PERSPECTIVES IN MINIATURE: 81st Military Figure Collectors of America (MFCA) Show

ARTIST STATEMENT

In the words of Wilbur Smith "War is the game played by old men with the lives of the young". The pawn in this game is the combat soldier, represented by the miniature toy soldier; an insignificant being on the battlefield. Combat is the most intense moment of war, where life and death balances on a knife's edge. The results are terrifying and reveal the worst part of our human nature. Conversely, there are moments when it exudes the best of our human spirit. Most of the miniatures you see here are diligently researched from historical sources and handcrafted between scales of 1/35 to 1/16 (approx 50mm to 120mm). The intricate rendition of human expression and fine details not only demonstrates the level of craftsmanship but also serves as a reminder of the fragile nature of human life. I represent no political bias though my miniature creations. My aim is to portray humanity through the chronicles of military history and thus it is my pleasure that I present to you my weblog Perspectives in Miniature.

Calvin Tan

WWII GERMAN UNIFORMS - PERSONAL MIXES BY CALVIN TAN

In conjunction with AK Interactive, this exclusive Gen 3 acrylic paint set is specially composed with the essential colours that I use to render WWII German Uniforms. It contains 18 colours and a small pamphlet with my personal colour mixes. If you are keen to acquire all the colours on my palette to paint a field grey tunic, a splinter pattern zeltbahn, an oak-leaf pattern smock or the Kharkov anorak, look no further, this is the set for you to get started.

CALVIN TAN'S BASIC GUIDE TO FIGURE PAINTING

This instructional DVD published by Model Art magazine was primarily developed for the beginner armour and diorama modeller in mind. The video presentation will feature a variety of easy to master techniques used to render a 1/35 scale plastic injected moulded figure.Topics include proper paint application techniques, choice of brushes as well as some little tricks for painting fine detail. It is fundamentally a showcase of some of my methods and techniques for painting military figures and I am certain it will prove beneficial for any modeller who wishes to improve on figure painting. It is currently available in both Japanese and English.

CALVIN TAN'S GUIDE TO CONVERTING AND PAINTING FIGURES

In this third instalment, I will share my techniques and materials to customize and detail an inexpensive stock plastic figure. Watch as I take you through the steps on how I modify a pose, model details such as hands, belts and webbing and insignias. Learn about working effectively with epoxy putty as well as plastic styrene and paper. As a continuation from my first two DVDs, I will demonstrate how to model and paint a simple groundwork as well as an alternate approach using a monochromatic underpainting to render both a field grey tunic and the World War 2 German Splinter Camouflage pattern on a helmet cover. If you have enjoyed and benefitted from those previous titles, this edition will be a welcome addition to your journey in scale figure modelling – regardless of your current skill level. It is my sincere hope that this could inspire you to embark on your own creative adventure in this fantastic hobby. .

Saturday, 8 June 2024

81st Military Figure Collectors of America (MFCA) Show - 2024

Labels: Model Shows - MFCA 2024 Posted by Calvin Tan at 10:28

It has been more than a month since I returned to Singapore from the 81st annual Military Figure Collectors of America (MFCA) show held over the weekend of 3-4 May 2024 at the Raddison Hotel in Pennsylvania USA. This was also my first ever model show in the United States and here is my recap of some of the highlights from that adventure.

Just to give some background, the MFCA is a society founded in 1941 by collectors of toy soldiers and military models. It has gradually grown beyond toy soldiers and plastic models to connoisseur figures. Since the 1990s, I had aspired to attend this event because of the glamourous show reports I saw in magazines like Historical Miniatures, Figurines, Military Modelling, and Euro Modelisimo.

My journey began with 18-hour long flight from Singapore Changi airport to New York JFK.

After surviving the long flight, I spent my first night in New Jersey hanging out with Taesung Harmms, the driving force behind Alpine Miniatures. There is never a dull moment whenever we hang out together; especially with the food as you shall soon see.....

The good ol' chilli dog, beer and fries with ketchup at an ubiquitous American dinner.

Heeding Taesung's instructions in adopting the right posture of eating a thin crust American pizza on a paper plate (no pineapples of course!).

