Like many gamers, on the odd occasion when I have too much on to be able to paint a squad myself, or I simply want an easy route to getting some minis ready to play, I have opted to pay someone else to paint my minis. Perhaps surprisingly the service I use isn't based in the West Country (where I am), in fact they arent even based in England, I use Painted Figs (http://www.paintedfigs.com) a team of painters run by Navin Weeraratne, (gamer and all round decent guy) based in Sri Lanka.
To some it may seem mad to send lead soldiers half way round the world to be painted but I have to say the combination of their service and the cost they can offer makes it more than worthwhile, as you will hopefully see from the short review below.
What I wanted...
Approximately 4 weeks ago I contacted Navin and explained I had 17 Artizan late war Commandos that needed painting, and asked him to quote on painting these along with supplying and painting a further 10 Artizan figures that I asked Navin to buy on my behalf. This was the first time I had asked Navin to buy my figures, but it seemed to made sense as he pays wholesale rates, so even with shipping to him they were about the same cost as me buying them in the UK (although I would have had shipping costs to him on top). I gave Navin a brief outline of the colours scheme and style of painting required and told him not to worry about basing them as I like to do that myself. In total Painted Figs would be removing flash, assembling, and painting 27 figures and 1 Vickers Gun.
Cost of painting; a very reasonable $3.00 per model(or £1.50 ish at todays rates). This was compared the best UK rate I coud find for a similar quantity and quality of $10.00 (£5.50).
How it works....
On acceptance of the quote (which usually arrives in 24 hours)if you are happy to send the total fees upfront (I ve used the service before and I am comfortable with their ability to do a good job) you get a 10% discount, and you simply send the money across by Paypal. I would suggest that you shouldn't worry unduly about sending paypal fees in advance, Navin has always provided me with A1 service and is very trustworthy. He makes a point of checking that the customer is happy with what they have painted and produces numerous work in progress photos on request and will even complete a test piece prior to working on your main force to check you are happy.
Monies all sent, you simply box up your miniatures (if Navin isn't buying them for you), send any reference material by email (or in the box with the minis) and give any specific detail such as colours to be used if you are trying to colour match existing platoon members. Navin's team work well when given plenty of detail and direction, so if you have an Osprey book or pictures they are worth inlcuding. All packaged up, they cost me just £7.50 to ship to Sri Lanka (17 minis, 30 x 2p pieces for bases, and 1 Osprey Book), so shipping cost isn't a big factor.
The painting...
A week later I got an email from Navin to say the minis had arrived safely, and that work would start the following day. 2 days later another email with an attached photo showing 2 of my minis painted so I could check the colous and make sure I was happy before the committed my minis and their time to the job in hand. I think this part of the service is crucial, and works very well. They are happy to discuss paints used and will happily take on board your suggestions (previously they painted some modern British Infantry for me and I suggested the camo might beenfit from more brown, within a few hours I had new photos with repainted samples).
With the Ok from me the rest took about 7 days to complete, at which point Navin sent more photos of the whole squad and asked how I wanted my Vickers team based, giving me a couple of different oprtions as I hadn't specified. Once he knew I was total happy with the work he asked if I would mail the return shipping fee by Paypal (again about £7.50-£8.00). 1 week later, the minis arrived at my door.
What I got...
In terms of how the product arrived I coudln't have been happier. The box was a little tattered (it had been half way round the world) but inside I need not have worried as each miniature was individually wrapped in foam and secured by the way of 2 elastic bands to stop anything moving in transit. On unwrapping, the paint job far exceeded what I had seen in the photos and the colours were excatly as I had specified. All parts had been given a spray of varnish (as requested) and all parts arrived un-bent and in 1 piece. A great job and first class service. All reference material had also been returned and were in good condition (which surprised me I thought I might have lost that Osprey book 
)
Conclusions...
It might seem dotty to send your minis to Sri Lanka when you could have them painted in the UK, however I have to say the cost (particularly the way the $/£ rate is at the momment) makes this such an attractive idea, and the service is fantastic. The 27 miniatures cost me £55.00 including shipping to and from; to have them painted in the UK would have been £150.00+, which is way outside my price range. However the thing that has really sold me on Painted Figs is their attention to detail and a real desire to give great service which is something we just don't get in the UK too often. The whole process from start to finish took less than 4 weeks (I was being quoted 4-6 weeks by most UK painters) and there is no real risk in sending your metal abroad when the guys at the other end understand service as well as they do, and the result you want as a fellow gamer.
I would fully recommend them, and have already spoken to Navin with a view to sending some more WW2 troops out in the next week or so. Below are just 1 or 2 examples from the platoon that Painted Figs painted for me, click to enlarge:
