Agram 2023 – A Year In Review

Marko Paunović, 27th December 2023

The year 2023 has also come to an end. The year in which we celebrated our 20th birthday and were faced with various challenges, mostly of an economic nature. For the first time since 2004, the City of Zagreb has decided not to co-finance any of our projects. Despite this, with the great commitment of our members and leadership, we have fully implemented all the programs we envisioned, without realizing a lack of funds!

Partnership with Back to Basics

Despite these difficulties in work, we ended the year with fantastic cooperation and education of our members for conducting miniaturist/maquette workshops using the Back to Basics method. Our Ana, Kruno and Marko were educated in Kranj, Slovenia, and thus we became one of the international partners in that project, so get ready for 2024 when our first Back to Basics workshops await you!

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But let's go back to the beginning of the year, which started like every time with our traditional Exhibition...

EXHIBITION OF MINIATURES AND TABLETOP SCENERY AGRAM 2023

We started the year with preparations for our annual Exhibition of miniatures and models, during which we also organized a weekend painting workshop for miniatures and, for the fourth time this term, our international competition in painting miniatures Black Queen Hobby and Miniature Painting Competition. As always, the Exhibition presented a cross-section of the work of the Association, its members, participants of its courses and workshops, and members of the FB group Miniature Painters Croatia. In a large number of display cases, there were numerous miniatures for tabletop strategy games, board games, and an entire display case was dedicated to award-winning exhibits from previous miniature competitions. Several showcases were devoted to projects that the Association has been implementing for 20 years, such as the UMS "Agram" Library and Reading Room, the Workshop for creating spatial models and the Miniature Painting Workshop. The works of our friend, the academic sculptor prof., had a special place in the showcases. Winton Afrić.

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The opening of the Exhibition took place on Thursday, February 23, 2023. starting at 6 p.m.

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In addition, during the Exhibition, we also held a session of the UMS "Agram" Assembly.

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BLACK QUEEN HOBBY AND MINIATURE PAINTING COMPETITION 2023

During the weekend of 25.-26.02. as a part of the Exhibition, we held our 16th annual Black Queen Hobby and Miniature Painting Competition!

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We have kept the changes in the format of the registration process. Contestants had to register via email. Then they were given the exact time when they should come for registration (Saturday from 8:30 to 11:00). This limited the number of people at the scene at the same time.

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This year we've had two guest exhibitors. The first one was Winton Afrić with his project Artefact. Four of his digital sculpts were premiered at out Exhibition that were a part of a commission for The Dark Eye RPG by Ulisses Spiele.

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The other guest was Gardens of Hecate. A Zagreb-based craft run by Ana Polanšćak that specialises in making and painting custom miniatures, terrain as well as developing rules sets.

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Painting Workshops/Demonstrations

The layout of the venue at the Vladimir Horvat Gallery makes it possible to hold several workshops throughout the weekend. Therefore, there were two two-hour workshops on Saturday after the official opening of the competition and two on Sunday before the awards ceremony. This year, the workshops were held in the cinema hall in the basement of the venue. The tutor's work was filmed with a camera and projected on the projection screen in the hall.

GASLANDS KITBASH WORKSHOP

Date and time: Saturday 25. February 2023, 13:00-15:00

TUTOR:Ana Polanšćak

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CONTENT:

The workshop demonstrated the conversion of diecast cars into figures for Gaslands - a tabletop game of vehicle racing and combat on a post-apocalyptic Earth. It included disassembly, surface preparation, and adding weapons, armor, damage, and other details.

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LEATHER 101 WORKSHOP

Date and time: Saturday 25. February 2023, 15:00-17:00

TUTOR: Marko Paunović

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CONTENT:

The workshop covered different methods of painting leather surfaces, ranging from basic for tabletop and/or beginners up to advanced methods for painting busts and other display miniatures. The tutor has chosen several various miniatures/busts to show his creative process.

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3D SCULPTING 101 WORKSHOP

Date and time: Sunday 26. February 2023, 10:00-12:00

TUTOR: Winton Afrić

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CONTENT:

The workshop covered the process of 3D digital sculpting, from the idea to realisation and preparation for casting.

