M.F.C.A. Show

[Mongo Mel]

Hi gang,
I went to the MFCA show in Philadelphia this weekend and I thought I would share the photographs that I took while there. Some look good, some not so good...
Here is a link to where I have posted them:

MFCA

I'll leave them up there for awhile so anyone that wants to see them can have a
chance.

It was a great show as usual. Looked to me like the total model count may have been a little less than last year but still plenty of pieces to look at.
And the quality of the models was as always, outstanding. And plenty of goodies to buy from the vendors too .

I wasn't able to attend the hospitality room this year but I heard it pretty good too
Enjoy,
Craig
PS: I did get to meet several of our members like John Lea, Lou Masses and Gary Dombrowski. Good guys all. And nice to finally put faces to some of the friends I've made on line here

 

[Jim Patrick]

Craig, thanks for the pictures. I would say which pic I liked the best but, well...... I liked them all! I look forward to what the rest of the "planeteers" have to say now. As far as the number of entries being down, this seems to be a trend now here in the states. Probably, if you had to name one reason, it would still be 9/11. It has really cut into travel. I wonder if our European friends are noticing this as well? Wish I could have been there but since I couldn't, I can look at the MAGNIFICENT work through your pictures.

Thanks again, Jim Patrick

 

[garyjd]

Craig, Congrats on your award. I wish I would've spent more time talking with you and Eric Mosso. The weekend all seems a blur now.

Here is a pic of Mike Blank's "Best of show" work of art (yes, art). The staging painting and sculpting made it something to marvel at. I would say Fletcher Clement's "Antietam" piece would have been my second choice for BOS, the guy has mountains of creativity, wish I could find a way to bottle it.~Gary

 

[garyjd]

Here is one of new Grandmaster Christian Petite's fantastic pieces. I made several trips to look at the groundworks on his stuff.

I would like to congratulate the PF members that took home an award. If your name is not on the list , please be qick to correct me.~Gary

Jason Whitman
Joe Hudson
Craig Whittaker
Lou Masses
Chris Mrosko
Bob Tavis
Steven Brown
Bill Chilstrom



I have over 300 pics to look over and I'll most likely post them on the gallery I have set up on "Digital Dioramas". It will be a piece-meal process, so it'll take a couple days.

 

[btavis]

Gee Gary, how could I have missed seeing you there? It couldn't have been the fact the hospitality suite was wall to wall people could it?

 

[garyjd]

Bob, Sorry I missed you there. you're not the only one I did not talk with. I guess it's one of many excuses I could give for going to the show next time. I'm not sure how MFCA 2005 will go, with World Expo being in Boston that year. With the folks I did get a chance to spend time with I wish it could have been more.~Gary

 

[Alex M.]

I took home a certificate of merit...

(ya missed me )

-Alex

 

[KeithP]

Craig-

Thanks for the link.

Now where have I seen that Hound of the Baskervilles before :lol:

Next best thing to being there...

Keith

 

[Guy]

Great pics Craig........thanks for posting them

 

[Mongo Mel]

Hey gang,
You're welcome glad you're enjoying them.
Funny story for you all...
A friend of mine from here in Pittsburgh entered MFCA for the first time this year. His name is Mark Soltez and he had his first 3 figures that he has painted. I had to convince him to move them from the Standard catagory to the Advanced Painters ....son-of-a-gun won a Gold!
Here's a link to his winner...
Gold

Seems like he's a natural

 

[LCoote]

Thanks for the pictures Craig.
Did anyone attend the figure auction, what was the most prized piece $$$ ?

 

[yeo_64]

Thanks for posting,Craig;at least us mortals can vicariously enjoy the show along with you lucky souls.Cheers !
Kenneth :lol:

 

[garyjd]

Leigh, I did not attend the auction but understand that $15,000 was raised, wow! A Bill Horan piece was the top seller fetching $2,300.~Gary

 

[LCoote]

WOW Gary! incredible , but too rich for me I'm afraid, Oh well it's for a good cause.

 

[Lou Masses]

Craig,

It was great putting your face to your name.

