstanding.

Definitely ask to see a representative sample of work based on the price that you're paying. You're unlikely to be paying for an equivalent of the painter's best work, for two reasons -- it'd be very expensive, and because 35 models would take a crazy number of hours (meaning you'd be waiting a long time).

Ask approximately how much time they plan on spending per model; don't expect a 25 hour model in 5 hours. Then, ask them to do 1 model for you, first, perhaps at a premium.

Have them define exactly what they'll be doing, and be specific. Are they spending 5 minutes removing basic mould lines (which are actually pretty good in Space Hulk models), or are they spending 2 hours to correct any molding issues? Some of the Crux Terminatus, like on the power sword/cape model, are messed up, and fixing it properly takes some time. Or, maybe they'll cover it up with a purity seal. Some models have gaps (like the caped terminator) -- will those be filled with greenstuff, or just left as a gap? Will they drill out the storm bolter barrels? How about the assault cannon?

Try to get a sense of what steps they'll be taking, generally speaking. For instance, will chest eagles and chains be individually painted (slow) or drybrushed (fast)? Are purity seals a 3 step process (base coat, wash, highlight), or a 6 step process (base coat, wash, layer with basecoat color, layer with highlight color, writing, edge highlight)? Are visor lens a black wash on red, or are they painted green, or are they a multistep process (white, green glaze, dark green bottom, white reflection dot)? Model's faces, power weapons, and so forth are all important details in terms of the excellence of the finished work.

Don't forget about the finishing spray, too, if this is a model you will be playing with -- you'll need a sealer of some sort if you're going to be handling the units.

A lot of that is basic assembly stuff.

For what it's worth, I always drill barrels, fill unsightly gaps, and do basic model fixes. I might not always get all the mould lines, especially on mass rank and file stuff (pretty sure there's some on my own wars of the roses stuff). Most of the decent commission places do this as a matter of course too.

Generally, if I wouldn't be happy enough putting it on a table, it doesn't go out the door. That's my basic rule. Anything else is really a factor of time and appearance- in a 30-second inspection there's not a lot to pick between what I'd put in a competition and what I'd put out as tabletop; and although the end result may be fairly similar, the effort to get there may be wildly different, just for really quite subtle improvements. A 3 mix blend done well quite often looks pretty much the same as a 30 mix layered effect. Not quite so smooth, but unless you're really poring over the model you probably wouldn't notice.

Ugh, it's late and I'm rambling (buoyant with an x-wing victory)...