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HORSES / HISTORICAL WORKSHOP

Date and time: Sunday 26. February 2023, 13:30-15:30

TUTOR: Dalibor Čavić

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CONTENT:

This workshop covered the process of painting 28mm cavalry historical miniatures. The tutor has chosen suitable Black Husars of Frederic the Great by Zvezda to explain the theory as well as practical application using various techniques like basecoating, washing, highlighting and detailing with acrylic paints.

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SPEED PAINTING COMPETITION

On Sunday afternoon, a competition in quick painting of miniatures was held. Participants had 90 minutes to color one miniature. Previous applications were also required. Thanks to ourš sponsor Hobby Chest, who provided us with a large donation of coloring materials from AK Interactive, we organized a quick miniature coloring contest according to the following rules:

- contestants have 60 minutes to color the miniature

- all contestants paint the same (same type) miniature

- we provided colors from AK Interactive

- we provided brushes from AK Interactive.

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WEEKEND MINIATURE PAINTING WORKSHOPS

During the second weekend of the Exhibition, March 4-5, we organized a MINIATURE PAINTING WORKSHOP – Batchpainting Ork Boyz.

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The workshop was held over two days (the whole weekend) and the participants painted Ork Boyz figures from the Warhammer 40,000 board strategy game. The focus of these lectures was coloring several miniatures at once, but the knowledge from the workshop is equally applicable to coloring armies for boardgames and a collection of figures for pen&paper rpgs. The workshop presented paints and accessories, preparation of figures, several techniques for coloring miniatures from basic to more advanced, and techniques and tricks for quickly and efficiently coloring large quantities of figures at once. As part of the workshop, water-based acrylic paints were used. The lectures were adapted so that the leader devoted equal time to all participants and could adapt to all categories of miniaturists (from beginners to slightly advanced).

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First, the lecturer sits at his desk and explains and demonstrates each step in painting a miniature/mockup on his specimen. His work is shown on a screen through a camera and projector, which the participants listen to, look at, and ask questions about. Afterwards, the participants sit at their desks and apply the acquired knowledge. Leaders circulate between participants and check how each participant is doing. In this way, they can be adapted to each student individually. The workshop included the following thematic units

1. Planning and preparation and assembly of miniatures 2. Processing of miniatures before painting 3. Basic colors 4. Shading and highlighting techniques 5. Batch Painting 6. Subsequent elevation of the finished paintjob to a higher level 7. Basing the miniatures

The association provided all the necessary materials and tools, lighting, scalpels, PVA and superglue, brushes of different sizes and one set of paints..

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During the weekend, May 20-21, 2023, we held a new diorama-making weekend workshop called Vignette in a frame. Over the course of two days, the participants created a stage display of the haustor/entrance according to their own choice from about 10 offered designs, some historical and some fantasy / SF themes. The subject of the workshop was the creation of a diorama with elements of stone, wood, metal, concrete/plaster. In a frame with internal dimensions of 10 x 15 cm, they placed a representation of the entrance to a building.

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The main focus of these lectures was the creation of stage bases from easily available and cheap materials. Guided by this, the presenters chose/designed suitable bases placed in a fantasy/historical setting, which all participants made. The lectures were adapted so that the presenters devoted equal time to all participants and could be adapted to all categories of miniaturists (from beginners to slightly advanced).

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During the weekend, September 16-17, 2023, we held a new miniature painting weekend workshop called Busts of Dragons. Guided by this, the organizers chose suitable busts of dragons by the famous miniaturist Karol Rudyk, which all participants painted. Each attendee received a unique bust from his set of busts limited to 100 copies. As part of the workshop, acrylic paints were primarily used, but oil effects could also be used.

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The participants learned how to properly prepare a resin figure/bust before painting, and then they made an inner base from balsa for the frame in which they placed their dragons at the very end of the workshop. This time, each participant could explore various effects at their own discretion through their coloring. The choice of "color scheme" or whether he wants to use OSL effects or anything else is up to the participant.

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MINIATURE PAINTERS CROATIA – FB group

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On our FB group Miniature Painters Croatia, we organized two online miniature painting competitions: Summer Painting Competition and Winter Painting Competition.

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WEDNESDAY'S HOBBY CORNER

Hobby Corner on Wednesdays is designed as a sum of free activities in the space used by UMS "Agram" on Wednesday evenings. Most activities are open to everyone, with some benefits for UMS "Agram" members, such as storing miniatures in display cases between appointments or borrowing books from our rich Library.

