MosonShow 2019 and our entries

Many a time we wanted to visit Mosonmagyarovar and participate in the famous MosonShow, and many a time we failed. It was only this year that we finally managed to get there and it was so very worth the effort it took!

Wait, MosonShow? What is it?

For those of you who don’t know it, MosonShow is a big and popular model exhibition, which can boast an impressive number of figures and miniatures. And although they’ve been reaching out to miniature painters for the last few years only, their popularity already attracted many hobbyists, including a significant number of world-class artists.

Examples of entries from MosonShow 2019

At this point we would already want to thank the people who made it possible and easier for us to participate, especially Miklos Bute, who was ready to offer us any help whenever we could need it. Thank you, Miklos!

Our entries

Let me mention that in addition to our own works (Ana’s works, to be more precise ;)) we brought a selection of various models from Mixed Dimensions and had a good chance to present them to visitors. I must admit that the very size of these figures made them stand out quite a bit and they attracted some attention. We’ve been asked about their availability, prices, future releases and, well, they’ve been a great starting point for many cool conversations. 🙂

Here’s a small sample of what we brought and presented there:

Yeah, that’s the selection of models we brought.

Of course it was not all that we had with us. Our main entries were a mix of Ana’s earlier works, not presented in Moson before, and some creative modifications of models from Mixed Dimensions.

I think she will post something more about them later, but here is a quick presentation of what she brought:

That’s my new one. Model from Mixed Dimensions, converted for this altered concept.
A little closeup…
I am sure I’ve shown this one before as it’s not a new model. I stil llike it though 🙂
You may know this one, and we had a very interesting discussion about with Dmitry Fesechko
Now this one is something I only participated in, but that was still possible thanks to our team! 🙂
Can you spot the last entry here? 😉

It was nice to see the original models displayed near their modified versions. This allowed visitors to compare them, and also stirred some additional discussions, which is always great.

Other works and the contest

There was well over 2000 entries in the contest, and probably much more if we include non-contest exhibits. And I must say the overall quality of presented works was, well, pretty impressive. I was particularly excited about all those fantastic dioramas and the little stories they managed to capture.

Remains of an Empire
Another impressive diorama from Paweł Makuch
BOOOM!

In these circumstances we were more than happy to see a number of our works awarded! Our works received the SMC Excellence Award, two bronze awards in master class categories and one silver in a hobby class category. Pretty nice! 🙂

It’s easy to see the scale of the model here 🙂
Now this one is for the winner of the Best of Show award. Well deserved!

But winning awards was not the most important part of the contest for us – we met our old friends, we met some new ones. That’s always the great thing about events like this one – the people who share your passion!

So instead of naming them here and risking that I might forget somebody, let me just tell you that we had a chance to spend some time with the Polish crew again (sorry, the restaurant was too small for us to squeeze in when we arrived, so we didn’t manage to participate in the more international dinner), but also many international artists with whom we managed to chat (sometimes for quite some time) during the exhibition.

Some humor can also add a lot to a model!
Creative ideas go a long way

Yes, we will return!

Or at least that’s the plan. We want to visit as many events as we can manage, but although we planned to participate in SMC this year, it won’t be possible for personal reasons. So the next one is probably Hussar in Warsaw and we definitely want to be there!

Not ours, but so cool that we wanted to share 🙂

So if you’re going to be at the Hussar 2019 (it is its 10th anniversary!), let us know – send us an email, leave a comment or contact us via our Facebook page. We want to be meeting you again – we missed you! 🙂

Toruń 2017: 6th Figure Painting and Sculpting Show report

I didn’t have many opportunities to go to various modeling and miniatures-related events lately, so our traditional trip to Toruń was a treat to me. I had to deal with the fact that it’s not the optimal way of spending hobby time if you go there with a kid, but you cannot always get what you would want.

Ostatnimi czasy niezbyt często miewałem okazję jeździć na imprezy modelarskie i figurkowe, więc nasz tradycyjny wyjazd do Torunia potraktowałem jako nie lada atrakcję. Co prawda musiałem liczyć się z tym, że wyjazd rodzinny z dzieckiem to nie do końca optymalne wykorzystanie figurkowego czasu, ale nie zawsze można mieć wszystko co się wymarzy.

