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PODCAST

Small Subjects

Small Subjects is a podcast devoted to discussing big topics in the worlds of scale modeling, diorama-building, and sculpting and painting miniature figures, as well as presenting interviews with some of the top artists in the field, including every era, and ranging from historical to fantasy subjects. Co-hosts Barry Biediger, who is based in Salt Lake City, and Jim DeRogatis, who lives in Chicago, are the editors of the Web site boxdioramas.com. Both have decades of experience as modelers, though

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All Episodes

75:04

Episode 63: Dave Browne

Small Subjects ·

2025/11/20

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.”

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70:36

Episode 62: Robert Blokker

Small Subjects ·

2025/10/30

Your hosts talk with Robert Blokker, a loyal listener who lives in Alkmaar, a city located in the North Holland province of the Netherlands, known for its traditional cheese market. In addition to being a wonderfully gregarious fellow—Barry really enjoyed spending some time with him during World Model Expo in Versailles last summer—Robert, who works as a graphic artist, is a wonderfully imaginative modeler with a wide variety of interests: World War I to fantasy, busts to flats, 1/72nd figure...

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113:35

Episode 61: Barry & Jim on their latest box dioramas...

Small Subjects ·

2025/08/21

After epic conversations about big topics with multiple guests on the last two episodes—Perspectives on digital sculpting with Alan Ball and Nello Rivieccio in Episode 59, and a recap of World Model Expo in Versailles with Joan Biediger, Joe Berton, and Pat Vess in Episode 60—your hosts talk amongst themselves in this one, with Barry giving an unusual (for him) but very welcome (by Jim) step-by-step on the creation of his latest box diorama “XOR,” his eleventh (see his gallery here). Watch wh...

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108:24

Episode 60: World Expo 2025 in Versailles

Small Subjects ·

2025/07/24

Incredible art, great camaraderie, a beautiful and historic locale—and some sketchy organization, long lines with overflow crowds, and none of the artist’s names on any of those incredible pieces! In this episode, Jim (who could not attend) and Barry (who could and did) discuss the good and the bad about the twelfth World Model Expo, which took place from July 4 to 6 in Versailles, batting it all around with special guests Joe Berton, Pat Vess, Joan Biediger, and U.K. correspondent Chris Medd...

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144:03

Episode 59: Perspectives on Digital Sculpting vs....

Small Subjects ·

2025/06/12

With our last episode recapping MFCA 2025, your hosts—with help from Lou Masses and Dennis Levy—kicked up a bit of a hornet’s nest by addressing a major recurring topic of discussion at the show and in our small section of the miniatures world in general: Should digital sculpting and 3D printing be judged differently than the “handmade/toothpick and putty” sculpts that have predominated in this odd art form of ours for the last five and a half decades? Okay, it was mainly Jim doing the kickin...

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102:41

Episode 58: Talking about MFCA 2025 with Dennis Levy...

Small Subjects ·

2025/05/22

The Miniature Figure Collectors of America’s 82nd show took place on May 9 and 10 in Trevose, PA, just outside Philadelphia. On Saturday night, Lou Masses and Dennis Levy—both in a rather, um, well-lubricated mood—told Barry they’d love to bum-rush our podcast. They didn’t have to twist our arms—your hosts are always game for a good chat with friends who are equally devoted to this little hobby/art form of ours—and this episode is devoted to that talk. Once again, this episode is marked as ex...

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70:28

Episode 57: Why do we abandon some projects? And:...

Small Subjects ·

2025/05/01

In this episode, your hosts mull over why some modelers (like Jim) rarely abandon a project, seeing even the dogs through to completion, while others (like Barry) regularly start one and then set it aside. And, at the risk of abandoning our policy of avoiding politics, which is generally a very good one these days, the boys felt compelled to consider how the current moment is impacting the hobby. Please note that this episode is marked as explicit as there are a couple of f-bombs....

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89:23

Episode 56: What do we do with all of this STUFF?...

Small Subjects ·

2025/03/27

Death comes to us all, as the saying goes, and while your hosts aren’t feeling particularly morbid at the moment, we certainly look around from time to time at all of the tools and paints and supplies on our workbenches; the closets and shelves full of un-built kits; the stacks (and stacks and stacks) of books; our displays of the figures, vignettes, and dioramas we’ve built and collected from friends and artists we admire, and the odd piece of militaria we’ve acquired and think, “Who’s going...

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102:56

Episode 55: Artificial Intelligence and Modeling: A...

Small Subjects ·

2025/02/20

We tackle the topic of Artificial Intelligence and some of its possible impacts on our hobby in this discussion with Jake McKee. Jake is a consultant in the digital realm, a photographer, a devoted modeler, and a blogger (with both a tech blog and a modeling blog). In the past, he’s done digital marketing for Lego, and he’s also worked at Apple. He’s been thinking about A.I. a lot, and he certainly helped us formulate our thoughts, and consider the possibilities. For photos of what we d...

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104:21

Episode 54: Barry & Jim's Adventures (and...

Small Subjects ·

2025/01/23

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 mor...

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115:11

Episode 53: Francois Verlinden

Small Subjects ·

2024/12/19

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.boxdior...

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93:38

Episode 52: Our Beginnings

Small Subjects ·

2024/11/21

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/smallsubjectsJoin one of our Facebook grou...

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86:48

Episode 51: The 2025 MMSI Chicago Show

Small Subjects ·

2024/10/31

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/smallsubjectsJoin one of our group builds:Historex:https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorexFlats:https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflatsFantasy Busts:https://www.facebook...

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79:31

Episode 50: Doug Cohen

Small Subjects ·

2024/10/03

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/smallsubjectsJoin one of our group builds:Historex:https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectshistorexFlats:https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjectsflatsFantasy Bust...

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85:19

Episode 49: Scott Primeau

Small Subjects ·

2024/08/22

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/smallsubjectsJoin one of our group builds:Historex:https://www.facebook.com/groups/smallsubjec...

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77:35

Episode 48: Natalia Oracz

Small Subjects ·

2024/07/11

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/smallsubjectsJoin one of our group builds:Historex:https://www.facebook.com/groups/small...

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57:59

Episode 47: Joan Biediger Talks About "Algorithm As Art"

Small Subjects ·

2024/06/02

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/smallsubjectsJoin one of our group builds:Historex:...

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73:14

Episode 46: Verko's Vault

Small Subjects ·

2024/04/25

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90:07

Episode 45: Erik Swinson

Small Subjects ·

2024/03/21

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92:16

Episode 44: Abstraction in Miniatures and Digital vs...

Small Subjects ·

2024/02/22

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