Custom Orders

A little more $$ than Ebay but you get to call the shots!

Custom Order Gallery

Praetorian/bloodletter Hills and bunkers

Space Wolf  ice world

River and Bridge for fantasy

Tau City

Two Eldar Pieces

Imperial Bunker

Imperial city

Things To consider

Prices
Ebay v. Custom Orders
What To Order
How To Order

How Not To Order (read before contacting me, please)

Boards

Waiting List

I Reserve the Right

Customer Reassurances

Standard Price List (read my prices section first, please)

Ever wanted to be a patron?  Having artists relying on you, financially, and therefore obligated not only to make you great looking things, but also items that proclaim your glory to the whole world.  Well, in the tradition of the Estes and Ariosto, Augustus Caesar and Virgil, Mr. Burnes and Homer, I am willing to offer my services to you for a price.  Yes, my artistic integrity is up for sale.  Not only that but I'm willing to lend my vision to you (well not lend, more like sell really, but hey...).

I never really figured I'd do custom orders, but then people started asking.  So, I've done a few.  I've found that a lot more thought goes into a custom order, extra attention which I think shows in the final product.  I'm a firm believer that scenery looks better when there's a story behind it, and well...it's hard to put a story behind generic scenery when you don't know what kind of table it will be going on, who will be fighting on that table, or who they will be fighting against.  I have nothing against generic scenery, but the difference between a rock wall and a rock wall adorned with the heads of your enemies is immeasurable.  Anyway...

You can contact me for custom orders by emailing me here!  Please no attachments until we've talked.

Prices 

I price on an individual basis.  There is no set "price list" because each of my items is unique and incredibly dependent on context.  Some hills are easier to make than others, and they are all different sizes.  Also, the prices differ if you buy more of one kind of thing than if I have to go through the labor just to make one item.  Other factors of price include whether I have parts on hand, whether I can get parts for cheap, the amount of labor involved, whether it's Winter here in Massachusetts and I have to figure out how to get resin to dry in -5 degree temperatures.  In other words, you contact me, we talk, we settle on a price, and I begin building.

If all this sounds a little too up in the air for you, I have included sample prices on my gallery page, and a relatively standard price list at numerous points on this page.   In regards to the gallery, I've listed prices under the picture that I would generally charge to make that thing for you.  That price goes down obviously if I make a whole bunch of things that are alike, or if I'm working in a theme (say like an ice world or something).

Ebay v. Custom Orders

Well, the advantage to Ebay is that you can occasionally get a single item for less than it would cost to custom order it.  My custom prices begin at what I would normally charge for a "Buy It Now" price and are then reduced based off the volume and theme of the sale.  So, the starting bid is normally lower than what I would charge to custom build it.  Also, with Ebay, the item is made when it goes up for auction.  If you win the auction, you can have the item the next day, assuming that you're willing to pay for that shipping option.  Custom orders take between a week and two for standard item.  A "board" will generally take a month.

The disadvantage to Ebay is that I don't give volume discounts.  The best you can hope for is combined shipping, and that will probably only save you a couple of dollars.  I generally only sell "worlds" on Ebay if I think that the main parts won't sell outside of context.  For things like an Ice World, I sell the parts separately because I know that they will sell, that they will make money, and bottom line, because this is a business.

If on the other hand, you order an ice world, you do get a discount.  Also, you can expect to have some kind of artistic control over what I make for you.  If you want an ice city, chances are I will never make one for Ebay, but I will custom build it for you at your suggestion.  Also, CUSTOM built means that the stuff is made for you; no more generic buildings.  The barracks are painted in your colors, the flag poles carry your standards, and the poles are adorned with the heads of your enemies.  For Ebay I am forced to make scenery that will sell to anybody.  Occasionally I might make an Ork building, but I certainly don't make buildings for Ork players who generally fight Tau; my market would be too small.

What To Order

Order whatever you like.  I can make it, and if I can't, I'll let you know.  However, the best way to order scenery is to get some idea of what you want.  Think of it like getting a haircut.  You hand the person a picture and say, "I want a haircut like that."  Well, that works for this too.  If you say, I want Hoth, I'll make Hoth.  If you say, I want a complex that looks like Doom 3, or scenery from the cruise ship in The Fifth Element, or whatever, let me know.  Pictures help.  Video clips ditto.  Hell, even just a few words.  "I want a hive world," will get me more in sync with you and what you want.