Torun Figure Painting and Sculpting Show 2017
Torun Figure Painting and Sculpting Show 2017

It was the sixth edition of Painting And Sculpting Figure Show this year in Toruń. We were to meet a group of fellow hobbyists there, so the trip was a must for us. Especially that it was one of the rare situations that Ana had a few works she could take with her and present at the show.

W tym roku w Toruniu odbywała się szósta edycja Festiwalu Malarstwa i Rzeźby Figurkowej, a że mieliśmy się tam spotkać z grupą znajomych hobbystów, wyjazd uznaliśmy za absolutną konieczność. Tym bardziej, że Ańa szczęśliwie miała trochę prac, które mogła ze sobą zabrać, a to rzadka okazja.

Ready for Toruń!
Ready for Toruń!

The very show impressed me with how easy it was to see that the two worlds, one of historical modelers and one of fantasy painters, were blending together at last. Previously both groups were “learning” about each other, and this year made it plain to see that people were familiar with the others and styles of entries from both groups had influenced works of the other group.

 Sam festiwal urzekł mnie tym, że nareszcie widoczne było ładne przenikanie się środowisk modelarzy historycznych i malarzy fantastycznych. Dawniej oba środowiska dopiero “uczyły się” siebie wzajemnie, a w tym roku odczuwalne było już to, że ludzie się znali, a style prac obu grup widocznie się przenikały.

Historical or fictional, doesn't matter...
Historical or fictional, doesn’t matter…

There were 236 works presented at the show, and awards were not the traditional medal positions that many painters expect, but only deciding if the entering author receives an award in a given category or not.

W sumie na festiwalu zaprezentowano 236 prac, które nagradzane były bez przyznawania miejsc medalowych, a jedynie przez określenie czy autor zdobywa nagrodę w danej kategorii czy też nie.

I tried to capture some of the more interesting entries, but the “mobile” quality of my photos doesn’t allow to fully appreciate quality of works presented at the show.

Postarałem się uwiecznić co ciekawsze prace konkursowe, jednak “komórkowa” jakość zdjęć nie pozwala na docenienie pełnej jakości prac.

The Grand Prix went to Paweł Makuch, which was completely deserved. His works impressed not only with quality, but also with the size and coherent vision.

Główna nagroda zasłużenie przypadła Pawłowi Makuchowi, którego prace imponowały nie tylko techniką, ale przede wszystkim rozmachem i konsekwentną wizją.

Ańa and Paweł in Toruń
Ańa and Paweł with the grand prix. Looks cool, doesn’t it?

A bunch of sponsors provided many prizes, sometimes with their offerings as generous as the big dragon from Karol Rudyk! Ana had to share her works with Balrog, who – in a truly Robin Hood way – took from the richer and gave to the poor himself. 😉

O nagrody rzeczowe zadbało grono sponsorów, niekiedy oferując tak hojne fanty jak smok od Karola Rudyka! Ańa swoimi nagrodami musiała podzielić się z Balrogiem, który niczym prawdziwy Robin Hood zabiera zamożniejszym, a daje biednemu sobie. 😉

Mr. Share-your-loot-with-me
Mr. Share-your-loot-with-me

Eventually Ana managed to return with 6 awards (4 categories + 2 special awards from sponsoring companies), yet the trip was successful not only because of the 4 bags of loot we managed to bring home, but mostly because of the hours spent watching entries of other hobbyists and chatting about miniatures and other stuff!

Ostatecznie Ańi udało się wrócić z 6 nagrodami (4 nagrody w poszczególnych kategoriach i 2 nagrody specjalne od producentów-sponsorów), ale wyjazd uważam za udany nie tylko ze względu na przywiezione 4 torby łupów, ale głównie dzięki godzinom spędzonym na oglądaniu licznych prac innych malarzy i wspólnym spędzaniu czasu na pogaduszkach – figurkowych i nie tylko!

Ańa's entries, awards and loot ;-)
Ańa’s entries, awards and loot 😉

I hope to add a list of winners to the post later, and now let Ana add something more she wanted to mention here:

Mam nadzieję wkrótce uzupełnić ten wpis o listę zwycięzców, a tymczasem oddaję głos Ańi, która chciała jeszcze dodać coś od siebie:


Toruń is a place that I used to return to gladly for the last few years. The Figure Show used to be a perfect combination with the Days of Toruń. I write “used to be” because we were invited to a new location in the next year.  In 2018 the Show will be held in Gdańsk, as the Museum of the Second World War became an official partner of the Show.

