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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it.

Hi, I'm a Wargamer from New Zealand who has been painting model soldiers for wargaming for 24 years now, this probably accounts for my my near sightedness, stooped appearance, and lack of social life.

But seriously, nowadays I have the time to paint figures for others and I'm doing so to earn a living.

My Availability

I'm currently not available for painting work, and I'm unlikely to be in the near future, please subscribe to my mailing list if you want to be notified should this change.

What I Paint

I mostly paint 15mm miniatures suitable for DBM (De Bellis Multitudinis) or DBA (De Bellis Antiquitatis), so I guess that's my area of specialty. I plan to venture into 25mm for WAB (Warhammer Ancient Battles), 6mm for DBA, and 15mm for WWII Flames of War very soon. I can paint any other scale or period as well (Renaissance, Horse & Musket, Napoleonic, ACW, Colonial etc), of course I may need help gathering uniform information for some of these.

How it Works

I figure you've got three choices, either order the figures and have the manufacturer send them to me, or send them to me yourself, or send me enough money to cover the cost of the figures as a deposit and I'll order them for you.

If you are not sure how to build an army list or choose the right mix of figures I can help you with that.

You need to be clear about your preferences and requirements at the beginning, and at that time we'll agree on the price for painting.

Once I've finished your order I'll send you photos if you like, assuming you like what you see then you will need to send me payment for the painting, and for the postage and insurance to send them to you.

Then I'll post them off to you.

I don't expect you to pay a deposit for the painting itself before I start painting, just paying for the figures is enough. However for 25mm, if it is a full army rather than one or two units, as they are a much larger undertaking if I haven't done business with you before I may ask for a partial deposit at the beginning.

Turnaround Time

I can usually finish a DBM size army (say 50-150 foot plus 50-150 mounted) within a week. Of course when I can start will depend on what other jobs I have on at the time I receive yours. If you have a realistic deadline I'm quite happy to negotiate a discount (before the job is accepted) to be deducted should I fail to meet the deadline and/or a bonus for me if I meet a tight deadline.

Pictures of My Work

You can see pictures of some of the miniatures I've painted over the last few years in my photo gallery.

To find out more about my painting style scroll to the bottom of this page.

Contact me

Prices

Below is my basic pricing structure, then below that discounts that can be applied. To find out prices for other scales or items not listed please ask for a quote.

The prices below are for wargames standard painting, if you require painting to a collectors standard then I'll need to quote a price once I have a good understanding of your requirements.

All prices are in US Dollars.

Extra, make paper lance pennon +$0.20
Extra, assembling weapons, shields, heads (per fig) +$0.20
Extra, basing and flocking (per base): 1 figure base= +$0.30, 2 figure base= +$0.40, 3 figure base= +$0.50, 4 figure base, or model= +$0.60
Extra, machine cut MDF bases (per base) +$0.10

10% Discount if you trim the flash, glue the models together, and undercoat the figures yourself before sending them to me.

10% Discount if the order is over US$600.00.

* Prices for flags, chariots, elephants, artillery, limbers, tents, and war wagons are indicative and may vary depending on the complexity of the model.

Postage and insurance is additional to the above.

I accept cheque, money order, or Paypal. If using Paypal please add 4% to cover my costs.

Postage and Packing

Generally I'll send the figures back to you by Registered mail or EMS (Express Mail Service), it's more expensive but much more secure and quicker too. For based figures I mount them with double sided sellotape then place them inside a strdy box lined with bubble wrap, I then fill the remaining space in the box with polystyrene balls and pack it tightly, well bound with packing tape.

I prefer to declare the figures at full value as then insurance will cover them for full value if something goes wrong, however if you live in a country that has customs duty I can understate the value at your risk, with EMS the chances of it going missing are minimal.

Guarantee

It's simple, I want to make sure that my customers are happy with what they get from me. So if for any reason (and I mean any reason) you are unhappy with what you receive please return them within 14 days well packaged and undamaged and I will refund the cost of painting. You will still have to pay for the figures and two lots of postage but the painting cost, which will be the bulk of the cost, will be refunded to you.

Note this guarantee only applies to work commissioned through my painting service, not to items put up for sale or on auction as you will have seen the pics before purchase and the lower margins won't allow for it.

My Painting Style

This is how I generally go about painting an army, if you want me to do anything differently that's ok I'm negotiable, please state your requirements when placing your order...

• 15mm or 6mm Wargames figures are meant to be viewed from about one metre away, they should look good at that distance, there isn't much point painting them to look good under a magnifying glass. However if you want them to be that good and are willing to pay the extra I'm happy to oblige. 25mm is a different kettle of fish and gamers using these need a greater degree of detail as they are big enough to be little works of art.
• Bright and flashy colours for nobles, dull colours for peasants, but still bright enough that a 15mm figure can be clearly seen and look attractive on table.
• Contrasting light and dark colours is important to make the figures stand out at 15mm, if all are the same tone the figures look dull.
• I tend to caricature troop types / armies / nationalities, I try to exaggerate their characteristics so that they stand out more. I think a good caricature is visually more effective than rigid historical accuracy, however this is only true of Ancient and Medieval as much less is known about uniforms than is known of later periods. If I'm doing, say, Napoleonic type troops then historical accuracy becomes important, unless you want your conscripts to really look like conscripts on campaign.
• I use black undercoat.
• I varnish with a satin varnish, I find satin brings colours to life more than matt, and gloss is too gaudy.
• Shields should contrast the figure, either in tone, colour, or complexity so that they stand out more.
• The flocking of bases should be attractive but not so complex it detracts from the figures, the figures should stand out from the base not be camouflaged by it.
• Figures poses should be mixed for variety but to the level appropriate for the troop type or army. If an army has a lot of different troop types best to not mix figures much within a troop type so the differences can be clearly seen, if only a few then mix as much as you like. I remember seeing one Achaemenid army and not being able to tell the difference between the Immortals and the hordes.
• I generally paint paper flags, wrap them around flagpoles and glue with PVA putting them into all sorts of fluttering positions, really cool.
• You can never have too many flags and pennons ;-)
• Scratchbuilt tents make good cheap baggage.

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