Hire me

Need assistance making your dream model project come true? Hire me to help!

I’m always happy to talk over your projects. Start by getting in touch (email is best). Let me know the basics of what you’d like help with. What are your needs? Your goals? Do you have a time constraint, or a budget constraint?

I won’t charge you to talk about potential projects, and I won’t spam you with emails and hard sells after. What matters to me is getting you closer to your dream.

Specialties

My primary specialties are:

Layout design
Construction and Track Laying
Scenery
Backdrop painting
Structure building
Car and locomotive customization/kitbashing
Paint scheme design
Weathering

I work in all scales, but mostly in HO, N, and G (Garden) scales.

This 1915 USGS quad map of the San Francisco bay area kind of perfectly illustrates my usual range for work. I’m also willing to go farther on a provisional basis depending on your needs.

Location and Availability

For layout size projects, I mostly work in the greater Bay Area of Northern California. In some extreme cases where the budget allows, I am willing to travel nationwide or internationally as along as all travel and lodging expenses are covered.

For smaller projects (such as structures and rolling stock), I am able to serve clients worldwide.

As a (mostly) one person shop, I need to schedule work in advance. As you explore your options, it’s always best to contact me as early as possible.

Terms

There’s a big difference between weathering a single car and building a whole layout, so payment rates and terms tend to vary by project. This said, here’s what is typical:

Hourly rates. I will give you a rough estimate in advance.
Budget consciousness. I’m happy to let you know if we are getting close to your budget.
Deposits for start of work. I usually won’t start without partial payment, which also means you aren’t “on the hook” until you are ready to start.
For larger projects such as layout construction, I send monthly invoices. Smaller projects may just be a deposit to start & then a invoice on completion.
Most materials are supplied by you. Things such as, say, lumber for your layout are typically up to you to buy, although I will happily help you make selections or give advice on how to get the best stuff for the best price. This means I don’t mark up your materials, and it keeps your bills easy to understand. (Exceptions: small amounts of paint or glue, incidental supplies that I already have on hand.)
Reasonable travel expenses for on-site work. For clients greater than fifteen miles from my workshop, there is a modest mileage fee.

Need more specifics? Don’t worry! Once I know more about what you need, I will propose specific terms regarding all of the above. I won’t start work, and you won’t start getting invoices, until we’ve settled all of the above. Mutual transparency matters.