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AGRAM GROUP BUILD

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As part of this UMS "Agram" project called Agram Group Build, which was created after Kruno and Marko discussed joint projects on Wednesdays and how it would be cool to gather more people on Wednesdays to work on something together. From this, the idea of Group Builds was born. In 2023, the creation of the diorama / game board for the companion game Full Tilt from the 90s was completed.

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ADVENT IN AGRAM

During November and December, we organized a program called Advent in Agram, which consisted of interactive workshops for making spatial models and shorter demonstration workshops during December. Interactive workshops mean that the participants make their own models according to the instructions and under the supervision of the leader. No registration is required for the sample workshops in December, and they consist of a number of separate topics that deal with modeling methods, effects and materials related to the winter period, such as making snow, ice and the like, which the lecturer demonstrates in class. As part of Advent, we organized:

Miniature photography workshop

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Demonstration workshops of modeling techniques (plasticard and pigments)

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Award ceremony for the winners of our online painting competitions

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Secret Santa

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Miniatures Fair

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Tombola

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AGRAM ARENA SUMMER – TURM2023

Turm 2023, part of Agram Arena Summer, organized by UMS "Agram" and Gardens of Hecate, took place in July 2023 in Zagreb.

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UMS "Agram" has a tradition of awarding the best painted models/armies at our events, which we couldn't miss at this visually stunning event.

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APPEARANCES AT COMPETITIONS, CONVENTIONS, EXHIBITIONS AND OTHER EVENTS

On Saturday 13.5. Agram's delegation went to Slovenia to participate again in the model competition in Pivka. The 15th Svet v Malem festival was held again this year at the Museum of Military History in Pivka, and that environment again proved to be perfect for such a competition and gathering. This year's Festival of Miniatures SVM 2023 also left a good impression. Our Marko helped future partners from Back to Basics to hold workshops for the youngest!

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Under the auspices of the City of Zagreb, organized by the Zagreb Association of Technical Culture, the XII Days of Technical Culture were held on October 14, 2023. UMS Agram presented the work of our various programs such as Advent in Agram, Agram Group Build and UMS "Agram" Library and Reading Room. In addition to the presentations, we also organized two demo/exhibition workshops on making bases for miniatures for the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop strategy game

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On Saturday 04.11.2023. Photo Video Show & ModelMania Zagreb took place at Hotel Academia in Tkalčićeva, starting at 10 a.m. UMS Agram presented the work of our various programs such as Advent in Agram, Agram Group Build and UMS "Agram" Library and Reading Room.

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From 10.11. until 12.11.2023. we performed again at the gaming fair Infogamer by Reboot at the Zagreb Fair. In cooperation with our long-time sponsor Carta Magic, we held demonstrations of the basics of painting miniatures for interested fair visitors. For many, it was the first encounter with the miniaturist hobby and the world of board strategy games.

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On Saturday 18.11. we visited the DP of Slovenia - model competition in Ljubljana. Our Ana met again with her Slovenian hobby friends who participated in our Turm 2023 in July. Luka and Vane held wargaming demos as side content at the competition, which was an opportunity for some gameplay. They played a game of the tabletop game Forbidden Psalm: Last War.

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This year we also participated in the traditional Christmas exhibition of ZZTK, from 18.12.-08.01. in the Vladimir Horvat Gallery, Trg žrtava fašizma 14. At the Community's invitation, we gladly responded to participate in the Exhibition itself with our illuminated showcase full of winter-themed figures, as well as announcements of our programs for 2024.

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VISITS TO EXHIBITIONS, COMPETITIONS AND OTHER EVENTS

As part of the Kup Zagreb model competition, on June 3 and 4, the 3rd solo exhibition of Roland Vlahović's model ships took place..

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On the weekend of June 3 and 4, we visited (and competed in) the 18th model-making competition Cup Zagreb, organized by the Zagreb Model-Making Association. This time, for the first time at a mock-up competition in Croatia, the organizer decided on a two-day format that UMS "Agram" has been using in its competition since the beginning of 2007.

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According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Miniatur Wunderland, which means "miniature wonderland" in German, is the largest model railway in the world and is located in the historic Speicherstadt in Hamburg, Germany.

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Internationales Maritimes Museum Hamburg, German for International Maritime Museum, is a private museum in the Speicherstadt (warehouse district) of Hamburg, Germany. The museum houses Peter Tamm's collection of model ships, building plans, uniforms and naval art, numbering more than 40,000 items and more than a million photographs. It was opened in a former warehouse in 2008.

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The Lego House is a 12,000 square meter building filled with 25 million Lego bricks in Billund, Denmark, located near Legoland and the headquarters of The Lego Group. It is also known as the Home of the Brick in reference to Billund, where Lego originates from. Visitors can experience a variety of activities during their visit, including physical and digital building with Lego bricks, programming robots and animating models. The center's visitor experience includes four experience zones, two exhibitions and the Lego Museum, which showcases the history of the Lego brand and company.

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Legoland Billund Resort, the original Legoland park, opened on June 7, 1968 in Billund, Denmark. The park is located next to the original Lego factory and Billund Airport, the second busiest airport in Denmark. Since its opening, the park has been visited by over 50 million guests. This makes Legoland the biggest tourist attraction in Denmark outside of Copenhagen. Legoland parks that have since been built around the world are modeled after Legoland Billund, the most notable being the Miniland area, which consists of millions of plastic Lego bricks.

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We also visited numerous model and hobby shops in Austria, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France and Italy...

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The second Saturday in September means a new edition of the Zagreb Modeling Cup CK 2023, organized by the HUVM, where we traditionally performed in "our" categories.

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The ship model exhibition Rijeka 2023, organized by the Croatian Association of Ship Model Makers and the Center of Technical Culture Rijeka, which was held this year from October 9 to 20 in the educational and exhibition space of the Ship House at Strossmayerova 13B in Rijeka, was also the 28th national ship model competition. as well as the 15th Croatian evaluation exhibition of ship models.

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On Saturday, 18.11.2023. in Ljubljana, the Slovenian National Championship in plastic modeling was held. Our delegation performed in several categories and in a wargaming demonstration.

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ARTICLES IN MINIATURISM AND MODEL ART

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And finally, our most comprehensive program should be mentioned. The online publication of articles from miniatures and model making that started in 2020 continued in the following years and also in 2023 with over 50 published articles this year. We would like to thank all members for their efforts and efforts in making miniatures and mockups, but especially for taking the time to photograph work in progress and write articles for our site.

UMS "Agram" wishes you all the best in the new year 2024! See you next year!

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Latest articles

  • We attended: Isle of Wonders 2026
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    On June 27-29 we attended the Isle of Wonders convention held on the island of Cres. 

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    I took part in their miniature painting competition which boasted over 50 works. I'm proud to say I managed to snag a Highly Commended medal!

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    27.-29. lipnja nastupili smo na konvenciji Isle of Wonders koja se održala na otoku Cresu. 

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    Natjecala sam se na njihovom natjecanju u bojanju minijatura. Ukupno je bilo preko 50 radova, a ja sam uspjela osvojiti "highly commended" medalju!

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    Ili Said, 6th July 2026
  • We attended: 13. Trofeo San Giusto 2026.
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    On June 20-21 we attended 13th Trofeo San Giusto in Trieste, Italy. 

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    It was held in Palazzo Vivante in the heart of Trieste and gathered miniature painters from Spain, Italy, France, England, Germany, Austria and I was the only participant in the miniature painting part of the competition from Croatia

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    As always we awarded the best of show prize as voted by our members. This time the prize went to Mr Alessandro Baialardo from Italy. And I managed to walk away with a gold, a silver and four bronze medals in Standard categories.

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    20. i 21. lipnja nastupili smo na 13. Trofeo San Giusto u Trstu u Italiji. 

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    Natjecanje se održavalo u predivnoj palači Vivante u samom centru Trsta i okupilo je minijaturiste iz Španjolse, Italije, Francuske, Engleske, Njemačke, Austrije, a ja sam bio jedini na minijaturističkom dijelu natjecanja koji je branio boje Hrvatske. 

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    Kao i uvijek na velikim natjecanjima, pripala mi je čast da dodijelim Best of Show nagradu po izboru članova UMS Agram. Ovoga puta, nagrada je otišla u ruke g. Alessandra Baialarda iz Italije koji je dobio naš ekskluzivni trofej Crne kraljice, monografiju o Udruzi te bocu Teranina. Na kraju uspio sam osvojiti zlato, srebro i četiri bronce u Standardnim kategorijama. 