Toruń to miejsce do którego chętnie wracaliśmy przez ostatnie lata. Festiwal Modelarski jaki sie tam odbywał, co roku stanowił świetne połączenie z Dniami Torunia. Piszę “odbywał,” bo organizatorzy podczas Festiwalu serdecznie zapraszali nas za rok w nowe miejsce. W 2018r. to Gdańsk będzie miał Festiwal Modelarstwa w repertuarze wydarzeń kulturalnych, a patronat nad nim objęło Muzeum Drugiej Wojny Światowej.

Muzeum II Wojny Światowej w Gdańsku

I agreed to run a workshop / painting demonstration during the event, so I want to notify you even now to stay prepared for June 2018. 😀
Let’s meet at the new location, hopefully as inspiring as Toruń!
Zgodziłam się poprowadzić Warsztaty / pokaz malowania podczas tego wydarzenia, więc już z tego miejsca wyczulam Was, na czerwiec 2018. 😀
Spotykamy się wtedy w nowym otoczeniu, oby tak inspirującym jak Toruń!–

Pyrkon 2017

For me the most important event in Poznań is Pyrkon. I wait the whole year for it, so I was really sorry when I found we wouldn’t be organizing the miniature painting exhibition and contest there this time. We still hope that the next year we will manage to meet the staff and explain the concept to them. Still trying to find the best connection 😉 An opening leading to the goodwill department.

Dla mnie najwieksze wydarzenie w Poznaniu to Pyrkon. Czekam na niego cały rok, więc wyjątkowo przykro mi było kiedy okazało się, że w tym roku nie uda nam się zorganizować wystawy figurkowej połączonej z konkursem. Mocno liczymy, że w przyszłym roku, uda się dostać na spotkanie z organizacją. Szukamy dojścia 😉 szczeliny w dziale przychylności.

Pyrkon 2017
No, they’re not the staff here. Maybe they would be interested in a miniatures exhibition though?

When I realized we won’t be bound to a particular exhibition place this time it was already late, so I didn’t manage to sign up for any lectures. I only managed to see the exhibitions and “feel the holiday athmosphere”. 😉 Just like every year, when I wander through the pavilions I am impressed by the amount of work done by the volunteers to prepare their sections. We, usual Pyrkon guests, appreciate it very much!

Zbyt późno dotarło do mnie, że podczas tego Pyrkonu nie będziemy uwiązani do miejsca wystawy i nie zdążyłam zapisać się na prelekcje. Ale miałam czas zwiedzić wystawy i “poczuć atmosferę świąt”. 😉 Jak co roku gdy wędruję między pawilonami, zachwyca mnie ogrom pracy wolontariuszy jaki wkładają w przygotowanie swoich działów. My zwykli konsumenci Pyrkonowi, jesteśmy Wam bardzo wdzięczni!

Pyrkon 2017
LEGO exhibition at Pyrkon 2017

Pyrkon 2017
Some Star Wars LEGO sets

Pyrkon 2017
And the battle for Hoth built from LEGO.

The boardgames section served us really well, and professionally helped us borrow a suitable game. The kids corner and Elixirs class inspired by Hogwarts were both checked and Balrog left really enthusiastic.

Dział planszówkowy obsłużył nas sprawnie, a w wypożyczalni pomoc w doborze gry fachowa. Kącik dziecięcy i zabawa w lekcję Eliksirów z Hogwardu zaliczona – Balrog wyszedł rozentuzjazmowany.

Pyrkon 2017
What can be better for two military-oriented Star Wars fans than getting dirty in the sand next to a downed Tie Fighter? 😉

Pyrkon 2017
Greedo, such a great guy to relax with in the Mos Eisley cantina.

Pyrkon 2017
»Wow, his uniform is even better than ours!«

I think there were slightly more artists with their works, but I would still consider their numer miserable. Every year I am surprised with this fact and maybe the terms on which they can get their stands should be changed, as I simply cannot believe that there are so few artists who would like to display their works there. There is never any shortage of mousepad sellers. 😉 Every year I try to purchase a few posters and artworks, and this time I was looking both for something to decorate my workshop with and for my apartment.  All the works were gladly signed and autographed by the authors.

