The Imperfect Modeller

… continued from part 1.

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Background

Several months ago I decided I would, after much deliberation, try to sell some models on Ebay.  This is is the continuation of my journey!

Research

The nice thing about researching things in this day and age is you don’t have to do much more than hit the keyboard.  Thanks to Google (other search engines are available) pretty much everything is available at the touch of a button, there is no need to leave your desk let alone your house.

I started my research with eBay.  I’m not naive, there are very few new ideas these days, it’s all about doing things better and cheaper than your competitors, or so it seems to me. Not surprisingly other people paint figures to sell.  The bigger questions were who buys them, what do they buy and how much do they sell for?

I’m no expert but I know that people collect anything and everything so why would figures be an exception?  They are not.  Of course lots of people paint there own but some are collector’s of figures, some simply cannot paint but want a good looking figures on the table, some just don’t have the time.  The thing to do was search eBay and “watch” numerous items to see how they fared.

One of the first things that struck me was the standard of painted figures and the different selling methods people were using.  The standard ranged from professional to, well let’s just say not very good.  Now I’m not knocking the poorly painted stuff, I wish those sellers good luck but in their narrative some like to describe their work as “pro-painted”.  I can only assume that by pro they are using an abbreviation for the word prostitute as I can’t believe for one minute that the work was that of a professional painter.  At the other end of the spectrum the standard is extremely high and clearly the work of skilled painters.  As I would have expected prices tended to correspond with the quality of the work for sale although I couldn’t help but feel one or two sellers were being optimistic.  That said one figure I monitored sold for £142.00!  On average though figures at the top end of the spectrum generally seemed to sell in the region of £50.00/£60.00.  The question now was how to value my own work?

Selling methods were also varied.  As well as the traditional auction method some sellers chose to adopt a fixed price while others were open to offers or a combination.  All have there merits of course but what would work best for me?

Another factor was genre.  There was a market for Old Wild West figures and the SAGA period figures appeared to be popular too.  Some fantasy figures appeared to sell as well but there were fewer up for sale, or so it seemed.  Other categories might have been popular too but with so much scope in those three genres alone I had more than enough options to get started.

Postage was another consideration.  Do I offer free postage as some sellers did or do I seek to recover my costs?  Would I be willing to sell to an overseas buyer?  One thing was for sure, I would need to sit down and do a reasonable costing.  Only then could I determine if the whole exercise was worth it or not.  Before going further I decided this now needed to be my next step.

The Cost of a TIM Figure?

Armed with a pen and paper I jotted down what I considered to be the key costs of painting and posting a figure:

• Cost of the figure and base
• Time taken to paint and base the figure/hourly rate
• Packaging
• Postage
• Basing materials
• Painting materials  – brushes/paints
• Ebay/PayPal fees

Strictly speaking any product should be properly costed to the “n”th degree but I felt in my position it wasn’t appropriate.  Firstly I decided to ignore the cost of painting materials.  This is my hobby first and foremost and as long as I can continue with it I will buy and replace all consumables.  Simply doing more figures with the aim of selling some wasn’t going to change that and the rate of consumption would, certainly from a starting out perspective, be insignificant.

Secondly, I decided to make some assumptions on painting time and thus the knock on effect of any hourly rate.  I’m in the fortunate position of being retired.  My aim here is to paint and fill my time enjoying what I do.  If I couldn’t sell any figures I would still paint them anyway wouldn’t I?  Was there any need to actually charge for my time?  Another factor when considering this point is the people I am competing against, the professionals.

So who are the professionals?  Well my assumption was this.  Now if I were a sculptor, but then again no.  Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show … whoops, Elton John tangent there, let’s start again.

If I were a sculptor then my aim would be to create figures and sell them direct via my own website.  To help sell them it would look better if the figures were professionally painted.  If I paint them myself they might not look that great but time spent painting could be time spent sculpting and that’s where my strength and the money lies.  Better to commission someone to paint them?

Sticking with this scenario I reckoned that the professional painter would probably get the figures for free, get paid for painting them and possibly get paid too for sending back tip top photos for the sculptor to use.  Of course the actual painted figure could be sent back but that would incur the additional cost of postage and still require the sculptor to have photos taken which is more money and more time.  Under this scenario we have a professional painter who gets his figures free, has been paid to paint them and take photographs and who now has figures that can be sold on eBay for a 100% profit!  Not a bad little system.

Now I can’t be fully certain that the system works that way but I did manage to identify two ebayers who’s work appears on figure sellers websites so at the very least  I felt confident I was thinking along the right lines.  The thing now was what conclusions could I reach from this?