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    Marko Paunović, 6th July 2026
  • We attended: Zagreb Scale Model Show 2026
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    On June 6-7 we attended Zagreb Scale Model Show 2026. 

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    It was held in Zagreb's Family Mall and we organized our Back to Basics Miniature Painting Workshops.

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    As always we awarded the best of show prize as voted by our members. This time the prize went to Mr Tihomir Bregar.

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    6. i 7. lipnja nastupili smo na Zagreb Scale Model Showu 2026. 

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    Ove godine održao se kroz dva dana u zagrebačkom Family Mallu. Tijekom oba dana održavali smo naše Back to Basics radionice bojanja minijatura.

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    Kao i uvijek, na većim natjecanjima dodijelili smo Best of Show nagradu po izboru naših članova, a ovaj put ona je otišla u ruke Tihomira Bregara. 

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    Mario Grgurev, 6th July 2026
  • Making of MUMMY dioramas
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    I recently was approached by the Historical Museum of Oslo to make three miniature dioramas for their exhibition MUMMY - a display of ancient Egyptian artefacts and mummies. Their requirements were that each of the three dioramas would portray a part of the life of one of the mummies from the exhibition, Dismut, a temple guardian’s daughter. Her Life, her Death and her Afterlife. In addition, they gave the maximum size of the display. This left me a lot of freedom for interpretation and to make the dioramas in my own way and style. In this article I’ll take you through part of my process for developing the three concepts. For a more detailed breakdown of the steps it took to complete the dioramas, see the videos.

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    My first focus was on the miniatures required. I searched online 3D-file shops to see what was already available. I knew this would be one of my limitations as there was no time or budget to 3D design all objects and characters required for all three dioramas. I found a pack of ancient Egyptian field workers, and so the Life diorama was created with this pack in mind - a tranquil scene by the Nile River, with workers harvesting wheat as Dismut observes from a higher vantage point. This diorama was also an opportunity to include some of the animals featured in the exhibition, so I found a cat and a mouse STL (and later a crocodile as well). As Dismut is not a famous pharaoh, there were obviously no STLs available of her, so I commissioned two 3D sculpts of her, giving me the chance to have her in the exact positions I needed for Life and Afterlife. In Death she would only appear as a mummified figure, easily available online.

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    I wanted the diorama to read from left to right, as the three dioramas would be displayed one next to the other, so as well as reading the specific Life diorama from left to right, I also wanted the entire display of all three dioramas to lead from left to right. I decided that from left to right the dioramas would also go from light to dark, Life being the lightest in tone and colour and Afterlife the darkest, reflecting the dioramas’ subjects. I decided on the scale for the entire display, around 50mm for humans, as this would be small enough to fit all the elements I needed, but large enough to fill up the dioramas with the amount of elements I found as STL’s and save me some time on not having to paint too many tiny details. I adjusted all STL’s to this scale, and found some realistic wheat plants online at the correct scale as well. And so the concept sketch for the Life diorama came together.

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    I knew that the Death diorama would be a burial ritual underground. I found a STL pack of several of the objects found in Tutankhamun’s grave, a burial ritual STL pack with two workers carrying a mummy and an ancient Egyptian priest. This would give me the scene. As the dioramas were going to have to be made as cubes, closed on all sides with walls, except for the front, as opposed to the open dioramas on display bases that we are used to, a part of planning each scene was also figuring out how to make the two sides and back panel a natural part of the dioramas. In Life this was an impossible task as no outdoor area is a cube, but I decided on making each side a rocky cliff and hoping the illusion of the scene would make the unaturally geometrical shape of the landscape become less visible. For Death my solution was a roller with Egyptian hieroglyphs. With this I could fill out each wall with historically accurate symbols and this way create interest in the surroundings of the scene as well. And for Afterlife, as this is already a “supernatural” scene, the walls would be bricks, extending the typical art found in Egyptian tombs portraying the Egyptian afterlife of Duat, into a 3D space. Generally I found a lot of inspiration and direction for this entire project from ancient Egyptian art and wall paintings.

