Programming
questions?
E-mail Dave Conover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raffle & Auction
questions?
Email Dave Hodge

SATURDAY & SUNDAY 10 TO 5:  GUEST PRESENTATIONS;   RONDO AWARDS;   DIABOLICAL DISPLAYS;   HOW-TO DEMOS;   RAFFLE & AUCTION; MAKE-IT & TAKE-IT

Guest Presentations:
Tentative and subject to change. 

Nefarious plans are still being made and evil plots are still being hatched, but here are some of the daytime events planned for WF 2010!

Living with the Dead:  25 Years at Ground Zero

Linnea Quigley, James Karen, William Stout, Frank Dietz

Zombies are BIG business these days in all media—books, comics and especially movies—and the ‘revival’ of it all can be traced to one little cult film gem from 1985: THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD!  Dan O’Bannon’s punk-rocked, gore-fueled, gut-bustingly funny take on the universe of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD made a big wet splash with genre fans back in the days of big hair and continues to be a favorite 25 years later.  By happy(?!) coincidence, the film was set in WonderFest’s hometown of Louisville,KY-- where we not only endured the trioxin-spawned rise of the living dead but also a direct tactical nuclear strike to clear up the pesky brain-nibbleers!  Somehow it was all kept quiet, but now Frank Dietz will lead a panel dedicated to remembering these tragicomic events featuring two of the original stars and our pal William Stout, the film’s production designer…

It Came From West Hempstead: 
Aurora’s Original House of Monsters!

Cortlandt Hull, Dennis Vincent, Ray Meyers, Dave Conover

With the world premiere of THE AURORA MONSTERS: THE MODEL CRAZE THAT GRIPPED THE WORLD, and industry legend Ray Meyers on board for this year’s ‘Fest, it’s only natural to devote a special hour to remembering the company and the products that are truly at the root of what WonderFest annually celebrates: Fantastic Modeling! 

There’s probably not a single soul in attendance at our expo who doesn’t have a special memory or story about their first Aurora monster model and it’s that love and the phenomenon that it spawned that will be discussed by filmmakers/historians Cortlandt Hull and Dennis Vincent, Aurora kit sculptor Ray Meyers and moderator Dave Conover.  An encore screening of THE AURORA MONSTERS will follow this talk.

Forrest J Ackerman Shall Not Die!: 
Tales of Fandom’s Favorite Weird Uncle

Joe Moe, David Colton, Terry Pace, Donnie Waddell

“Founding Uncle” of fandom Forrest J Ackerman passed on in December of 2008 and there was no time for WonderFest to prepare a proper tribute to the legendary FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND editor for last year’s show.  We’re pleased to finally be able to pay heartfelt homage to the man who brought monsters, ‘sci-fi’ and truly bad puns into our lives and homes with his long-time assistant and friend Joe Moe, USA Today editor David Colton and WF’s own Monsterkid Extraordinaire Donnie Waddell in attendance to celebrate his life and legacy.  A display of Forrybilia will be featured at the ‘Fest this year and we’ll also be unveiling a wonderful new sculptural  tribute to “Mister Monster” from the hands of a Hollywood FX master! 

Nostromo Rising: John Eaves

Production designer/master modeler John Eaves and a gallant crew of FX modeling friends rescue and restore the original filming miniature Nostromo from Dan O' Bannon and Ridley Scott's classic Alien!  Not to be missed by starship modeling fanatics!  In space, no one can see you evict 'possums from a neglected towing vessel...

Return of the Curse of the Son of the Bride of Modelmania!

David Fisher

The ultra-talented modeler and editor of Amazing Figure Modeler returns for 2010 with another great sampling of his award-winning work!  It’s become a WonderFest tradition for Dave to kick off our celebration of talent and imagination on Saturday morning, and as we enter our third decade it’s great to have him back to show by example just how high an art form modeling can become and to take questions from the audience on his techniques!

Click on the DVD images above to visit David's Modelmania website.

Diabolical Displays:

Studio Scale EMPIRE STRIKES BACK MODEL DISPLAYS!

It’s the 30th Anniversary of what is still universally acclaimed to be the best film of the STAR WARS franchise:  THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!  WonderFest is pleased to present a dazzling display of super-accurate studio-scale miniatures from the film produced by a talented and dedicated group of professional modelers including  Jason Eaton, Mike Salzo and George Takacs.  From traveling the world to track down original filming miniatures to creating master patterns for props and miniatures and utilizing the latest in ‘computer-grown’ components for accuracy and maximum detail, these guys have done it all.  Prepare to be rocketed back in time to a Galaxy far, far away—and a time when astounding models and real talent dominated the visual effects world!