One conclusion I reached was I couldn’t set a starting price for any figures I list higher than the professional guys.  In time I might be able to if my own work improved and if what I was selling was of a different genre perhaps.  For now though I felt I had an indication of the highest price I could set, now I needed to determined the minimum.

To determine the minimum price I needed firstly to ensure that any sales income would at least cover my costs, essentially the sum of the figure plus postage and packing.  It also needed to cover eBay and PayPal expenses.  I then needed to see a profit, a price which to my mind made the whole thing worthwhile.  Anything less would beg the question, why bother?  I settled on an arbitrary amount and decided that would do for starters.

All that now remained was decide how to sell on eBay.  Auction?  Buy Now?  Accept Offers?  Something to ponder while I actually painted some figures for selling!

To be continued …

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

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Plymouth Model Club Annual Competition

The Monday before last was the Plymouth Model Clubs annual competition.  Now I know competitions aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but I like them.  I’m genuinely relaxed about winning or losing (I prefer the former but am far more experienced in the latter!) as I’m more interested in getting feedback, being inspired by others and trying to gauge my own standard.  The way I see it there is always room for improvement and entering competitions is one way of determining what works and what doesn’t in the eyes of other people.

Last year I got a great buzz from winning the club Diorama and Single Figure categories.  Notwithstanding the fact that the club is not huge the club members are nevertheless my peers and if they like what I do then that’s a good start to the year ahead.  It’s also worth noting that prior to last years modelling success I would at best described myself as a serial loser.  Despite years of devotion to sport and hundreds of pounds spent on lottery and raffle tickets for good causes it is true to say that up to last year I had won the square root of sod all.  To find out that I was reasonably good at something was to put it very mildly, bloody amazing!

A year on and with several talented new club members it was never going to be easy to emulate last years success.  This year saw a lot more entries within each of the nine categories and for sure the standard had increased throughout.  I knew this would most likely be the case and with that in mind felt I would have to pull out all the stops in the three categories I had chosen to enter.  I wasn’t wrong.

With very little to chose between 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in every category I was delighted to learn that I had managed to defend the two titles I won last year whilst adding a third.

“Operation Overlord – The Road to Caretan” came first in the diorama category, “True Grit” first in single figures and “The Dragon Slayer” first in the miscellaneous category.  To say I was delighted was an understatement.  I’m not getting carried away, far from it.  I plan to enter all three into one or two other competitions during the year but am well aware that the competition will be much, much tougher.  There are without a doubt some very, very talented people out there and as I have said before the best modellers don’t even bother to enter.

Already I’ve started to think about next years competition.  As our club chairman pointed out, the standard within the club has significantly increased and winning any of the competition categories in the future is going to get harder not easier.  So the search for ideas has begun.  Finding a figure which appeals to me shouldn’t be too difficult and I’ve seen a couple which appeal to me already.  I have some diorama ideas floating around in the air but something for the miscellaneous category, which includes Si Fi and Fantasy, is  very much a blank for now.  So, if anyone has any ideas don’t be shy!

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Conversions

Now as the above article might come across as a bragging post (which it isn’t meant to) I thought I ought to balance things up a bit.  I am well aware of my failings as a modeller and one of the biggest by far is figure conversations.  I’ve done a couple of extremely minor things like bend arms and limb amputation but beyond that nothing to write home about.  Why is this?  Well to tell the truth I simply cannot see beyond the composition of the original figure.

Try as I might I cannot picture the figure any other way and as such feel unable to even get started.  Swapping body parts and weaponry from one figure to another requires a level of imagination which so far continues to elude me.  I’m not without imagination, I’d like to think I apply it to the scenery and composition of my vignettes and dioramas but for some reason I cannot seem to apply it to figures.

Many of you, IRO and Thomas for example, both of whom posted excellent pieces just recently, have a vision which I can only admire.  I on the other hand don’t which of course is another reason I will continue to remain the Imperfect Modeller.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

Waterloo Sunset by the The kinks

Now I’m not called Terry and my wife isn’t called Julie (listen to the lyrics) but Waterloo station is where I proposed to She Who Must Be Obeyed almost 40 years ago.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  These days the final verse of “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” by Meatloaf seems a more meaningful track as I reminisce!

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This week TIM has been watching …

Rhod Gilbert

We are fortunate to have some great comedians doing the rounds at the moment.  One of the things I like about Rhod Gilbert is he is funny without the need for f’ing and blinding every few moments.  This link is to one of my favorite pieces.  If you enjoy it then I would recommend two of his full length shows on YouTube –

and,

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Until next time.