Good job convincing him- it was a beautiful piece. I was impressed with the overall quality this year. I don't want this to come out the wrong way so please note this is intended in a positive sense-usually there is a bunch of "decent" stuff and then 10 or so outstanding pieces (excluding the Blanks, Horans and DiFranco's of the world). This year there seemed to be 85% or so "excellent" pieces from all over, 10% of the Blanks, Horan's, etc and about 5% "decent". Seems the level of painting and creativity has gone up in general.

It was great to hang out with the "two towers" as I will now call them. I am of course referring to the boys from DC who tower above the average person and make Tommy Osborne look like Tattoo. Scares me to know however that our national security is in the hands of Don Ho wannabees ;-)

It was truly one of the best shows I have been to in years - figures, people, hospitality were all fantastic.

Lou

PS- Once again I was unable to meet Gary face to face. Are you hiding?

 

[Patrick Kirk]

Brother Lou,
You absolutely slay me!
Why are you dissin the shirts...I was stylin, huh :lol: and I know somewhere Don Ho is smiling like a dancer in a cage knowing that his tradition is alive and well with me! My side still hurts from hanging out with you and really am glad that I had a chance, too. I feel like I have known you for years; I guess that is what you get when you experience the disco lights of Valley Forge, huh?
Gotta agree with you that the work was phenominal this year...wicked humbling too. I am convinced that our hobby is more of an artform than we can ever imagine and the talent to take a lump of magic sculpt and scuplt an Aragon perfectly is wicked amazing to me.
The thing that impressed me the most was how open the folks were on how they achieve their effects...I don't think I have ever learned more a single sitting than with you and the folks at the show. I also learned, the next house I buy, Sunset Mortgage has my business!
Glad we linked up Lou, what a time we had, huh?
Look forward to many more shows with you and all there!
All the best, my friend

Patrick

 

[thegoodsgt]

I really enjoyed this year's show. It's amazing how having painted and entered figures sparks conversations!

It was nice to catch up with Gary after not having seen him for a number of years. His sculpting has improved dramatically, so I'm eager to see what comes off his workbench over the next year. It was also a pleasure to meet Jason. I've been admiring his sculpting here on pF and I was pleased to find that he's one of the nicest and most humble people I've met in the hobby. Ditto for Chris Mrosko. Bill Chilstrom was one of the few Planeteers I wanted to meet but didn't. I'm an admirer of his work, too, and felt his IDF M38 didn't win what it deserved.

Lou is right, that the quality of painting has gone up recently. John Borneo's work has improved markedly, and Joe Hudson's painting looked great. Lou is clearly at the gold medal level now. His Tomo Gozen bust featured incredible detail.

 

[garyjd]

Guys, It was good to see and talk with most of you there, sorry I missed you Lou and Bob. Maybe next time I'll wear a hardhat with a flashing light on it. The trip was a bit different this time as I had my Wife and 14 year old twins in tow. They all had a great time and will most likely come next time.

Steven, It was nice to see you there as well. Thanks for the kind words, I hope to be an exhibitor next time. I could not agree more with you about Jason. It refreshing to see folks with so much talent that are as humble, including yourself.~Gary

 

[Larry R]

Well I have to say that this being my 4th show (2nd MFCA) I can't understand why I didn't take up this hobby sooner! I was really amazed at the overall work and art form displayed by so many individuals. Gives me true inspiration to get better and take all the input I got from all the folks I met. I really enjoyed the comraderie as well that I only thought resided in my present occupation, boy was I wrong. Thanks to all you guys that gave me hints and tips and critiques on my work. I have many tips I want to try. Thanks to Lou, John, Warren, Adrian, Ian, Bob S, Chris, Bob T, and Bob K for providing new insights into the hobby. Next time not so much blood! On a lighter note, the comraderie with all you folks was great. The hospitality sweet was fantastic eventhough we got cut short. The vision of one such hobbyist replaces all those fond memories of the establishments I visited in Panama and Sachenhausen! I would like to promise Lou that my wardrobe will improve with my painting when I return to MFCA!! At least me humorus shirt was not as loud as one Tower. Thanks again.

The other Tower!

 

[geaugan]

It was BRILLIANT! Bloody BRILLIANT! :lol: Another great time was had by all but perhaps they should rearrangre the schedule to a two-hour show and 12 hours of hospitality room.