Korean BBQ dinner with Steve Tucchi and Rob Riviezzo from the Modeling Insanity Podcast.

Getting an incredible dinner at Keens Chophouse (dating back to 1885) in downtown Manhattan.

Jumbo shrimp cocktail and thick cut smoked bacon.

The pièce de résistance, medium-rare porterhouse steak cooked to perfection.

After spending the first few days in New York and New Jersey, I hitched a ride with Taesung and Mike Hilleary (who himself is also an outstanding painter) to the show's venue at the Raddison Hotel in Pennsylvania.

The exhibition room on Friday afternoon. The first thing I noticed immediately was the elevated tables and how well the exhibition room was illuminated. The organizers definitely knew what they were doing.

The vendor area.

Though the scale of the event is comparatively smaller then some of the other Asian and European shows I have attended, the quality of works represented here are significantly higher in quality as they represent some of the best figure modellers in the world.

Bill Horan proves that he is the GOAT with his magnificent display at the show. The diorama Storming of Dargai Heights took the Best of Show for the Historical Category.

Alex De Leon's reputation as an outstanding scratch builder precedes back to the 1990's. I have seen several of his scratch built masterpieces in magazines such as Military Modelling and the Verlinden Publications. He is known for his 1/9 scale scratch built motorcycles and they were a sight to behold at the show. His work stills hold up even in this day and age of 3D printing.

John's 1/16 masterpiece took Best of Show for the Ordnance category.

This is probably the highlight of my trip to the MFCA, viewing the works of one of my scale modelling heros John Rosengrant and my time speaking with the man himself.

Constant regulars at the MFCA show are the husband and wife, sculpting and painting duo Alan and Marrion Ball.

This selection of figures are from newly minted 2024 MFCA Grand Master James Rice. The quality and exceptionally breathtaking and no one can deny that he is elevating this art form to a new level.

An exquisite flat rendered in warm earthy tones by Penny Meyer.

Shadow boxes by Jim DeRogathis.

Another highlight of this trip was also meeting the ever prolific Greg Cihlar whose works I have long admired. He is one of the rare modellers that score well on technical excellent, storytelling and creative design. Each piece of work in his display are absolute show stoppers.

Gold medal displays by Andy Gulden also caught my eye.

Mike Blank's latest diorama "Last Stand of the Eagle"

Gold medal display by Mike Hilleary

Gold Medal figure display in the Historical section by the highly talented Erik Swinson.

Display MFCA Grand Master Doug Cohen

Roman Centurion by Stephen Malia

Coldstream Guard by Harold Stivala.

American Indians by Italian maestro Riccardo Ruberti

Christos Panagiotopoulos

Lou Masses

The intricate work by French master Philippe Gengembre.

Mauro Cozza

Jack Lynch

Rod Curtis

Erik Swinson

Will Hahn

A tongue in cheek shadow box by Dennis Levy

Here are some of the other displays which caught my eye....

My display at the show which was conferred with the Best Would War Two Award by The Modelling Insanity Podcast.

I had the utmost pleasure to view some of masterpieces by several notable American artists up close and interacted with them over food and a lot of drinks.

Doug Cohen and the late Fletcher Clement in Rome 2002

Fast forward to 2024 with Doug Cohen

With Penny Meyer

With French masters Philippe Gengembre and Richard Poisson

With Mike Blank

With Stephen Mallia

With Historical Military artist Keith Rocco

With Erik Swinson

The awards presentation was held at the ballroom in full attendance of the exhibitors and the MFCA Grand Masters.

The next day after the show I joined the tour with Alan, Marrion, John, Barry, Joan, Dennis and Jack to the Brandywine Museum of Art to visit the estate and studios of the Wyeth family. As you can see, even the wet weather could not dampen out spirits at the end of the trip.

I was very fortunate to see Shep Paine's original shadow boxes from the Andrew Wyeth'c collection at the museum.

The following day was spent taking in the sights of downtown Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art

City Hall

Independence Hall

I was told to get a Philly Cheese Steak at Reading Market and I was not disappointed. Soon after I was back in New Jersey for another round of Korean gastronomical delights courtesy of Taesung.