TIM

Introduction

Several months ago I decided I would, after much deliberation, try to sell some models on Ebay.  The experience of doing so is still very new but nevertheless I thought it might be of some interest to share with you my journey thus far via a post or two.  Like all stories it’s best begun at the beginning and therefore the first thing I should explain is why I decided upon doing so in the first place.

Why?

Before I retired She Who Must Be Obeyed rarely if ever questioned the amount of time I spent modelling.  Now fully retired there is an expectation that jobs around the house should be shared, her jobs not mine, I still have mine to do.  Now I love my wife, we’ve been married nearly 37 years (it feels like only yesterday, if it was tomorrow I would cancel it!) but retirement for me was about spending more time modelling (and anything else I wanted to do) not more time working.  I needed a plan, not just any old plan but a cunning plan.  One which would enable me to openly do modelling without the expectation of doing anything else and remove the feeling of guilt for doing so which I often feel is being heaped upon me.  But what?

Then I had an idea – make modelling my job!

Let me say right up front it’s not about making money.  Well that’s not entirely true, it is about making money but not for money’s sake.  Making money is relevant but more as a performance indicator and to justify what I am doing to SWMBO.  There are other reasons too of course.

Before I finally decided to fully retire last September I had spent all my full and part-time working life in UK corporate companies.  I did a job, they paid me.  Simple.  I wouldn’t describe myself as a specialist but I wasn’t a Jack of all trades either so if I had an IT problem I spoke to the IT department, likewise, HR, Legal, Risk, Marketing, etc.  I was never self-employed and I never had to make something to sell in order to live off the proceeds.  As I look back I’m beginning to wonder what it was I actually did do!

Over the years I’ve known several people who have set up their own businesses and I have admired each and every one of them.  They all had two things in common.  They worked extremely hard and they had to become knowledgeable on just about everything, not just what they did.  No corporate security for them, they needed to learn marketing, HR legislation if they employed staff , IT, finance, the list goes on.  I would like to say they were all successful but alas I’m sorry to say most of them failed.  Not because of their own product, work ethic or service but simply because they got swamped by everything else.  Well that’s how it seemed to me.

Although I never had the urge to break away from the corporate world a part of me always wanted to see if I could do my own thing, to sell something with a degree of regularity and generate an income.  My own little business if you like.  With the onset of retirement and the need to keep physically as well as mentally occupied I started to give the matter some further thought.  I wasn’t looking to make a living off of any idea, I just wanted to dabble and to see if I could produce something which people would be interested enough in to buy and to see what I could learn from the experience.  SWMBO and her expectation of sharing domestic chores tipped the balance!  I got started and sold the idea to her.  She bought into it far to quickly which tells me she has got one over on me but so far I’m buggered if I can work out what!

The first question I had to address was what was I going to try to sell?  The second was how was I going to try to sell it?

The second was the easiest to answer.  I had already decided that initially eBay would be the vehicle for selling.  Why reinvent the wheel?  The first was a little more difficult.  Modelling is a passion and what interested me the most but my major concern was who would want to buy vignettes and dioramas and even if they did how on earth could I post them without them arriving in pieces at the other end.  There was another problem too.  Each vignette and diorama is unique, a one-off and as such I didn’t think I could bring myself to part with them, even if many of them do now reside in boxes and are stored away.

What to make and try to sell continued to elude me until the obvious hit me, just paint figures!

The more I thought about it the more this made sense.  The figures, typically one piece castings could be easily posted and packaged to arrive safety (if sold!), could be very simply based and if I really liked a figure and wanted to keep it, unlike the more unique basing of a vignette or diorama, I could do another identical one.

I felt now that the idea was taking off, well in my head at least.  There was more to consider though.  What figures would I paint and try to sell?  What price could I realistically charge?  How would I package them up?  What else did I need to consider?

If I was going to do this then I was going to try to do it as good as I possibly could.  The good thing was I had the time and motivation to do so and more importantly it really didn’t matter a jot if things didn’t work out.  The main thing was to avoid doing any cleaning, cooking and shopping.  Nothing financially rested on success or failure, I didn’t have bills to pay or major overheads to meet, only time spent modelling was at stake.

I was just keen to try it, to see if I could make it work and if it did then great and if not then at least I can say I gave it a go and would just have to lie to SWMBO at how well it was going.  Lie to SWMBO?  Yes, lie.  What’s wrong with that?  Most marriages involve lies at some point don’t they?  OK, so there are good lies and bad lies.  A bad lie is saying “I was out with the lads” when actually I was screwing a hot girl I met in the pub (oh how I wish!).  A good lie is saying you had a good day at work when you just got made redundant and don’t want the little lady worrying needlessly.  One way or another they are all lies.  Besides, wives lie too, just think about all the headaches they have!