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    The Afterlife diorama would have to have an Osiris character, the Egyptian God of the Dead, overseeing Dismut’s journey to Duat. As all STLs I could find of him had warrior poses, I instead commissioned a seated Osiris figure, as well as the scale that would measure Dismut’s heart against a feather, and thus if she is worthy of the Afterlife. I found a STL of Thoth, taking notes, and thought it suitable for the God judging the dead - in this case Dismut.

    After the concepts were approved by the museum, so started a several months long process of getting the MDF walls for the cubes, cutting, carving and gluing XPS foam at the correct angles, sizes and shapes, painting around 40 miniature characters and objects, with airbrush and brush, creating and painting the landscapes, pouring epoxy resin for the Nile River as well as many other smaller and larger tasks. Of the many ideas that came during the making of the dioramas (not reflected in the concept sketches), one that I think especially contributed to the overall look of the final display, was the fact that I decided that each diorama would have its own main colour. Yellow for Life, sun and desert, Red for Death, underground an earthy, and Blue for Afterlife, cold and melancholic. This would differentiate the dioramas from each other even when being viewed from a distance, as well as give a natural progression from warm to cold, another way to add contrast and make the dioramas read in my preferred direction, from left to right. This was achieved most obviously through the choice of oil colours used to shade the three dioramas. Apart from that, the acrylic paints chosen are the same for all three dioramas, giving a cohesion of colour as well as being based on the available pigments they would have had at the time in Ancient Egypt - mineral pigments like lapis lazuli, red and ochre, soot for black, copper compounds for blue and green and synthetic pigments like Egyptian blue.

    The final result is displayed here and will also be on display at Oslo’s Historical Museum for the foreseeable future. If you visit the city, make sure to stop by and have a look at the final display.

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    Nedavno me kontaktirao Povijesni muzej u Oslu da izradim tri minijaturne diorame za njihovu izložbu MUMIJA - prikaz drevnih egipatskih artefakata i mumija. Njihovi zahtjevi bili su da svaka od tri diorame prikazuje dio života jedne od mumija s izložbe, Dismut, kćeri čuvara hrama. Njezin život, smrt i zagrobni život. Osim toga, dali su maksimalnu veličinu prikaza. To mi je ostavilo puno slobode za interpretaciju i izradu diorama na moj vlastiti način i stil. U ovom članku provest ću vas kroz dio svog procesa razvoja triju koncepata. Za detaljniji pregled koraka potrebnih za dovršetak diorama pogledajte videozapise.

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    Moj prvi fokus bio je na potrebnim minijaturama. Pretražio sam online trgovine s 3D datotekama kako bih vidio što je već dostupno. Znao sam da će to biti jedno od mojih ograničenja jer nije bilo vremena ni proračuna za 3D dizajn svih predmeta i likova potrebnih za sve tri diorame. Pronašao sam skupinu drevnih egipatskih poljskih radnika, pa je diorama Život nastala imajući tu skupinu na umu - mirna scena uz rijeku Nil, s radnicima koji žanju pšenicu dok Dismut promatra s više točke. Ova diorama bila je i prilika za uključivanje nekih životinja predstavljenih na izložbi, pa sam pronašao mačku i miša u STL-u (a kasnije i krokodila). Budući da Dismut nije poznati faraon, očito nije bilo dostupnih STL-ova za nju, pa sam naručio dvije 3D skulpture, što mi je dalo priliku da je imam u točnim položajima koji su mi bili potrebni za Život i Zagrobni život. U Smrti bi se pojavila samo kao mumificirana figura, lako dostupna online.

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    Želio sam da se diorama čita slijeva nadesno, budući da bi se tri diorame prikazale jedna pored druge, pa sam, osim što se specifična diorama Života čita slijeva nadesno, također želio da cijeli prikaz sve tri diorame ide slijeva nadesno. Odlučio sam da će diorame slijeva nadesno ići od svijetlog prema tamnom, pri čemu će Život biti najsvjetliji po tonu i boji, a Zagrobni život najtamniji, odražavajući subjekte diorama. Odlučio sam se za mjerilo za cijeli prikaz, oko 50 mm za ljude, jer bi to bilo dovoljno malo da stanu svi potrebni elementi, ali dovoljno veliko da ispuni diorame količinom elemenata koje sam pronašao kao STL-ove i uštedi mi vrijeme jer ne bih morao slikati previše sitnih detalja. Prilagodio sam sve STL-ove ovom mjerilu i pronašao sam neke realistične biljke pšenice na internetu u ispravnom mjerilu. I tako je nastala konceptualna skica za dioramu Života.