Chyba odrobinkę więcej, choć wciąż jest to ilość z kategorii UBOGO, wystawiło się artystów plastyków ze swoim dorobkiem. Dziwi mnie to nieuchronnie rok rocznie, chyba powinno zmienić się warunki dla nich, bo nie wierzę żeby w polsce chciało się pokazać swój dorobek takiej garstce. Nigdy nie brakuje za to sprzedawców podkładek pod mysz. 😉 Co roku staram się kupić kilka grafik i plakatów, w tym roku szukałam czegość nie tylko do pracowni, ale i do mieszkania. Wszystkie są serdecznie opisywane przez autorów i chętnie autografowane.

Pyrkon 2017
At last some cool miniatures and bits! Shopping time! 🙂

Pyrkon 2017
Thanks guys, you made miniatures-shopping possible for me! 🙂

Pyrkon 2017
And well, not only me… You may be unable to recognize him under all the camo though 😉

I must say the event was pretty good, although I was unable to experience and enjoy it as much as I would have wished. I didn’t find too many points of interest for a miniature painter though. Finding attractions for gamers was much easier. I was able to do some small shopping for miniatures-related stuff, but for such a large convention it wasn’t really much. Fortunately the kids, who accompannied us, enjoyed much of what was going on around us.

Muszę przyznać, że impreza była dość udana, choć nie udało mi się doświadczyć i nacieszyć się nią w takim stopniu, jak bym chciała. Nie zauważyłam jednak zbyt wielu stanowsk i punktów programu skrojonych pod malarzy figurek. Jednocześnie dużo łatwiej było o atrakcje dla graczy. Udało mi się dokonać niewielkich figurkowych zakupów, ale jak na tak duży konwent, nie mogę powiedzieć żeby były one znaczne. Na szczęście towarzyszące nam dzieciaki miały frajdę z tego, co działo się wokół nas.

Pyrkon 2017
Such moments made our little guys so happy!

Pyrkon 2017
And then – even happier!

Pyrkon 2017
OK, guys, you can take this heavy thing back. 😉

Pyrkon 2017
I’d rather get a hat like this! 😀

I am sure I will return to Pyrkon in 2018. Maybe even with a miniatures exhibition and painting contest. I just hope that the staff manage to harmonize growth and expansion of the convention with its best aspects, which seemed to blur and dimnish slowly.

Na pewno wrócę na Pyrkon w przyszłym roku. Być może ponownie z wystawą i konkursem malarskim. Mam jednak nadzieję, że uda się zharmonizować rozwój i rozrost imprezy z jej najlepszymi cechami, które zdają się powoli rozmywać.

Darth Vader at a miniature contest

Ahoy,

another wonderful weekend in Bavaria with miniatures in background. This time 3. Fürstenfelder Modellbautage 2017 near Munich -http://www.fuerstenfelder-modellbautage.de

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

Apart from models, figures, traditional beer, precels and weißwürst there were lots of additional activities for children! Yes, this event concentrates not only on nerds but mostly on young hobby adepts. There were many attractions for them like:

Star Wars®-Truppe

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautageBricking Bavaria with their LEGOs and place for children to create things on their own.

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

RC-Buggys races

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

Riding on a real steam train

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

And of course the show mit many plastic models and some miniatures.  There could have been more entries in the contest, but you had to pay 2€ for every miniature you enter …  Why limit the people who want to enter more? I always thought the more entries, the more everyone should be happy. Strange logic to me.

Although a small event me and my family had great time. You can see the organizers have concentrated themselves on attracting younger people with the hobby.

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

fuerstenfelder-modellbautage

 

Duke of Bavaria / Herzog von Bayern 2017

Ahoy!

This year again I had a chance to  take part I one of the Germany’s most popular contest – Duke of Bavaria 2017 (or Herzog von Bayern 2017) in Ingolstadt.

There were very interesting workshops with Alfonso Giraldes (Banshee). I can only recommend to listen to his miniature painting philosophy 🙂

  

I feel this year there were less entries as in previous years, but  most of them were new. On the second hand I think there were more people then ever. Usually admiring the minis and buying lots of stuff.

Here are my favorites from the show:


A view at the judges’ cabinet:

 

And If you would like to see entreis from previous year: https://chestofcolors.com/duke-of-bavaria-2012-report