Whatever the final outcome would turn out to be the fact was I was nearing the launch pad but far from ready for take off.  I needed to do more research.

To be continued …

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TIM

 

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

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Charlie Foxtrot

As some of you will have seen, just before Christmas I completed a WW2 diorama which I called “Operation Overlord” (link below).

https://wordpress.com/post/theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/4052

The buildings I used in this model were all from a company called Charlie Foxtrot Models albeit with some customization on my part.  The buildings themselves are of a high quality and I would recommend them to anyone.  Having completed the model I thought I would email a couple of photos to Colin at Charlie Foxtrot and let him know how pleased I was with his kits.  Let’s face it we all like good feedback and I thought Colin would be no different so with it being the season of goodwill to all men I thought I would pass on my thanks to him.

I didn’t anticipate a reply but to my surprise he came back and said he was impressed with what I had done.  More than that he asked if he could put the images up on his Facebook page in the lead up to Christmas.  I was happy to agree that he could but if I’m being honest thought he was being polite and that would be the end of the matter.

Good to his word Colin did put up the photos, along with a few kind words, just before Christmas as he said he would.  It made me feel like an author getting his first book published.  I was chuffed!

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Carry On Carrying On?

Over Christmas one of the TV channels, I can’t remember which one, aired a few of old Carry On films.  I’m not sure how well known these films are outside of a certain age group or outside of the UK either for that matter.  The humor is mostly built around the English language and the use of the “double entendre”.  Although dated the humor is nonetheless what I was brought up on and to this day I love the adaptability of the English language and the ability it has for word play.

Another outlet for this type of humor, again turning the clock back to when I was a kid, were saucy seaside postcards produced by Bamforth.  These were, and still are to my mind, very funny.  They also played a significant part in my sex education and must have caused my dad much embarrassment when he was asked to explain what some of them meant!

Needless to say there is now a down side to this humor in today’s world.  Only yesterday I read an article on the BBC website about sexual harassment in the work place, it included a quiz to help determine your understanding of what is and what isn’t acceptable in this day and age.  I didn’t do very well!  I’ll go one step further, if I was still working in an office environment I would probably be hung, drawn and quartered.  Goodness only knows how kids flirt these days!  With internet dating I guess they don’t.

These days not only do we have to be more careful about what we say but we also have to be aware of where we are saying it.  For example, “Have you ever had a PC go down on you?” is an innocent enough question in an IT environment but said inside a police station it could be misconstrued.  Personally I’d find it funny but others might take offense.  Similarly, “Wow, that’s a lovely figure can I hold it?” is not an unreasonable request said to someone at the Plymouth Modelling Club but could well upset someone in an office environment.

It gets trickier though when the words are potentially innocent and said in the correct environment, for example “Those are lovely looking melons” is fine when you are in the supermarket fruit and veg aisle but heaven help you if you happen to be standing next to a large breasted female at the time you say it!  Here’s another example …

Now I appreciate in the examples I have given the female of the species is at the butt of the joke and as such there are those delicate soles who would be most offended.  There is however an alternative, join in!  If, as she is inclined to do, She Who Must Be Obeyed happened to say while I was doing some DIY – “That’s a hell of a big tool you’ve got in your hand!” I’d be quite pleased.

It’s often inferred that this type of humor was one way traffic.  Some people tend to forget that men were “victims” of this humor too.

Having worked part time in a Pharmacy I’ve dispensed numerous prescriptions to men who suffer from Erectile Dysfunction.  I’ve never met one who didn’t see the funny side of the situation or had a Viagra joke to tell.  In fact it’s taking Viagra with a glass of water which gives us British guys our stiff upper lip!

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This week TIM has been listening to …

Heroes by David Bowie.

Now the problem with an icon, any icon is they are iconic.  To become an icon you need to have done a lot of great influential stuff which by definition means it is hard to select a single track (or film) from a comprehensive list of outstanding music.  So it is with Bowie.  I chose this one because even if you don’t like Bowie you can’t argue with the title.  Well you can but I wont be listening.

Probably an artist who is not every bodies cup of team but that’s music for you, it’s personal, no rights or wrongs just different opinions.

Expect to see me list more of his tracks in the future.

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This week TIM has been watching … 

JFK’s Secret Killer: The Evidence

Now I’m sure I’m not alone in liking a good old mystery and one of the more fascinating and most popular is the Kennedy assassination.  Theories abound as to what actually happened and many of the things which simply did not add up were featured in the film JFK starring Kevin Costner.

