Great to see you on the forums
What a great question
- it's somewhat a curveball; considering it questions 'value',
though I'll be as succinct as possible
I'm not an authority by any stretch of the imagination; I'm sharing some stuff I've learned along the way gaming in tabletop stuff
by asking lots of questions just like this to as many folks as possible hehehe
how else do we learn
I've come to appreciate more, what goes into a final product.
it's something 'you know when you see it', y'know?
so, there's a few options to realising the custom you'd envisage:
1) the most cost effective |and potentially fun| option, DIY.
Practice makes awesome, and it can be done to your level of finish.
100% control over costs ensures the project is as cost effective as can be.
a lot of folks who think they couldn't make miniatures find they're better at making customs than they expect,
and things like Pepakura/papercraft expand the media people can experiment with.
2) a light customiser/cut-and-reposition maker - these folks make awesome final products using
predominantly already available components and off-the-shelf stock parts with
some greenstuff or 3D printed miniatures etc. Most of my stuff'd fit into this category hehehe
This can get expensive if there's more greenstuff/custom stuff, more colors and the parts are rarer etc, but this can also be cost effective and looks neat.
send a prospective maker a private email or bloomail, Private Message etc, and be sure to share some sketches or picture-references and your potential budget - if the artist is agreeable, some negotiation happens and bada-bing! you've got neat figures
sometimes, you'll be able to trade what the folks need or other things, other times - a little currency'll make things a win win.
Its usually lowest bidder reverse tender for the process - 'shop around' a little, and go with the best value proposition and all the checklist bonuses hehehe
|N.B. Factor into negotiation things like limited run, postage, conversion rates and language/cultural barriers etc, and no matter the planning, bear in mind those things could all change between negotiation and final delivery etc|
3) commissioning sculptor/3D printer - you've got something that is hard to make with off the shelf parts or that's a little 'out there';
you can negotiate with non-union and freelance artists or sculptors via places like 3DPrintHubs, Shapeways or dakkadakka, coolminiornot, leadadventure.de.
These folks usually run things as a hobby, so there's less focus on margins. There's also no guild, no unions and no "middlepeople/gatekeepers something-blockers"... so, its more cost effective and pleasant all around.
They're making a name for themselves, dabble/are retired etc
or want to hone their skills (but, want to avoid any "Infudgement Entanglements")
this can be cost effective, but, for larger quantities, or really 'out there' stuff, other options might be the go.
really rare folks are those who cast minis AND work in clear material.
this will be usually a complete scratch built, one of a kind thing. maybe a couple of parts, or an armature, are 'offtheshelf',
but not the majority of the thing.
Have your photo-ref or mud-map pencil sketches ready from the get-go, and you'll be surprised how quick an answer you can get.
4) commissioning high end sculptor/ 3D printer etc. or custom small arts/fine arts artist
this is approaching folks such as the people who originally 'officially' made x,y,z.
This can be dicey on all sides hehe, and risky, but, the reward is worth it.
For example, folks that missed out on Star Trek Galoob or SW Galoob etc... they commissioned some folks to make even the custom blister packaging etc. Or, those oversized galoob stuff.
approaching Eaves or Okuda for custom artwork, that kinda thing.
So too, in the world of tabletop boardgames etc, do folks commission from Eavy Metal or Milton Bradley etc...
Attempts thus far in SWMinis have been fruitless (though, no concerted effort to make custom miniatures NECA/Heroclix style has to-date been made) -
at this high end, costs are at volume - this requires multiple people to forgo 'beer money' or a kickstarter etc.
It's the most serious end, and the rarest.
Pro- the finished product is as close as humanly possible to a production run as can be made.
Con- cost, infudgement redtape,
So... thanks for reading;
to your specific question;
it depends on what route you want to take,
how many friends/folks you can get onboard to share in the awesome (if you've got 15 friends on kickstarter who want to see a run of 6 figures, you might be surprised the level of awesome that could arise).
whether you supply parts etc,
painted or 'raw'
and what budget you're envisaging.
Is Ragnos a ghost who's flying on a 2 x 2 base? or, is Ragnos alive and slashing?
is Tenebrous spewing "Sith Bith" Lightning?
I'm sure you could find an awesome customiser here on Bloomilk;
even if I can't tackle that subject matter,
a whole bunch of custom minimakers are here, and being bloomilk,
you can send an email/bloomail and rest assured in a friendly response.
I should think the cost of 2 custom minis like those, if made
via a cut-n-reposition method, would be comparable to:
14 uncommon minis,
5 or 6 mid rares...
depending on what is negotiable, what they're made from etc.
(that gives a monetary ballpark too
)
if you were wanting them to be top of the line, or "just-so" to an exacting standard of finish;
Oppo Rancisis for example, was a fine fine miniature made by ExManus Studios
(which I obtained multiple duplicates of, for my Brother Vini Fallout Minis as "Mutant Naga-monks")
worth every cent,
excellent service,
superb communication and feedback/redesign work.
It was a figure I couldn't have made myself, and which I wanted to be EXACTLY like the comicbook version - not the Clone Wars Version.
Similarly,
Yarael Poof was a figure I knew would never see the light of day as an off the shelf mini.
Having tried to make the character myself using a Mr Fantastic/ElasticMan etc... nope, it just wasnt quite right heheh
I knew I had to call in the pro's to get my mind-picture into tangible minis. The jedi council would be complete...
Luckily, ExManus was there again,
after looking around and having similar projects fall through or folks bail on GoofyMonk...
ExManus picked up the pieces,
and made a mini that is true to the source materials provided them -
yup, Yareal is really 9&1/2 ft tall, he's gangly hehehe.
I had to paint these and find lightsaber materials, but
being a customiser somewhat myself,
that was fun! (I was sweating bullets though, incase I made a mistake, it was the masters after all and I only had 1 chance hehe)
painting was straightforward, and to a standard which doesn't look too out of place next to my other customs or
importantly, next to a 'vanilla' SWMini/D&D mini.
the trick? thin paint layers, limited colormatched color palette. and, limit the drybrushing/ink layers.
good luck,
there's plenty of options there,
and hopefully you find a way
to realising those minis you're questing for.