BABYLON 5 Masks & Costumes!

Longtime Fest-fan Tony Hardy returns in 2010 with another outstanding display of props and costumes from his personal collection!  This year he’ll highlight BABYLON 5 in celebration of our very special guest Claudia Christian and feature full costumes, weapons, masks and makeup appliances from J. Michael Straczinski’s Emmy-award winning series!  Exhibit sponsored by CultTVman/Steve Iverson.

Monster Toys & Models!

The fine furry folks from The Universal Monster Army will return with their museum-grade display of classic monster toys and models from our collective childhood, too!  Always a great, nostalgic treat from members of the Universal Monster Army!

The Abrams Enterprise!

Lou Dalmaso will be presenting his QMX Studio-scale Enterprise from the fantastic JJ Abrams STAR TREK movie in our display area this year!  Fully lit and highly detailed, it was built from digital files and scans supplied directly by Industrial Light and Magic...

Life-Size Classic Monsters!

Cortlandt Hull, Dennis Vincent and The Witch’s Dungeon will return with more mind-boggling full-scale classic monster replicas and an exclusive documentary about the legendary Aurora model company!

Saturday afternoon at 5!

David Colton and the CHFB gang return to hand out the coveted Acromegaliacs in Fandom’s biggest, most respected and, yes, hotly-debated web-based awards show! 

Each year, voting is conducted by David and his intrepid  team of moderators from the Classic Horror Film Board take open nominations and voting from fandom at large on the year’s best efforts in horror, sci-fi and fantasy in all media and areas of interest including models, toys, conventions and events. 

Voting ended on April 4th and the winners are listed at www.rondoaward.com.  Several winners are always in attendance at WF each year, so don’t miss ‘em!

Modeling How-to Demos:

WonderFest continues our commitment to the art of model making with an expanded demo lineup!

Talks will last from 30 minutes to an hour, (or even two) and are planned to focus on major modeling topics and skills demonstrations.  Some will allow the viewers to try the techniques shown.

Exact times and days are tentative: the final schedule will be listed in the WonderFest Pocket Program, available at the show. 

NOTE: For 2010 we are again using VIDEO ASSIST, ensuring EVERYONE gets a great view of the work being done!

FIGURES:

VEHICLES & HARDWARE:

These demos are being arranged and staged with the help of John Lester at Starship Modeler, Steve Iverson at CultTVman, and Terry Webb of Amazing Figure Modeler.  Please give them a visit when you’re web surfing!

Every year at WonderFest there’s a Raffle and Silent Auction to benefit worthwhile charities. We’re proud that in the past nine years, this incredible effort by volunteers has raised more than $21,000–while hobbyists have taken home startling goodies–thanks to the generosity of many donors and friends of WonderFest.

For the RAFFLE, model and toy-related companies donate hundreds of pieces of merchandise to be raffled off. There are kits and supplies with cash values in the hundreds of dollars you won’t believe.

In addition to the raffle, a SILENT AUCTION of extra-special donated items will be held that can include movie-related artifacts, original art work, masks, autographed books and more.

About our Charities:

For the RAFFLE: 
The WHAS Crusade for Children, P.O. Box 1100, Louisville, KY 40201

In 56 years the WHAS Crusade for Children has collected more than $133 million and has helped over one million physically or mentally handicapped children in Kentucky and Indiana. Money collected through the Crusade helps fund new medical equipment, teachers, therapists, laboratories, computers, speech training and much, much more.  The WHAS Crusade for Children is a 501-c (3) non-profit organization.

For the SILENT AUCTION:
Guiding Eyes for the Blind, 611 Granite Springs Rd., Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

Guiding Eyes for the Blind, founded in 1954, is considered one of the foremost guide dog training schools in the country. Some 160 student/guide dog teams each year benefit from Guiding Eyes’ services. It now costs $25,000 to breed, raise and train each of the remarkable dogs that is matched with a blind partner. Yet Guiding Eyes for the Blind charges no tuition. The dogs, training, students’ room and board for 26 days, and lifetime follow-up support are all provided free.  Guiding Eyes for the Blind is a 501-c (3) non-profit organization, which receives no governmentassistance. 

Our Make-It & Take-It Workshop is back after a one-year break. It's a great place where beginners can learn to build a model--with help--and then take it with them!

Sponsor Moebius Models will be providing awesome beginner plastic kits and Linda Lester over at Starship Modeler will be organizing the volunteer troops.

There's no better way to bring a new generation into our fantastic hobby!

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