ME-13 Frodo the Hobbit

just a quick post to show  the start of my halfling  ally contingent 

one day i may finally get round to painting his trusty followers

enjoy 

kat

CONFESSIONS OF AN E BAY SELLER

so here's the thing I sell on eBay. and yes I do  both buy it now and auctions .now e bay is a divisive 

site with the majority of complaints being about high buy it now prices. well my take is this .if I list a miniature I have to consider that a big dealer will buy it and relist it a a higher price. for me personally I want my items going to people who will actually use and paint up the figure .and not go to a e bay scalpers. so let me break down how I prepare items for sale .

1. miniature is stripped of paint and checked for damage 

2. I then identify the miniature 

3. pictures are then taken 

4. using the sold listings feature I then price the item when doing this I ignore buy it now prices.

5.after all this I then list the item 

6 if I am lucky and the item sells I have to package the item and post it out.

7. after all this I then have e bay and PayPal take their cut (roughly 15% of the sold price)

so why do I go to all the effort why do I not just photograph the figures and list them well the answer is simple I care . I want my buyers to be able to open a package prep the figure undercoat and ready to go.

what annoys me is sellers that put no effort into there listing its not hard to to strip a miniatures not hard to identify a figure either .but so many sellers just don't put the effort in.

so am I greedy ?.no far from it I am happy to consider offers (just don't take the piss)

you see its a double edged sword yes I make money selling miniatures but I also am a collector and painter my self

I like to think my time is worth it.

now moving on to scenery and terrain 

some of you may be aware that I build and sell terrain also .these items take time to make plus I have my materials cost to factor in as well .so how do I figure out a fair price .again sold listings I compare similar sold items to mine and price accordingly .all scenery listings have a buy it now or best offer

and again I am happy to consider offers. so let me ask you would you take a cut in your wages. would you consider it acceptable  bearing in mind you have invested time and money training to be able to do your job. well here's the thing I have spent over five years taking courses in various art and design courses my qualifications are below 

btec 1st diploma in art and design

nvq level 2 carpentry and joinery

BA in fine art sculpture

not to mention  skills and techniques that I have developed and learnt from various jobs I have held (mostly building trade)

so as you can see I have the skills I have invested time and money honing those skills so I can make and produce items that can be unpacked and used straight away from the box .I think I offer these items at a fair price considering  my investment in time and money.

I don't know maybe my items are rubbish maybe I am overcharging .who knows at the minute I feel like I am banging my head against a brick wall.

anyway I don't want to come across as ranting disgruntled e bay seller 

but to me it just seems that people would rather buy some rubbish mdf kit of a building than a hand crafted unique item.

so what are your thoughts . I am throwing this out to you guys I really would love to hear your thoughts on this .

and if you have made it this far thank you for reading this 

and promise normal service will resume on the next post 

and if by any chance you want to buy an item send me a message .and for the record anybody wanting an item gets a 15% discount on the listed e bay price or you can make me an offer thanks 

for listening 

rant over 

kind regards 

kat 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/karuk23

NEW BIT OF SCENERY

well I have not posted for a bit and I did promise  to myself I would .

but I have not been idle. i have just finished  some more bits of scenery. i have been the recipient of all

sorts of odds and sods for making scenery. mainly because over the years I have slowly brainwashed nearly every body I know to be on the look out for bits that I can use for example this piece. the main ruins are an old fish tank ornament with some small foam additions a few plastic plants .and the usual sand and flock..

and I have a new tool to my arsenal .what is it you may ask ? that's right a hot glue gun. well what can I say I bloody love it I have become a hot glue addict lol .my previous choice of glue was pva. now  don't get me wrong p.v.a is good but the bloody drying time 
is a joke .glue something then wait overnight for it to dry it sent me nuts. but now I can glue with out waiting for hours before I can work on the piece again.

anyway enough of my waffle here s the pics but if you don't have a hot glue gun then get one you wont regret it ( just don't touch the hot end)

kind regards 

kat

WARHAMMER SCENERY " AKA THE STILTED MANSION"

and now a word from our sponsors

just a quick post .more scenery i am afraid.i recently have started 

building scenery to sell.and  have finally gotten my arse into gear and actually started to shift some bits.so i guess this post is also an advert for my business as well.so what am i selling ?.

well the answer to that is simple what do you want to buy.you see i don't really talk about my personal life i figure you don't want to hear that.quite simply i love to the point of obsession building small things .i remember being bored at my Granny's and making things out of match box's .i was most happy at school in the junk box making blue peter specials.in short this obsession led to miniatures..and miniatures led to scenery.i find there is something nice about a fully set up table that adds an extra level of immersion to the game .i recently read a post on seans wargames corner about unpainted figures in a game.in a way i think the same about scenery i can never understand why you would spend hours painting miniatures only to  then play them on a piece of lino with some m.d.f boxes stuck on top.i think good scenery makes a game .and good scenery is out there .or you could go the commission route.i think its fair to say we all have a dream board or table that one certain scenario you have always wanted to try that one particular building you have always imagined.

well look no further 

normal service will now resume 

so before i pack it and send it some pics of the stilted mansion

i see this as a dwarf out post building built high on  top a rock  it can keep a lookout for raiders and attackers.

so on with the pictures 

enjoy 

kat

WARHAMMER ZOMBIES ( THE WOLFSBACH BUTCHERS )

had a few hours to spare last night so put the finishing touches to my other unit of undead .another sixty zombies I call the wolfsbach butchers. the banner is an attempt to do some freehand which is something I really need to practice also made a unit filler just for the fun of it .doing the gore effects on the unit filler was great fun .I used uhu glue and paint for the blood and gore and pink painted string to make ropes of entrails to dangle about the place.

any ways enjoy the pics 

kat