Summary  

Welcome to Stiff Neck Studio. This is a short guide on services provided and how the commission process will work.

Get A Quote  

Send us a list of what you would like painted (See contacts page for form). Be sure to tell us if you are providing the models to be painted and if they will need to be assembled. I will send you an email with an overall cost and completion date. Remember that our studio requires no money down to start the commission, only the models or the cost of the models if we are purchasing them with a 20% discount. The reason being is that we feel it is not fair for you to give us your models and half the fee up front just in good faith. If you default on the payment of your army ( we will work with you) then we will just sell the army on EBay after 30 days.

Standard of Painting

Simple- One High Quality Standard.
When I built this studio it was because I really enjoyed painting models and seeing a well designed well painted army placed on the tabletop. Painting miniatures is an art form for me. I strive to learn new techniques to improve my skill set and increase speed without sacrificing quality. It is for that reason that I, nor anyone else that touches your models will decrease or limit there skills to decrease the price of the commission. There are another 100 studios on the web that would gladly give you a below table top quality for a little cheaper price. I am incredibly picky about th quality of work that leaves this studio. The only exception to our single standard is Hero or centerpiece models. These models will receive a little extra attention to detail to make them stand out, but not enough to make the rest of the army look like crap. Please take a look at our gallery for examples of work.

Basing  

Basing is 100% customizable. Swamp, city fight, rubble, desert, or a really cool resin base. We do it all, simply ask us. We can also refer you to other companies who produce high quality resin bases.

Purchasing the Models  

Pretty straight forward here. Two options:

Option 1: You supply models and pay to ship them to us.
Option 2: You have us purchase the models at a 20% discount for you with no sales tax and only 5.95 shipping no matter how large the order.

Assembly  

Pretty simple

Option 1: You assemble them before you ship them to us. However, They need to be assembled well or we will have to charge you for partial assembly depending on whats wrong. IE, Large flash and mold lines still on models, metal not properly pinned.
Nothing irritates the artist at the studio more than painting a model and having it fall apart  and ruin the paint job.

Option 2: We assemble and clean the models. Metal models will be pinned at nearly every joint and be cleaned of major mold lines and flash. Plastic models will be cleaned of mold lines and larger plastics pieces will be scored with a razor blade prior to super gluing to ensure a secure bond.


Keeping you informed

During the project you will receive emails of photographs of your models. We typically try and send photos 1-2 times a week depending on how much work we have completed. If we have any question as to the look of a model we will contact you prior to putting a knife or brush to it. Customer satisfaction is very important to us and we don't want any surprises when you open the box with your completed army in it.


Turnaround  

Fast- 2-6 weeks from the time we get the models. Typically It takes 4 weeks to do a 4000.00 point army to our standard. 2-3 weeks for a 2000 point army. This can all very depending on type of model additional conversions, ect ect..   This is still way fast compared to many other studios. The reason being is that we don't take but maybe two commissions a month. This keeps our standard high and the pressure off of the artists.

Send us your Models

Stiff Neck Studio
1305 Foreman Road
Dupont, WA 98327

Please package army well. If you send  it in an army case it will be sent back to you in the army case when the job is completed. Make sure all of the pieces are there and organized accordingly. Also if any models arrive damaged we will repair them for a small fee.

Insurance

The studio uses USPS. They are very affordable and we have had no issues with them. Armies that come from the studio will receive priority mail shipping. The shipping is free within the United States and Canada.  Overseas customers will pay for actual shipping costs.

My bit on Insurance. It's a waste. Here is why. The package is not going to get lost as it is very large. Your models will be packaged extremely well to prevent damage during shipping. The post office will only reimburse the retail cost of models. They don't care at all for the thousands spent on a paint job.

Overseas Shipping Insurance is waste as well. Even if you purchase insurance you will probably never get the claim settled. If you get insurance you must mark the value of the contents on the box. Now when it enters your country you will probably get hit with a huge tax. To avoid these fees your package will be marked as used toys becuase they are and that will prevent any additional fees from customs.