What Is My Time Worth Part 7: Final Analysis and Thoughts

So, it's taken a while to go from this:

The actual hull number is NB16. I didn't think to take a picture of the original packages.

to this:

Now, with the project finished, it's time to take a look at the numbers.  How long did it take?  What would it cost me to buy one pre-assembled?  And, finally, what is my time worth?

So, How Long Did It Take?

In looking at the build time for this project, we can break it down into four parts: Hull, Masts, Standing Rigging and Running Rigging.  So, let's look at the parts of the project in that order.  

The Hull:

To get the hull put together, cleaned up and make sure the masts would fit into the holes in the hull took 50 minutes.  I decided that the guns were a little too high above the water on this model, so I decided to grind the waterline down to the proper height.  To measure that and get it ground down took about 12 minutes.  This isn't normally a step I would take, but in this case I decided to do so as I thought it was too far out of line.  These times were minor compared to painting the hull of course, which took just a touch over 3 hours, or 185 minutes.  The total time in getting the hull ready was a total of 247 minutes, or 4.12 hours

The Masts (Including the bowsprit):

It only took 22 minutes to clean and assemble the masts.  Once again, painting was the main amount of time here, which took 152 minutes or 2.53 hours.  Because I made sure the masts would fit into the hull before assembly started, it took only 6 minutes to install all the masts including the bowsprit.  When all the times for the masts were totaled up, it took exactly 180 minutes, or 3 hours.

Standing Rigging:

Including drilling all the holes for the rigging, it took 106 minutes to install the stays between the masts.  It took 48 minutes to paint and install the photo-etch ratlines. To do the backstays for all three masts took 88 minutes, and it took 29 minutes just to put the rigging around the outside of the bowsprit.  When added together, the entire set of standing rigging took 261 minutes, or 4.35 hours.

Running Rigging:

Surprisingly enough, this turned out to be the quickest part of the whole project, which I did not expect.  To do all the running rigging took 106 minutes, or 1.76 hours.

Totals and Grand Total:

1. Hull:                                    247 minutes/4.12 hours
2. Masts:                                 180 minutes/3.00 hours
3. Standing Rigging:              261 minutes/4.35 hours
4. Running Rigging:              106 minutes/1.76 hours

          GRAND TOTAL:            794 minutes/13.23 hours

What Would It Cost To Buy One Prebuilt?

For purposes of this comparison, I'm using the prices found at the Model J Ship website (http://modeljship.com/en/).  The basic cost from the website of a ship like I just built would be 60 Euros.  Julian (the website owner) charges 15.00 Euros for a base, but he hand-sculpts his and I don't do that any more so I don't think the comparison there is fair.  He also offers an accessories kit for 25 Euros that includes anchors, towed boats and flags, but I didn't build my ship with any of these.  Consequently, the best comparison from the website is the basic model.  Using the XE.com exchange rate website, 60 Euros equals $71.39 US.  So, $71.39 is the amount I will use to determine the answer for the next section.

What Is My Time Worth?

So, now we've come to the big reveal and it's just a question of simple math.  Take the cost of $71.39 and divide it by 13.23 hours.  That gives us a total of:

$5.39 per hour

Hmmmmm.  Well, it's a little more than what I expected, since I originally expected it to be about $3 something an hour.  When I started this series in August of 2017, the same frigate from Model J Ship would have cost 73 Euros, or $85.96 US although that includes a base.  If I had included a base in the price above, it would have still been 73 Euros, but $86.86 US due to the different exchange rates over time.

What Does It All Mean?

My first thought here is that it means no one is getting rich in the model shipyard business!  For other meanings, I have to go back to some of the comments on the very first post in this series.  One comment said that he suspected the final analysis would show that while commercial prices seemed high, they might turn out to be a pretty good deal on a per-hour basis.  I would have to agree with this.  Also, I said in response to another comment that the last entry in this series would probably have a disclaimer about how we build these for love, not money.  That seems true too, so let me repeat it in a larger font:

WE BUILD THESE FOR LOVE, NOT MONEY!

For a closing thought (OK, thoughts), I think that Age of Sail gamers are different from other wargamers.  First of all, we realize that we are a niche within a niche within a niche [war-gaming > Naval war-gaming > Age of Sail naval war-gaming].  Secondly, we all seem to have read Horatio Hornblower or Jack Aubrey novels at some point in our lives, and identify with them somehow.  Something about the gentility of the period appeals to us; you don't seem to find the "win at all costs" mentality among serious Age of Sail gamers.  

I game in other periods, of course.  Rare is the wargamer that doesn't dabble in several periods of history.  I can tell you though, that my WWII Soviet infantry doesn't evoke the same feelings for me that my sailing ships do.  If I lost all my other miniatures but kept my sailing ships, I would keep playing.  If I lost my sailing ships, I would probably be out of the hobby altogether, as it would be too hard to start over.

In a way, my miniature sailing ships are a lot like real ships: They're labor-intensive, they cost a lot of time and money, and you can never get back what you put into them.  Another way they are just like real ships is this:  Once they get into your soul, you can't just walk away from them.