Commission model builders.
Rare, even amongst the starving artists genre. Let's face it, no one NEEDS a scale replica of an aircraft, their favorite car, or a monster. However, they're certainly great conversation pieces, and can really liven up an "I love me" or office space with a great conversational piece. People often don't understand the amount of work that goes into bringing something like this to life, so I thought I'd share a top ten list of things you should know about the small group of folk's out there who work hard to make a little change building scale models for money. This is by no means a full list, but just some of the most commonly noted things that I've come to learn since delving into the commission building realm in mid 2012. With that, let's kick it off!!
10. "Why would I pay you for something I could do myself?!"
This is one of my favorites. Great question as well. Unfortunately, there's no right answer, because yes....You could do this yourself. It's no secret that given enough time and practice, anyone can be at least decent at anything. The question we must ask ourselves is how much time do we really want to invest? I could cut my own hair to save money, change my own oil in the winter, and dry clean my own clothes. However, the convenience of knowing that there's someone else out there who's already invested the time into ensuring that it's going to be right makes it worth the money. I encourage everyone to at least attempt scale modeling in some respect in order to challenge themselves with a long lived past time, but then again...cutting your own hair is sometimes nothing more than a learning experience as well.
9. "I only want to spend this much money."
Times are tough. We all feel that. The economy is a funny, funny thing these days, and folks are guarded on how they spend their hard earned money. No one understands that more than the folks who are building these models for you. We have bills to pay as well, and we know more than anyone that scale replicas are luxury items, not necessities. That being said, if you have a budget, shop the market accordingly. If I've only got money for a used car that's a decade old, I have no business even showing up to the Porche dealership trying to haggle the salesman to come off a six figure car for 2,500.
8. "That seems like an awful lot for a model!"
This is probably the most awkward situation for both parties when it comes down to it. Let's refer back to the point made about understanding that these are luxury"things". No, we don't need them, but at the same time, to have them is a really awesome deal as well. Which is where we circle back around to the original question....What's your model worth to YOU? What most folks don't know is the costs behind the costs. Let's take an example here. You've just been quoted $400. FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!! That is an extraordinary amount of money to pay for any luxury item, and these days you could have a new '40 inch TV For that price, so why would you part with that kind of money for a silly scale replica of Frankenstein (albeit the coolest looking Frankenstein you've ever seen)?? Well, let's examine everything, and break it all down. Depending on who's doing your work, that 400 dollars may cover the cost of the parts themselves. These days, you can pretty much expect that to land within the 30-130 dollar range. If the builder is including that in his costs, then his 400 dollars just turned into 370-270 profit.
I personally ask folks to pay for the kit themselves, since you're essentially only paying the artist for his work. If I take my car in to get new brakes, they're going to charge me for the brakes, and the service, so this isn't unrealistic. Some folks simply like to break even for the chance to get to build kits that they otherwise wouldn't have the money to fund out of their own pocket, again...depends on who's doing the work.
Next, factor in supplies. Anyone who you're willing to part money with to build you a model should have a very adequate setup. A couple of years ago, I wanted to help a friend get into building in order to help me out, so I opted to essentially build a second work station in my work area to be able to facilitate two workers. I made a list of "must have items" that would ensure a good work flow without one person having to wait on the other to paint, glue, or sand something. All said, it cost me about 750 dollars to get what I considered to be a bare minimum setup in order to perform decent work. That wasn't including all of the tools that I don't use all the time, such as eight sets of tweezers, pens, etc. The point I am getting at is that the artist has made a substantial investment into his/her own craft in order to ensure that they can provide you the absolute best product available. This can easily range in the thousands of dollars. Most of those costs are a one time shot, but many supplies such as paints, solvents, thinners, paper towels, Qtips and other consumables are constantly needing to be purchased. For this example, I'll say that for a bottle of glue, some liquid cement, five jars of paint, and the costs of consumables, you're easily looking at 30-40 dollar purchase in supplies alone. Going high end, let's say that you're now down to 230 dollars profit.