Keep in mind, you don't have to have everything necessarily planned out.  If you only have a partial idea of what you'd like, I'm willing to help you out with suggestions and ideas--all of which you can either take or leave.

I recommend that when thinking about the scenery you want built, you might want to think about the "standard" scenery pieces.  What do you want the hills to look like?  Do you want things that aren't hills that will count as hills (like alien structures or giant pipeline terrain)?  What about forests?  In a world I'm currently building, the "trees" of the forest scenery are actually made up of alien tentacles of creatures that are sort of floating above the ground.  It counts as a forest, though it looks very little like the traditional temperate forests of Warhammer Fantasy.

...Or I can make the standard forests, hills, walls, rivers, and buildings.  No problem either way.

How To Order

I prefer to start business relationships through email.  In other words, I don't just want to list my phone number on the web page.  Sorry about the paranoia.  I would give out my IM thing, except that I never use it, and so it would be pretty useless.  Basically, I check my email four or five times a day so you can be pretty sure that I'll get back to you.

How Not To Order

Ahem...how do I say this?  I do this because I have a skill and because I enjoy doing it and because if I just made scenery for myself, my wife would probably eventually scream, "Enough!"  In other words, my baby eats whether you contract me to build a city or not.  I like 40k, I like helping other 40k players out, I want to make your boards look better, and all that, but seriously, please don't email me attempting to lowball me.  I'm not casting an entire Hirst Arts board for you for $100. 

Also, I get a custom order about once a week.  I will NOT be making scenery for you which you "will buy if you like it."  Basically, that's insulting.  I'm not making things for you unless I have some guarantees (generally half up front) that the scenery has a buyer.

If you want me to quote you a price, I would be happy to quote you a price.  If you want me to send you an official invoice through Paypal, I will be happy to do so, but please consider this for what it is: a negotiation taking place between two strangers. 

Lastly, most emails to me start with, "I was wondering if you could build..."  The answer is most likely, "yes."  But I've noticed that, after I say yes, a lot of people stop emailing me.  I assume that this is because I'm not answering your question to your satisfaction.  Two things, before I make anything there's generally a dialogue of about 2 or 3 volleys of emails and possibly a phone call.  That's just part of my getting what you want straight.  Second, if you want specific information (how much will this cost?  how long will it take?) just ask.  I can be a bit thick at times, and may miss the point of your email if you don't come right out and say it.

Boards

My most common order is for boards.  A board generally means that I will cover half to all of the board with scenery.  Sometimes its as simple as "City Fight board".  Other times, it can be as specific as: hills here, two forest plates, a bunker, and a river.  Either way, I generally am making a continuous thing to go on top of a board.  The poles in the hills match the poles in the town.  Essentially, even if I can break it down into say 4 or 5 parts, it's simply not the same as making 4 or 5 parts.  Also, it's never just 4 or 5 parts.  Walls get poles.  Bunkers need reactors.  You can set a board down and aside from putting a green felt mat underneath, you won't need anything else to play a game that drops your friend's jaws.  

As I've said elsewhere, boards generally take a month (and sometimes longer) to build.  I do not start building until I receive the first half of the payment.  After two weeks, I will send out pictures of what I've got so far.  If you don't like those pictures, or if, for whatever reason, you don't feel satisfied with the work, I will refund your money at that point.  It's not a huge deal for me;  I'll just sell it on Ebay.

Waiting List

Because I want to be fair to my customers, I do not take on more than two custom orders at a time.  If this means that you have to take your business elsewhere, I understand.  I can only say that I am worth the wait and when I get started on your job, I won't be distracted by 10 other jobs.  If you contact me to commission a board, say, and I'm backed up, I will let you know where I am on the waiting list and how long it will probably be until I get to you.  As of now, it costs nothing to be on the waiting list.

I Reserve The Right

I reserve the right to put pictures up on my website of any and/or all things that I make.   I generally ask my custom order customers if they would volunteer to serve as references.  If you say yes, you may get emails from people asking about the experience of working with Monstro.  If you say no, I won't bother you again.

Customer Reassurances

I realize that all this sounds well and fine, but that in reality, I'm some guy in Massachusetts and I'm saying I won't work a lick until I receive half the money up front.  What reassurances, I assume you are asking, do you have that this isn't a scam, or that I'm not just going to take your money and run.  I list a lot of things I've tried to do to offer my customers protection, all of which is listed at the bottom of my Integrity page.  Which also gives a brief synopsis of my business ethic.