Betrayal @ Calth

[Grotsmasha]

Hey lads,

 

My Hobby has to become self-sustaining. To that end I've bought a B@C set specifically to paint and sell for profit. This thread isn't about selling, it's about how you prefer to buy.

 

I'm going to be doing Ultramarines, as I think that as the "Poster boys" they'll have more general appeal for both 30k and 40k than other Legions, and to that end I've purchased a  GW Ultra Upgrade frame for each Tactical squad.

 

1- Sell Squad-by-Squad, or set the set together as an Army?

2- Assembly. Should I be doing PP/PW for sergeant, or stick with basics, is load-out something you would consider when buying?

---> Assemble as shown, or do Support Squads?

---> Magnetisation, does it have real impact on your decisions?

3- Buy it as the game with opposing forces, assembled per the box, or as a unified army?

4- Pricing, a Pro-painter I am not. I would describe myself as a solid TT quality painter. My thoughts on finished cost is double purchase + postage, which works out at (based on current exchange rates,

 

Individually,

 

2x HQ's 

AUD$100 GBP 56 USD$74

 

Dread

AUD$120 GBP 68 USD$90

 

Termies

AUD$130 GBP 74 USD$98

 

Tac Squad

AUD$110 GBP 63 USD$82

 

As a complete boxset (a small amount of rounding +/-),

 

AUD$600 GBP 350 USD$450

 

(These values were determained by adding up the cost of the box sets individually, finding out their percentage, and applying that percentage to the B@C boxset).

Pro Painters on eBay are $1,300+, so I think my pricing is in the right ball park for the quality I will be achieving.

HERE'S a linky to an example of my most recently completed model, from the B&C's Boxing Day Bash.

 

So guys, have at it, thoughts, opinions, let me hear it.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

If I had the money and didn't want to paint my own figures, I would go for the entire box at once painted as the same Chapter or Legion. Magnetization for more options would definitely steer me your direction over someone who didn't offer it with comparable prices and paint quality.

[Major_Gilbear]

Agreed, I think that the BaC box is a pretty good "self-contained" force that's not too unreasonable to sell as one lot.

 

I too would magnetise a few options (Serge weapons, Dread weapon, Cataphractii arms), but the cost in time and money for these is extra and you may not want to.

 

As for quality vs price goes... If I'm paying, I'd rather pay a bit bit more for better quality than the other way around. Spraying a colour, drybrushing some highlights, and then washing with ink is so fast and easy that I fail to see the point of paying someone else for it.

 

It doesn't need to be a really fancy and involved effort, but I remember seeing the success of another painter a while ago (Spiky James) who mostly paints with basecoat plus two or three neat line highlights and that's it (smaller stuff was basecoat, line highlight, wash). He only painted to this "high tabletop standard" and not to any sort of display level; not only got a lot done quickly, but he always sold his armies on for a good return as well.

 

Therefore, for your Ultras, I would expect to see something: clean, neat, and not too weathered. Some gold trim, but not too yellow/bright, with a few neat details here and there (maybe Sergeants can have a pad with some personal heraldry on them).

 

If it's clean and neat and not too weathered, whoever buys it can always add to your work if they so wish - I think this is also a good selling point, and would extend the idea to the bases too. You could perhaps charge closer to AU$800.00 for the force if the work is better.

 

Finally... What units to build the BaC box as? I'd certainly do a 10-model Tac squad, probably a Veteran or Seeker squad (Sternguard in 40k), maybe a 5-model support squad and a 5-model command squad? This will give a player a bit of everything to start with and would look appealing as a mini "army" when you set it out in the photographs. If your budget allows, I'd even consider adding a modest vehicle like a Rhino to it too - it adds to the appeal of this as a complete force.

[Greyedout]

Watching this thread with interest - I've considered doing a similar project for sale and wasn't sure about pricing either.  I do agree with Major_Gilbear that adding in a Rhino might be a good idea, not only as a transport option, but also to showcase your "this is what a painted vehicle from me looks like" skills.  

[Grotsmasha]

Hey lads, thanks for the input.

 

I think I'll go for bundling it as the box set. I'm going to assemble as 2x 10 man (Veteran?) Tacticals, 1x 5 man Support with Missile Launcher, 1x 5 man Support Specials magnetised, Cataphractaii magnetised, and Contemptor magnetized.

 

Now rules-wise, can normal Tactcals now have Specials and Heavies, or is that the Veteran Squads? Should I build as 2x Vet Squads?

 

Cheers,

Jono

[CaptainHelion]

You won't have enough special weapons to do the support squads, will you? You only get three of each in the box

[Grotsmasha]

You won't have enough special weapons to do the support squads, will you? You only get three of each in the box

 

I have left over ML, Melta and Flamers from my personal sets. If I end up being successful, I'll bitz purchase 2x HW/SW in the future.

[CaptainHelion]

Ah, good stuff. :)

[Major_Gilbear]

For a HW support squad, you will need 5 ML. For a SW support squad you will only need 4 + sergeant. (...Unless this has changed in the new Red Book).

Veterans are really good right now, and it would be a good choice IMO. Even better if you make one squad fairly plain, and one squad fairly tricked-out - that way the plain squad can serve as Tac as well. To help "sell" the plain bolter Vet/Tac squad, consider adding some gun sights to their bolters perhaps?

The first Vet squad I would do with the combi-weapons, and the second I would do with all bolters. Heavy bolters are cool (and Vets can take 2), but I think it would limit them for double-duty as Tacs (no HW). Whether the heavy bolter is worth it on Vet squads compared to other weapon options is also somewhat debatable.

I would therefore not worry too much about making them super-ideal, and just make them useful to as many folks as possible - if people really want they can always model two HB models for the squad themselves.

As for bits-buying... If you make painting and selling a BaC box a semi-regular thing, you can save the bits from one set for the next and so on. So your SW support squad in this one might be plasma guns, but the next one would be flamers perhaps. Likewise, this set might be a Vet squad with Combis, but the next one might be a Vet squad decked out with melee weapons and pistols. Same with Dreadnoughts - you could do one with two fists, or two Kheres, etc. And so on for other options.

As for quality vs price goes... If I'm paying, I'd rather pay a bit bit more for better quality than the other way around. Spraying a colour, drybrushing some highlights, and then washing with ink is so fast and easy that I fail to see the point of paying someone else for it.

With regard to this earlier comment I made... Re-reading it sounds rather harsh, so I apologise! I wasn't suggesting that this was a "wrong" way of painting, or even that you paint this way - I was simply trying to make the point that lots of services already offer very low-level work for very cheap (because it really is that easy), and that your efforts on the BaC set should be aimed at a more discerning level of customer!

[Nemac Vradon]

Not to put a spanner in the works but I have sold a lot of models on eBay and have found that if the army I'm selling takes a while then to split it up into the individual units and relist them. I last did this a couple of months ago with the Crimson Slaughter I had been working on and it turned out to be a little more profitable, After postage and packaging I had made around £30 more profit then I had wanted for the army as a whole. I guess for some people they cannot afford/do not want to splash out hundreds of £/$ in one go so selling the individual units allows them to build up an army over time.

 

This would work really well by doing Raven Guard, Iron Hands or Salamanders and selling the individual units for Shattered Legion forces. Just a thought :P

 

Hope this helps

 

Nemac