This seems like a really hard question to answer, then...
I think there\'s people on eBay who offer to paint a 1500 pt Marine force for like $500 + cost of models. That seems about right for an average commissioned army.
Which figure? Standard tac stuff? $10 but they have to be nicely done...at least better than what I could do. I pay about $15 (including the cost of the figure and postage) on eBay.