Hello all,
I have seen alot of awesome work on this site . I was just wondering how many of you make a living or partial living doing this?

If only.......

Vinnie

I think there are only about 5 to 10. That depends on how you define make a living. The number jumps a smidge if you consider, side jobs alnog with a full time job.

If only i was that good. I would be sacked after a week at the moment. :-) :-) :-) :-)

If all goes well with my plans on after market stuff for OIF armor & dios...this year then I'll be making my new found interest in 1/35 armor a "partial-living"..

then if all goes very very well for my plans on sci-fi & 1/6 figure resin kits ..then I'll be doing so 3/4 'a living'


still..I think I'd rather never make this hobby - totally as a living since I'd like to actually spend my time modelling MY OWN STUFF!!!!...

Ciao Spruhound,
I used to wish that I could make a living doing modeling, but then I realized that it would go from a hobby to a job. Yuck! So, now, I just hope that when I die and go to heaven, I get to work in the Hobby Shop up there.
Ciao for now
Rob

I make a meager living to supplement my retirement pension. But I donate more of my work than I sell. I have been lucky enough to sell enough to give me money to keep me supplied.

I had seriously looked into the prospect of building for a living. As already mentioned it takes a lot of time away from building subjects that you wish to build. I guess if you can get over that fact, you would be fine. I have done some commission work in the past that paid me extremely well, but inthe same token, it took a massive amount of time away from MY projects. That and the demand to have something built isn't always high. Its fun every now and then, but thats about it for me. "Q"

Part of my job as a designer is to produce models and prototypes of the stuff we sell, so I use the skills and tools I have from the hobby to help me at work. Not exactly the same thing but fun nonetheless.

My hat's off to those professional modelers that still enjoy it as a hobby. I don't think I would though. Woodworking is one of my hobbies and on those occasions that I've been commissioned to build something for someone, it quickly turned from fun to just work.

If only there were that many customers!
I have on occassions managed to finance my own hobby that way, but my best customer is currently serving Uncle Sam in Afghanistan so at the moment it's a hobby only.

I've been fortunate enough to make my living building models for almost 25 years, in a variety of jobs.
Industrial Design, Engineering, Architectural, Legal, Motion Picture, Theme park and Museum models are all legitimate and potentially well paying specialties.
You can even take model making courses in college and some very prestigious schools like Art Center in California have a very heavy emphasis on model making and prototyping.

I think that being paid to build models and how you look at model making as a hobby is largely circumstantial, at least for me. Some of my jobs have been very satisfying and creative and my interests were focused elsewhere outside of work. Other times, the stress of the workplace motivated me to work on my own projects at home. If you learn something new, you want to try it for yourself at home.

Deadlines, budgets and making the model look right for the client (not yourself) are all part of being professional and succeeding in a specialized field.
Mike

Although I have a full time, I've had to find ways to help provide for my slush fund ie: My Toys.
Since I started working at the VA hospital in my area, I was allowed to display some models, and the inquiries started coming in. In the past 3 years, I 've done 21 commisioned pieces for various patients.,
By all means, I don't get rich, as I average only $150 for an Armored piece or Plane, and figures are only charged $35-100.
Biggest job was for 3 Pibbers and 5 Nascar Racecars to two individuals. Those two I thank for providing the funds for a new Laptop.
Like I said, not rich but the toy fund survives and the kids don't complain.

i really wish i could..but in Greece is not an option..i do some commission jobs just to finance my money and dont bite the family money, but is far from living of it...unfortunately

I built 2 civvie cars on commission once, as well as a few RC cars for customers, while working in a hobby store while in high school and university.

I decided it took too much away from the hobby for me and became too much like work... for me personally I put alot of myself into models, especially figures, and I struggle to part company with them, even as gifts to a good home...