Some years ago I saw this documentary on TV.  I stumbled upon it again recently on YouTube and thought I would share it.  For me this represents the most likely scenario of what actually did happen.  It provides a very realistic answer, backed up with evidence, which addresses the numerous anomalies of the Warren commission and also explains why there would have been a cover up.

Mystery solved as far as I am concerned but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from watching this fascinating investigation.

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Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings and the first of this year!

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2019 – The Initial Plan

The clue is in the title, this is the initial plan, which is to say it hasn’t got a hope in hell of coming to fruition.  So why bother?  Well old working habits die hard (now there’s a title for a film, wonder if anyone has thought of that?) and I like the idea of objective setting and having some focus.  That said I’m not in the slightest bit bothered if I deliver against it or not.  This is my hobby after all and the aim is to enjoy it and if, as I suspect I will do, I choose to go off in a different direction at some point then that’s just what I will do.  I can be so rebellious when I want to be!

So, what do I currently have in store for 2019?

First up, but in no particular order are Knuckleduster Miniatures.  Possibly the finest range of Old Wild West figures on the market.  My modelling roots lie in this genre and I’m really quiet excited at the prospect of a major return to simply doing some figure painting.  With well over a 100 figure in the range (and being added to) it is my intention to do them all so expect to be bored silly during the course of the year (and probably beyond!).

Reaper will also feature this year in what I plan to do.  I’d like to do another dragon at some point but first up will be a boxed diorama.  I’ve only ever done one and I found it bloody difficult.  Expect some serious f’ing and blinding as I “enjoy” myself on this one!

Hasselfree Miniatures have also grabbed my attention and several figures have already been purchased.  Also sitting in my “to do” pile are quite a lot of WW2 figures, some 28mm and some 54mm.  Most of these are intended for the Plymouth Model Show in June where the theme is D-Day as it is the 75th anniversary of this landmark event.  I’m not sure how many I will get done but there is a time critical element to it so at some point I will have to get my finger out.

In the second half of the year I would really like to start work on my next mega project, mega by my standards that is.  It has long been a desire of mine to do a Western town diorama and if possible I’d like to get it under way this year.  Research is the biggest need right now and I’ve yet to fully decided between several ideas on how best to do it.

As if I didn’t have enough to do IRO suggested I do something around Rorke’s Drift.  To be fare it’s a great idea of an amazing historical event and a great film to provide further inspiration if more were needed.  This is one which needs a lot more thought so if I do go down this route it wont be for a while.  I might just go down the vignette route rather than a full blown diorama.  If that wasn’t enough he had some other ideas too!

Another dabble into the horror genre appeals but I need to get my head around this one as well.  Plenty of options but I’d like to do a film crew again for sure.

A look at my neglected pile left me feeling more than a little guilty but I hope to reduce it a little by riding off the back of some Azazel monthly challenges.  No rush though as the pile is far from inspiring me right now.

Away from actual modelling I’m hoping to attend a few model shows during the course of the year and entering a competition or two as well.  Standards are high but the idea of bench marking my work appeals to me and win or lose I find it motivational too.  In all honesty the best modellers don’t enter.  It’s a bit like asking the Beatles to do the Eurovision Song Contest, but I’m happy trying to become one of the best of the rest even if I have to embarrass myself along the way.

I’m also aiming to continue my weekly Musings, certainly for the foreseeable future at any rate.  I’m currently contemplating a new mini series of perhaps 3 or 4 posts in which I will reveal the cunning plan I implemented allowing me to spend as many hours a day as I want modelling with the full support of She Who Must Be Obeyed!  

Last but not least I think I have found a solution to my growing storage problem.  Alas plans A and B have had to be shelved for now owing to the reluctance of both my kids to move out but plan C has great merit.  Unfortunately SWMBO is also reluctant to move out so plan D, a garage revamp, is looking the most likely right now.

So there you have it, the initial plan.  Time will tell just what and how much gets done but whatever the outcome is hopefully the journey will be fun.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

Another couple of tracks by ELO.  I couldn’t decide between “Rock’n Roll is King” and “Don’t Bring Me Down” so I went with both.  Great video’s accompany each although “Rock’n Roll is King” steals it for me.  Some brilliant movie clips in this one including “The Breakfast Club”, “Pulp Fiction”, The Wolf of Wall Street”, “Back to the Future”, “Love Actually” and “Footloose” (the remake).  I must sit down and watch all of them once again!

This week TIM has been watching …

Mission Impossible:  Fallout.

I do love a true story!

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Until next time.

TIM