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Small Subjects

Jim and Barry
Small Subjects
Latest episode

68 episodes

  • Small Subjects

    Episode 58: MFCA 2026, With Special Guest Joan Biediger

    07/05/2026 | 1h 45 mins.
    In this special “crossover” episode, Jim and Barry are joined by his beloved Joan, host of the fantastic podcast “Her Shrink Ray Eye,” to share their thoughts about last month’s annual MFCA Show in Trevose, PA, and, with some agitation by Jim, the dwindling or scarce participation in the “original” category (which many other open-system miniatures shows call “open”).
  • Small Subjects

    Episode 67: Scenery and Groundwork

    02/04/2026 | 1h 41 mins.
    In this episode, your hosts hit the dirt running, so to speak, tackling the importance of the scenery in a diorama or vignette, starting with the question of whether we begin by building the setting (an approach Jim has taken of late) or if that comes last (Barry’s tendency).
  • Small Subjects

    Episode 66: Storytime with Mike Pierce

    19/02/2026 | 1h 50 mins.
    Central Virginia-based modeler (and retired entomologist!) Mike Pierce has been an inspiration to your hosts since we first met him at one of the MMSI’s post-show critique sessions. He’s a modeler who’s always trying new things, and he tells great stories—both in his work, and in conversation. In this episode, we have a fine visit and hear more than a few of his tales.
  • Small Subjects

    Episode 65: Talking with Chris Meddings about the Upturner Prize and "Ask Barry"

    15/01/2026 | 2h 5 mins.
    Barry and Jim chat once again with U.K. modeler Chris Meddings about a new international online “juried exhibition” he’s launched called the Upturner Prize, which, as he puts it atop the web site, is intended for “celebrating  modellers who push the limits of miniatures, models, and what they can  say, with an annual prize for artistic creation in miniature.”
    Your hosts round out this episode with a new segment Jim has now formally named: “Ask Barry.”
  • Small Subjects

    Episode 64: Raphael Shelton, doing the hobby "just for fun," and what we're playing with on our work benches now

    18/12/2025 | 1h 57 mins.
    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.
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About 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 they maintain that they are always curious and always learning. They are dedicated members of the Military Miniature Society of Illinois, where they considered the great Sheperd Paine a friend and mentor. Barry is also a member of his local chapter of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society, while DeRogatis has written, co-written, or edited ten books about popular music and two about miniatures and modeling (Sheperd Paine: The Life and Work of a Master Modeler and Military Historian and Shep Paine’s Armor Modelers Guide). You can contact the hosts at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
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