For my work, I take great pride in being able to provide customization in order to provide the customer with exactly what he wants, even if it's not commercially available, even in the aftermarket. This mostly comes in the form of getting custom decals printed out. For me, it's a two part process. I have to first understand how the artwork is supposed to go, take it to a friend who then draws it, scales it proportionately, then compiles it into a format that will be used to be printed. This is typically about a 35 dollar addition. Once it's sent to the printers, I'm often looking at an additional 25 dollars, and a return time of about a week. My 230 dollars just became 170 dollars.
So far, I've made very little mention of probably the most valuable expense in any project, and that's the time required to get everything so far completed. There's no way to put a price on our time, and that goes for life in general. But as you can clearly see, between time spent quoting work, working with customers to get the details correct, researching the subject, finding pictures, ordering/purchasing parts and other services...there's a lot of time exhausted....and we haven't even opened the box yet. The build varies for everyone. No two people build the same, and depending on the extent of detail and modifications required, it can take a couple of days or a couple of months. For this example, we'll factor in a ten day time frame from starting to finishing the build. Ten days, and we're still looking at putting 170 dollars in our pockets at this point.
But wait, there's more!!! Now we have to get her to you. Ah, yes...shipping. It's not fair, and it's not cheap. One of the hardest lessons learned when getting into building models for others is how to get it to arrive looking like it did when it left. The postal carriers aren't nearly as excited about that thing showing up in one piece as you are. You're simply another box with another shipping label. UPS and FedEx don't care if you're unhappy about the fact that they threw the box from your mailbox to your front door...they've got other people waiting on their broken stuff as well!!!
I learned early on that the greatest investment you can spend is on shipping. This isn't always a sure fire method that things will be the way they're intended to, but it's hard to say that the effort wasn't there when it takes the client ten minutes to full remove all the packaging. All that in mind, for me, shipping is typicall about a 40 dollar expense. Tack on insurance for the package to ensure that you can right the wrong, and you're usually banking around 50 dollars. Let's not forget that the boxes you put it in weren't free, nor was the bubble wrap or foam packaging. In the end, it's no shock to drop 60 bucks to properly get her from point A to point B in one piece. We're now looking at 110 dollars.
110 dollars for ten days of work, and a masterpiece that's now sitting (in one piece) on your shelf.
So remember, the guy building your project isn't always greedy, he/she's just well versed in understanding the cost of doing business without coming out of their own pocket.
6. "That looks great, but I want to change something."
That's excellent. I want you to have what you want. But please don't be surprised when your final cost shoots up an additional amount of money. This actually happens a lot. Sometimes, if it's something minor, I would venture to say that most folks would let it slide. However, like anywhere else in the world, if you're asking for major changes, be prepared to pay for them. The quote that you're given up front is for what you were asking for. Up front.
5. Be Realistic with what you're asking for.
Some folks get really excited when they start bringing their project to the table. I'm excited for them. There's no greater joy for me as a commission builder to be able to meet a complete stranger who has a vision of what they want, and then to be able to provide it to them within a few months time in physical form. This is a powerful thing, especially for people who are building something that is a fond memory of their past. However, please understand that we're limited in a sense as well. What sometimes starts out as a tank progresses into a tank with a soldier standing next to it. That's feasible, and we're glad that you're wanting to make an awesome display out of it. However, a tank, with a soldier next to it, holding a zombie head as a UFO on a remote control hovers overhead shooting LCD holograms is a bit illogical. This isn't to say that this isn't doable, however, know the strengths and limitations of your artist before you start an order. If they're not a sculptor, then it's probably going to be hard to actually add a lifelike figure of yourself into the project. He/she may be able to refer you to someone who can do the work for you, but again...you're looking at more money. Back on topic though, understand that the artist is always trying to work the best they can to give you everything you want, but they also understand up front better than most if it's feasible or not. Understand that they're not trying to crush your dreams, they're just not on a Hollywood studio budget with Hollywood resources at their fingertips.