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    Znao sam da će diorama Smrt biti pogrebni ritual pod zemljom. Pronašao sam STL paket nekoliko predmeta pronađenih u Tutankamonovoj grobnici, STL paket pogrebnog rituala s dva radnika koji nose mumiju i drevnim egipatskim svećenikom. To bi mi dalo scenu. Budući da su diorame morale biti izrađene kao kocke, zatvorene sa svih strana zidovima, osim sprijeda, za razliku od otvorenih diorama na izložbenim postoljima na koje smo navikli, dio planiranja svake scene bio je i smišljanje kako učiniti dvije strane i stražnju ploču prirodnim dijelom diorama. U filmu Život to je bio nemoguć zadatak jer nijedno vanjsko područje nije kocka, ali odlučio sam svaku stranu napraviti kao stjenovitu liticu i nadao se da će iluzija scene učiniti neprirodno geometrijski oblik krajolika manje vidljivim. Za Smrt moje rješenje bio je valjak s egipatskim hijeroglifima. S tim sam mogao ispuniti svaki zid povijesno točnim simbolima i na taj način stvoriti interes i za okolinu scene. A za Zagrobni život, budući da je ovo već „natprirodna“ scena, zidovi bi bili od cigli, proširujući tipičnu umjetnost pronađenu u egipatskim grobnicama koje prikazuju egipatski zagrobni život Duata u 3D prostor. Općenito sam pronašao mnogo inspiracije i smjernica za cijeli ovaj projekt u drevnoj egipatskoj umjetnosti i zidnim slikama.

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    Diorama zagrobnog života morala bi imati lik Ozirisa, egipatskog boga mrtvih, koji nadgleda Dismutovo putovanje u Duat. Budući da su svi STL-ovi koje sam mogao pronaći o njemu imali ratničke poze, umjesto toga sam naručio sjedeću figuru Ozirisa, kao i vagu koja bi mjerila Dismutovo srce u odnosu na pero, te time utvrdila je li dostojna zagrobnog života. Pronašao sam STL Thotha, bilježio i smatrao sam da je prikladan za Boga koji sudi mrtvima - u ovom slučaju Dismuta.

    Nakon što je muzej odobrio koncepte, započeo je višemjesečni proces nabave MDF zidova za kocke, rezanja, rezbarenja i lijepljenja XPS pjene pod ispravnim kutovima, veličinama i oblicima, oslikavanja oko 40 minijaturnih likova i predmeta airbrushom i kistom, stvaranja i oslikavanja pejzaža, izlijevanja epoksidne smole za rijeku Nil, kao i mnogih drugih manjih i većih zadataka. Od mnogih ideja koje su se pojavile tijekom izrade diorama (koje nisu odražene u skicama koncepta), jedna za koju mislim da je posebno doprinijela ukupnom izgledu konačnog prikaza bila je činjenica da sam odlučio da će svaka diorama imati svoju glavnu boju. Žuta za život, sunce i pustinju, crvena za smrt, podzemlje i zemljanost, a plava za zagrobni život, hladnu i melankoličnu. To bi razlikovalo diorame jednu od druge čak i kada se gledaju iz daljine, kao i dalo prirodan prijelaz od toplog prema hladnom, još jedan način dodavanja kontrasta i da se diorame čitaju u mom željenom smjeru, slijeva nadesno. To je najočitije postignuto odabirom uljanih boja korištenih za sjenčanje triju diorama. Osim toga, akrilne boje odabrane su iste za sve tri diorame, što daje koheziju boja, a ujedno se temelji na dostupnim pigmentima koje su imali u to vrijeme u drevnom Egiptu - mineralni pigmenti poput lapis lazulija, crvene i oker boje, čađa za crnu, spojevi bakra za plavu i zelenu te sintetički pigmenti poput egipatske plave.

    Konačni rezultat je ovdje izložen i bit će izložen u Povijesnom muzeju u Oslu u doglednoj budućnosti. Ako posjetite grad, svakako navratite i pogledajte konačni postav.

