It will be obvious to anyone who reads this blog that I like making wargames buildings. I have made hundreds over the years - maybe as many as a thousand - in 1:300, 15mm and 28mm scales, both commercially, for my own games and for a few individuals. I have really enjoyed working on the winter houses that I made for a gaming friend in the last month and I have decided to make some buildings for sale, the first seven of which are now complete.
Mine is not the precision style. I make buildings that are rustic and have been knocked around a bit. They are one of a kind pieces build for wargames, fully painted and made robustly to be as 'wargamer proof' as possible. Each one is built around a MDF shell, some with a removable roof. In most cases the exterior detail has been sculpted using an epoxy putty, although some make use of other materials. Each model is mounted on a fully textured MDF base measuring no more than 200mm x 160mm and has a maximum height of 140mm.
I have been busy in the last month and here is the first batch of 28mm models.
This is not intended as a full blown commercial operation. I am not out to make a fortune (and that is reflected in my pricing structure), but rather I am looking for something to keep me busy in the evenings that pays for itself and maybe buys a few bottles of wine. The idea is to make this first batch of buildings and put them up for sale on this blog. If they don't sell then I guess I add some more buildings to my collections, but if they do then I will make more to keep up an inventory of four to six models. The type of buildings will be entirely at my whim and pricing will include shipping. They will generally be for 28mm, but there may well be some 15mm pieces from time to time. I am not going to go to the effort of setting up an e-commerce site and all transactions will be via bank direct credit or PayPal.
Full details, including a broader range of photos of the buildings that are available now on a first come, first served basis and can be viewed HERE, or from the 'Buildings for Sale' button on the navigation bar at the top of the page.
Great new project, Mark! Like you, I often fall asleep when I try to read in the evenings. Actually, I fall asleep often reading any time of day!
ReplyDeleteYour buildings are spectacular and your all-inclusive prices for finished pieces look reasonable to me. While I do not need any Eastern European buildings in 28mm, I will keep an eye on this space.
Good luck with your new venture!
Thanks Jonathan...it's odd, if I have a project to work on I can stay up to 11:00PM or later, but with a book on the couch I'm am drifting off after three pages...
DeleteI think that these buildings are some of the best I have ever done. Finding the price point is difficult because there is around 8 hours work on each.
I completely agree on both falling asleep reading or watching TV, and the magnificence of these pieces. Gorgeous work.
DeleteWell I guess we are approaching that age...
DeleteSplendid looking buildings, and an excellent way to keep motivated in the evenings.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter.
DeleteLots of character in the buildings, sounds like a good project for the evenings.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe.
DeleteGood luck on you venture, going by the quality on show I don't think you will have a problem selling them. Superb modelling.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie. Well if they don't sell I guess I'll have to build some more storage in the garage!
DeleteAbsolutely cracking work on all of these Mark:)! Pricing is always difficult, as most gamers have no idea on how much time and effort it takes to make one of your buildings, talk less of material costs too. I know from a hill I made years ago for a friend, that I could not even charge the minimum wage for my hourly rate and only added a nominal sum for some flock, as the foam and mdf were off cuts from work. So as you say, it gives you some cash for other things, but can never be a true reflection of the time and effort involved.
ReplyDeleteAs for painting, these days I find it hard to paint anything in the evening, as I'm pretty pooped by then, given that I still start to wake up around 4.00am, despite having not worked for over 5 years!!! So painting and book reading tend to be a morning activity, as the latter is a gaurantee for bouncing head and re-reading paragraphs until I give in the the inevitable snooze;)
Thanks Steve. I am really pleased with these. When it comes to costing, it all comes down to how much I value my time...not easy to reconcile when my last employer applied a $180 per hour rate for projects I worked on!
DeleteI tend to factor in the minimum wage cost as a guide, which is about £13.00 p/h here, so even at this low rate, your building would come out at around £100.00, excluding materials. Now very few people would pay that, but I know one who would! So in the end you have to jusdge what the market will bear and hope for the best. Over here pre-painted mdf buildings are gaining traction, but don't look that great IMHO, without plenty of work doing to them. I always find it funny that gamers spend so much time on their figures and basing, but then tend to neglect the visual look of their terrain, buildings etc, going for something very basic in comparison.
DeleteI agree. The worst offence I can recall is two nicely presented armies fighting over a hill represented by a book...not even covered with a cloth.
DeleteMark, lovely jobs, I’m sure these will shift and keep your evenings ticking over …… also hugely reassured to know I am not the only one to nod off.
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm. I would like to think that my nodding off is because I am less stressed and more relaxed after retirement...
DeleteThey all look terrific Mark, and the pricing is more than reasonable. I can say this with some authority now as I have just spent the last two weeks painting a single Grand Manner house which I have had lying around for the past ten years, so I now know how much is involved in the painting let alone the actual modelling.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence. The advantage of designing the piece yourself is that you can make it for ease of painting!
DeleteGreat idea! The buildings look really good and suitably generic. After this maybe some iconic ACW buildings could be next and really hit the nitch market. 😀
ReplyDeleteI too paint in the evenings though out of necessity. Family and children rule my days. Often I’m not starting till 9 or 10 at night.
ACW buildings are certainly on the cards, but probably more genetic types rather than iconic structures...gives me more artistic freedom 😊
DeleteThese are nice and I would say very much underpriced for what they are, ie robust, attractive wargames models. If you do any more I am sure you could price "more confidently", as they say in the restaurant trade.
ReplyDeleteThanks John, appreciate the sentiment.
DeleteThey are really great Mark - hopefully you are able to sell them - apart from via the blog, how are you advertising them - TM?
ReplyDeleteI get it that even at minimum wage of $26 odd, they should be around $200 - but people DON'T factor everything in and with the limited number of gamers in NZ, it will be interesting to see how they go - although you might have sold them all already!
It's a bit like painted figures - even if they only take 30 mins per figure (which seems too quick to me) that's $13 each - yet people think $10 is expensive (here at least) - and it is, if you have an army of 2 or 300 figures.... as you say, it's all about how you value your time - I tend to price my own time (as opposed to the 40 hours I sell to my employer) quite cheaply - I have plenty of it and don't do very much else with it!
Not planning on going through TM at this point. This is more a thing of personal interest...a chance to make something out of the ordinary. I just want to cover costs plus a bit for my time.
Deleteall you need now is a shingle :-)
ReplyDeletethere's a FB group called the NZ bring and buy bunker that we all pretty much use. A single cheaper lead line item might work on Trade me. A mate had 300 odd of those magazine 1/72 tanks and no one would touch them for the money he wanted for them as a single bulk load. I suggested he list 2 or 3 tanks and when folks came to collect he Offered the rest for cash