4. Stay in touch!!
There's nothing that can't be fixed or adjusted, but the easiest solution is to not have to go back and make any changes at all. If you've got a good builder, he/she should have most of the information before they even open the box to get started, but there are things that come up. Take the time to drop a line every couple of days and just find out where your project is, as it may help ring a bell at something that you may have forgot. I've had times where I've had projects go dead in the water for a couple of days because I didn't want to move forward until I heard back from the client. That's frustrating, because remember....time is money. I don't care if your builder is a proclaimed subject expert in any given field (auto, aviation, etc) there's no way that anyone can know everything about every subject, and we're human too. If you think of something after the initial consultation, drop a line and let them know. However, please keep #6 in mind, as the changes you ask for may require additional funding.
This also is highly recommended if you're no longer interested in a project. Many a times I've heard crickets chirping in the background after laying out payment information. Again, we understand that this isn't for everyone. But if you're corresponding through emails/messaging, it's a common courtesy to at least regard the person for their time spent trying to assist you. I don't know anyone who's doing this that has their own private secretary. The point there, is that running quotes takes time, and it's often time that could be spent working on a paying customers project. To just fall off the deep end and not even reply back with a "You're crazy" is a little discourteous. Tell the person that it's out of your price range, and that you thank them for their time.
3. Tell your Friends!!
Advertising is expensive. Very expensive. As long as there's been business, the best advertisement has always been a positive recommendation. If you're happy with your work, let your like minded friends know, as it may generate further business for the builder.
2. There's no "shelf of doom".
The "shelf of doom" is a widely used term amongst the modeling community. It's essentially a reference to a project that was deemed "unbuildable". Unfortunately for commission builders, this isn't an option. There's always room for mistakes, but there's not room for surrender. There's been MANY instances where I was inches from sending a project on a one time test flight into a wall. Every project is going to have it's offenders, but some are worse than others. With that, please take the builders recommendations to heart when he's trying to get you the right kit for the job. For me, I do lots of reading for reviews to find out a general consensus of what would be the best kit for the job. No doubt, if everything I need can be found in a 30 dollar kit, then I'm all about saving money for the client. There's no use asking someone to pay for an 80 dollar kit, when you can achieve everything requested with the cheaper kit.
However, there are times when some kits make their way onto the "do not build" list, which essentially means that no matter what, we'll pass up a project before we'll go down the path of frustration that is some of the kits out there. Don't ever hesitate to ask if there's a cheaper alternative. Any good builder will want you to have all the information, and be able to provide you with the most economic time frame.
While we're on the subject. If you've got a kit at your house that you started ten years ago, then threw in the attic out of frustration, make sure up front that the person knows that you intend to send them your own kit. I personally don't have a problem with this approach, but please make sure that everything is in the box, and that it's not 3/4 of the way built, and painted with finger nail polish from 1987. While I'm sure that many people out there are in the restoration portion of building, many are not. Let them know up front what's coming so that they can give you an honest answer on whether or not they're interested.
1. SIZE DOES MATTER!!!
Models come in all shapes and sizes. For scale sake, we'll stick mostly to size. There's many different scales in the modeling world, and while they may be foreign language to most, the person who's building your project should be pretty well versed in the most commonly used scales in the subject. Understand that the differences in sizes also means differences in price tag, and amount of work involved. Some folks have asked me at the last minute to just go ahead and bump it up to a larger scale. Great!! I personally love working in bigger scale. However, some don't understand why you would want to charge them more for the kit, or the work. It's important to remember that we don't set the market for the price of the kits. More plastic=more money, it's just the way it is. But we do have a say so about how we price our time, and plain and simple...bigger kits take longer to build, have more parts, require more detailing, and cost more to ship. Please keep that in mind when you see the difference in the price tag when asking to scale up. Also, please check with the person up front, as some folks won't mess with projects in certain scales. I for one do not like working in the smaller scales, simply because I don't like fiddling with the constant tiny parts, and in my opinion alone, I don't think the end results are worth the work. All in all, just check up front to see if the person you're interested in is willing to work in the scale you have in mind.
So there it is, ten things to know about folks who build for a living. All of the above mentioned are pretty easy to live by. In the end, remember that the person is trying their very best to give you something that is near and dear to you. I've never met anyone who does this that doesn't have a passion to get it right. That being said, take care of them, and they'll return the favor.