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    " ["created"]=> string(19) "2026-06-17 08:34:19" ["modified"]=> string(19) "2026-06-17 08:34:19" } ["Member"]=> array(10) { ["id"]=> string(3) "102" ["group_id"]=> string(1) "2" ["first_name"]=> string(9) "Sebastian" ["last_name"]=> string(8) "Søgård" ["first_name_mask"]=> string(9) "sebastian" ["last_name_mask"]=> string(4) "sgrd" ["username"]=> string(5) "norge" ["password"]=> string(40) "4dea770e7045a97695c7dc529698e85f5dadbded" ["born"]=> string(19) "2003-01-21 09:03:00" ["created"]=> string(19) "2022-01-21 09:03:12" } }
    Sebastian Søgård, 17th June 2026
  • Miniature Painting Workshop - 75mm Dwarf
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        ["title_eng"]=>
        string(40) "Miniature Painting Workshop - 75mm Dwarf"
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        string(44) "Radionica bojanja minijatura - 75mm patuljak"
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    On 09-10.05.2026. we held a new weekend miniature painting workshop. This time it was the turn of a dwarf in 75mm scale.

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    The workshop was held over two days (a whole weekend) and the participants painted a 75mm miniature dwarf. The focus of these lectures was painting various textures - metal, human skin, textiles and leather. Water-based acrylic paints were used in the workshop. For this purpose, the workshop leader, Ivan Knezović, chose a 75mm miniature dwarf from Durgin Paint Forge, sculpted by Carlos Perez Bugedo. The lectures were adapted so that the leader devotes equal time to all participants and can be adapted to all categories of miniaturists (from beginners to slightly more advanced).

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    The workshop took place as follows:
    First, the lecturer sits at his desk and explains and demonstrates each step in painting a miniature/model on his specimen. His work is displayed on a screen via a camera and projector, which the participants listen to, watch, and ask questions about.
    Then, the participants sit at their desks and apply the knowledge they have gained. The facilitator circulates among the participants and checks how each participant is doing. This way, he or she can adapt to each participant individually.

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    The workshop will include the following thematic units:
    1. NMM (Non metallic metal)
    2. Reflections of ambient colors on metal
    3. Steel / gold
    4. Face painting (male)
    5. Adding vibrancy to the face (filters)
    6. Extracting textures from fabric, metal and leather

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    POWERED BY: Carta MagicaFireball FigurinesDurgin Paint ForgePlaysupport

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    09-10.05.2026. smo održali novu vikend Radionicu bojanja minijatura. Ovoga puta na redu je bio patuljak u 75mm mjerilu.

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    Radionica se provodila kroz dva dana (cijeli vikend) i polaznici su bojali 75mm minijaturu patuljka. Fokus ovih predavanja bilo je bojenje raznih tekstura – od metala, ljudske kože, tekstila i kože (leather). U sklopu radionice korištene su akrilne boje na bazi vode. U tu svrhu, voditelj radionice, Ivan Knezović, izabrao je 75 mm minijaturu patuljka tvrtke Durgin Paint Forge, koju je sculptao Carlos Perez Bugedo. Predavanja su prilagođena tako da voditelj posveti jednako vrijeme svim polaznicima i može se prilagoditi svim kategorijama minijaturista (od početnika do malo naprednijih).

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    Radionica se odvijala na sljedeći način:
    Prvo, predavač sjedi za svojim stolom te objašnjava i demonstrira pojedini korak u bojanju minijature/makete na svojem primjerku. Njegov rad se preko kamere i projektora prikazuje na platnu što polaznici slušaju, gledaju, ali i postavljaju pitanja.
    Potom, polaznici sjedaju za svoje stolove i primjenjuju stečeno znanje. Voditelj kruži između polaznika i provjerava kako svakom polazniku ide. Na taj način, može se prilagoditi svakom polazniku ponaosob.

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    Radionica će uključivati sljedeće tematske cjeline:
    1. NMM (Non metallic metal)
    2. Refleksije boja iz okoline na metalu
    3. Čelik / zlato
    4. Bojanje lica (muškog)
    5. Dodavanje živosti na lice (filteri)
    6. Izvlačenje tekstura tkanine, metala i kože (leather)

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    POWERED BY: Carta MagicaFireball FigurinesDurgin Paint ForgePlaysupport

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    Ivan Knezović, 26th May 2026

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