I have a miniature to paint (just one). It is Spock’s shuttle from the original Star Trek movie.
You can see it here as the little tan model next to the Enterprise:
(I can get closer shots if needed.)
I want it to look like this:
I know there are many people out there who will paint miniatures for you for money. I am certainly happy to pay someone for this work.
My problem is, how do I find someone good to do this? They need not be elite but still, very good and and care about the final result being excellent. I tried to do this search on my own and there were no lack of results but it quickly became overwhelming to try and discern who was good and prices charged and so on.
If they are in Chicago all the better but I can ship the model if needed (I prefer in the US just for ease and time).
Any ideas? If anyone here is very good at this let me know. That’d be great.
I just Googled Chicago miniature expo and it look like there are two huge ones early next month. Sounds like you should drop by to see what the artists have to exhibit and maybe commission one whose work you like.
Similar to @Projammer, I’d suggest checking out a few local gaming/mini stores. Many of the bigger ones (depending on your location) will have exhibits of mini’s painted by local artists, some of whom provide their contact information and do commissioned work. You’ll see a LOT more at an expo like PJ just suggested, but they may end up being less local and more regional, though since you were willing to extend your search to the US that seems less of an issue.
And that’s a lovely Enterprise, I’d be envious, but I have cats.
I had a miniature painted by someone on Fiverr and had good luck with it. I used to paint my own but got out of it and never did this one but still wanted it painted for display. It’s a sort of cheesecake lady Polish Hussar and larger than the standard 20mm D&D type. Looked up a few people on Fiverr, sent them an inquiry if they were interested and felt comfortable (no nudity or anything, but not a standard fantasy adventuring figure), found a woman excited by the idea and mailed it off to her. Got a few updates and it was sent back a few weeks later. Looking back ,it ran me $30 and I tipped her another $20 but that was a couple of years ago at this point.
In @Whack-a-Mole 's case (as he lives in Chicago), I’d highly suggest going up to the awesome Games Plus in Mount Prospect. In addition to board games and RPGs, they sell a lot of gaming minis and painting gear (including Warhammer stuff); they also have a bulletin board where people post about looking for gaming groups and players, as well as where painters post their contact information. He might be able to find some contacts through that board, and also possibly by talking to the very experienced and knowledgeable staff.
Just the sort of thing I was thinking of, thanks @kenobi_65. I have never lived or visited Chicago (on a list of things I’d like to do though), and so I could tell you local stores, or a couple of cool places in Austin TX (shout out to Dragon’s Lair there) non of which are much help.
Possibly so, though the game store I mentioned does stock a lot of Warhammer minis, as well as other sci-fi minis and games, and regularly hosts Games Workshop and Battletech events.
I have two 28mm miniatures from the same company. A British Redcoat and a Roman Centurion, both women. They’re weird in that they’re cheese cakey but both are pretty much fully clothed.
The OP might want to check out the Reddit r/brushforhire. Etsy is another source but you can also find commission painters on Instagram. While I paint miniatures for my friends, I don’t do commissions because I’m always worried it won’t turn out to the person’s satisfaction.