As much as I'd love to be skilled enough to make my hobby into a job, the only way that would happen would be if I won the lottery. If I was "set for life" money-wise, then I would make this my only job, with the dream workshop (not a workbench, mind you, a workSHOP) and all the rsources that I could imagine. Barring that kind of luck, I'll be happy to make models for myself.

Ditto Lemonjohn.Whatever I build that gets sold just helps out in the hobby budget.Hit the lotto,and or retire,and maybe expand.But I'm only gonna build what I like.If it sells,fine.If not,then it was fun doin' it.I'd rather not be in the position of doing a pink Volvo for money because it was a 'client's' first car I more or less did that for 15 years or so doing custom fabrication.That's not a steady living either.
Right now,it's all about fun and fund the hobby
Cheers

I guess you can say I do this as a half time living as I am a full time student and work/intern with a Reining Horse Trainer, which eats up a lot of my time to sculpt.

I probably could be a 'putty whore' (:-) ) full time and I probably will once out of school.

However, if you say you wish you were a pro, think about how it really works, you decide on a project, and you need to get it done, if you want to get paid, in a decent amout of time, and have to be of as high a standard as you can produce. Sometimes it is more of a chore then fun to sit down at the bench. I know a project I had going kept me from doing anything as I was totally disgusted with the project which led to a complete stand still for over 2 months. Finally I was able to get over it and just say screw it (project still aint finished and never will be...)

I guess the main difference between a pro and a non pro is the ability to overcome such things and just work methodically and professionaly on what ever project you are working on. I think I still have things to learn in this aspect!

I do derive a good portion of my family's income from professional model making. Sometimes, in periods of layoffs - it was 100% of my income. Now, I only build on commission when I want to, and if the subject is interesting to me to take on.

I have been very fortunate over the years to have a hobby that turns professional when I want it too. I do, however, maintain a strict balance in life between career, family, my personal hobby pursuits, and professional commissions. I walk away from 3 out of 4 offers/requests that come my way to keep that balance. The Internet didn't figure into my equation, so I've had to learn how to best integrate that too into my life. Still a work in progress there...

Gunnie

I worked for a well known model soldier manufacturer for nearly 4 years in my late teens/early 20's. While it was great to begin with as I was getting odd figures free & could get kits @ staff prices, I realised that as time went on I spent less & less time on my hobby & finally stopped altogether (although I did continue to paint the odd figure for my Dad). This did to some extent coincide with an increasing interest in motorcycles, but the truth is that after 8 hours a day working with the models I didn't really want to see them in the evening. I supervised the casting shop & made the moulds, which was interesting work.
The girls, mainly Asians, who did the painting of completed figures were not particularly interested in the hobby, they just regarded it as a job (they were well paid). They had been exhaustively trained by a friend of the sculptor to paint the figures, 3 at a time, including highlighting & shadowing, & they were very good.

I haft to commend anybody that tries to make a living in the model world today. The competition is stiff, with so many talented people in this field.

Before a few got by with some pretty shabby products, that hardly even looked like the real thing, but today, they won't stand a chance, with all the information today, with this computer world, their products just won't sell, to many are informed.

Either that, or they haft to practically give them away, a lot of you know what I mean, I've heard some of you talking about some of the old manufacturers that used to make toys rather then models, I can't remember their names right now, but I assume some of you will recall their names.

Today everything is topnotch, and if yours isn't up there with them, then forget it.

We have a lot of top builders right here at Armorama, probably enough to start a company, but then where would the fun be, like a few said by the time you spent all day working on models for pay, then you wouldn't want to work on them for fun, I know I wouldn't.

I love modeling, and I wouldn't want to ruin it by trying to make a job out of it, I wouldn't mind a few pieces for friends, but not for a living, but that is just me.

Then it becomes hard work, and I take my hat off to the ones who can make it work.
Kerry

I make some cash building them but after awhile it's just no fun. At least as a pure hobby my time is my own, my deadline is my own, choice of subject is my own and instead of modeling for a living I'm just living better because of my modeling.