Show Report: Wonderfest 2016 by Brent Bristow

      On June 3-5, Heather and I, along with Rusty Nail, Josh & Janel Swift, and Ron Leker, attended the Wonderfest Hobby Expo in Louisville, Kentucky. Brian Elliot and Jessy Nail entered the contest by proxy.

        Wonderfest is full weekend event that focuses on figures and vehicles in the sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and comic book genres. There are also categories for dinosaurs, kaiju (large monsters, such as Godzilla), props, and dioramas. The show features several classes and demos, movies, and celebrity guests. Sponsors for the show include Amazing Figure Modeler Magazine, Iwata, Starship Modeler, Blackheart Enterprises, and CultTVman.

          On Friday, Josh and I attended a full day class presented by Blackheart Enterprises and Badger Airbrushes. Instructors for the class were AFM writers Jeff Camp and Gordon Oberman. The class included the 1:2 scale bust, Angelique, and a Badger Xtreme Airbrush, along with modeling supplies such as paint and metallic waxes. Ron Leker attended a sculpting class, taught by Scott Whitworth, which taught participants to sculpt a dragon head. We all 3 enjoyed the classes and picked up a few new things.

         The contest started on Saturday, and by the end of registration, there were 616 models entered! As usual, there was a lot of fantastic work on the table. The contest room was so full of people that I had to wait until Sunday to take photos. Ron and I entered the contest, along with Brian’s and Jessy’s proxy entries. Rusty is part of the judging staff for this show, so he displayed several of his pieces but did not enter.

          Photographers from Fine Scale Magazine were there taking photos. They wanted pictures of my C-57D, and asked me to fill out their information sheets. Hopefully, the pictures will appear in their pages sometime in the future.

          Numerous demos, each being about an hour long, were given throughout the weekend. These are always great opportunities to learn new techniques, and I attended one of painting eyes, and another on building and painting the Millennium Falcon.

          The vendor’s room was packed, as usual, and many incredible models were for sale. I believe we all spent a little too much here, but it wouldn’t be Wonderfest if we didn’t! I also got to meet actor Nick Tate, who is best known for his role as Alan Carter on the TV series, Space: 1999. This was one of the highlights of the weekend for me.

          Of course, the best part of Wonderfest is the people who attend. After going to this show several years, I have made many friends there, and it is always fun to catch up with them, check out their work, and just enjoy spending time with fellow modelers from across the world.

         The weekend ended with the Awards Ceremony on Sunday. Although the judging was tough, all CASM members that entered did received awards. The contest results are listed below.

         Overall, it was another great Wonderfest, and because of all the great modelers, events, demos, and vendors, there isn’t another show like it! Now, to get started on entries for next year…

Wonderfest 2016 show results
Jessy Nail: Silver-Papp & His Two Sons (junior)
Ron Leker: Bronze-Sinister Minister
Merit-Cylon Raider
Brian Elliot: Merit-Tesla Tank
Merit-Tiger Walker
Brent Bristow: Gold-Knight Rider
Silver-Luna
Bronze-C-57D Space Cruiser
Merit-Dottie Storm