unfortunately i have to disagree here. animating and rigging is very very very very time consuming and partwise anoying no matter what tool you use. especially using links and attachements for sequences require good preparation and planing (example would be the simple bullet in the gun that can be exchanged).
the easiest and most comfortable part of this job you have are the attachable extra parts and armors. they are usually single models that you combine ingame in realtime. same goeas for different heads, clothing and other shapes. the price for this is basicly just set by the ammount you need.
Best might work an example (though like everything time and price and basicly anything depends on the artist working on it):
Simple adventure Character This guy was split in:
+12h modeling
+10h unwrap and texturing
+8h rigg
+12h animations (this can be shared so it wont count as the other parts)
all together it takes arround 30-50h depending on complexity and ammount of detail, model and style.
use 30h as the lower end, add 6.50 (i think the minimum wage in the us right now?!) you will end up with minimum 200usd.
contract artists charge everything between 20-120usd/h, though you shouldnt expect to find a lot for 20bucks.
also rework and adjustment not included,nor taxes, nor all the time spent offside the work (management, communication, planing aso).
the model you request would take roughly 40-50hours (depends a lot on the additional ammount of gear and anims). use 30bucks and hour....
if you find someone who is willing to create this on a professinal level for less then 800bucks, get him!
i forgot, additional 20% vat taxes if you are not a registered company!
hope that helps a little bit.
the bottom line: good work costs money, if you are very lucky it might get very cheap.... but dont expect it.
cheers
