Small Subjects – Details, episodes & analysis

Jim talks with Norris, Tennessee-based modeler Raphael Shelton, who Barry thought had an interesting perspective on “doing the hobby just for fun,” something those of us who are obsessed about this thing of ours (and who talk about it on a podcast) can sometimes forget. Jim and Barry also discuss what they’re working on (or playing with, if you prefer) at the moment.

Toronto-area modeler Dave Browne has been a big inspiration to your hosts for quite some time, and not only because he shares their passion for box dioramas and is a master of the form. Dave is also a very talented armor modeler, and for 16 years, until it closed in January 2019, he ran Hornet Hobbies, the best kind of hobby shop. which, as he says, was about “building friendships, an active modelling community, and a few models.”

In Episode 52, when Jim expressed interest in the new 1/16th-scale Gecko Models Universal Carrier kit, Barry suggested a “buddy build,” with each of them tackling the beast—something he now regrets. This episode is devoted to their ongoing frustrations with the build (and, for Jim, some fun, too). Although Barry initially suggested the idea, he later worried that no one would be interested in talk about a kit few if any of the listeners might build. But Jim thought it wound up being about more than the build, focusing on how your hosts each approach modeling and the inherent and inevitable problem-solving.

For photos of what we discuss in each episode, visit the Small Subjects blog on boxdioramas.com: http://www.boxdioramas.com/smallsubjects

Join one of our Facebook groups:

Historex:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorex

Flats:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflats

Or hang out in the Small Subjects Hospitality Suite and discuss anything else miniatures related:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshospitality

email us at smallsubjectspodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, we chat with one of the legends of the hobby: Francois Verlinden, who is alive and well at age 78. He retired to Palm Beach, Florida, after the company that bore his name closed in 2016, but he is occasionally painting again “just for fun”—including some of those Warhammer minis the kids love!

We also talk about our buddy build of the Gecko 1/16 Universal Carrier.

For photos of what we discuss in each episode, visit the Small Subjects blog on boxdioramas.com: http://www.boxdioramas.com/smallsubjects

Join one of our Facebook groups:

Historex:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorex

Flats:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflats

Or hang out in the Small Subjects Hospitality Suite and discuss anything else miniatures related:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshospitality

email us at smallsubjectspodcast@gmail.com

Your hosts expand on their own answers to one of their favorite questions for guests—How did you get your start in this small-sized pursuit of ours? They dive into some of their earliest modeling experiences, talk about people who helped get them started, and tell us about some of the kits and figures they loved tackling as kids.

For photos of what we discuss in each episode, visit the Small Subjects blog on boxdioramas.com: http://www.boxdioramas.com/smallsubjects

Join one of our Facebook groups:

Historex:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorex

Flats:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflats

Fantasy Busts:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsfantasybusts

Or hang out in the Small Subjects Hospitality Suite and discuss anything else miniatures related:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshospitality

email us at smallsubjectspodcast@gmail.com

This time we talk about the recent 2024 MMSI Chicago show with Pat Vess and Joe Berton. We also talk about some things the guys have planned for next year's 50th anniversary show.

For photos of what we discuss in each episode, visit the Small Subjects blog on boxdioramas.com: http://www.boxdioramas.com/smallsubjects

Join one of our group builds:

Historex:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorex

Flats:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflats

Fantasy Busts:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsfantasybusts

Or hang out in the Small Subjects Hospitality Suite and discuss anything else miniatures related:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshospitality

email us at smallsubjectspodcast@gmail.com

For their 50th episode, your hosts talk with versatile Texas-based modeler, sculptor, and painter Doug Cohen, whose work stands out at any show he enters, as readily identifiable as his sense of humor.

For photos of what we discuss in each episode, visit the Small Subjects blog on boxdioramas.com: http://www.boxdioramas.com/smallsubjects

Join one of our group builds:

Historex:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorex

Flats:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflats

Fantasy Busts:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsfantasybusts

Or hang out in the Small Subjects Hospitality Suite and discuss anything else miniatures related:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshospitality

email us at smallsubjectspodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, your hosts chat with Minnesota-based painter and sculptor Scott Primeau, a consistent gold-medal winner, Chicago medalist, and self-effacing talent whose attitude and ambition inspires both of us.  We also talk about getting over some of our modeling fears.

For photos of what we discuss in each episode, visit the Small Subjects blog on boxdioramas.com: http://www.boxdioramas.com/smallsubjects

Join one of our group builds:

Historex:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorex

Flats:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflats

Fantasy Busts:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsfantasybusts

Or hang out in the Small Subjects Hospitality Suite and discuss anything else miniatures related:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshospitality

email us at smallsubjectspodcast@gmail.com

Jim and Barry chat with another of their favorite painters from the fantasy realm, and one who’s been on their wish list of guests for quite some time: Natalia Oracz.

They also talk about the inaugural Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo in Salt Lake City, an open show which was held on June 22.

For photos of what we discuss in each episode, visit the Small Subjects blog on boxdioramas.com: http://www.boxdioramas.com/smallsubjects

Join one of our group builds:

Historex:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorex

Flats:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflats

Fantasy Busts:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsfantasybusts

Or hang out in the Small Subjects Hospitality Suite and discuss anything else miniatures related:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshospitality

email us at smallsubjectspodcast@gmail.com

Jim and Barry talk with Joan about her extraordinary box diorama “Algorithm As Art,” a gold-medal winner at MFCA 2024. Jim calls it one of the most important boxes in the history of the form—for its imagination, its execution, the ideas it raises, and the discussions it prompts. (Be sure to read his piece about it here.)

For photos of what we discuss in each episode, visit the Small Subjects blog on boxdioramas.com: http://www.boxdioramas.com/smallsubjects

Join one of our group builds:

Historex:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorex

Flats:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflats

Fantasy Busts:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsfantasybusts

Or hang out in the Small Subjects Hospitality Suite and discuss anything else miniatures related:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshospitality

email us at smallsubjectspodcast@gmail.com