Agram 2024 – A Year In Review

Marko Paunović, 23th December 2024

The end of this year 2024 has come, in which after the chaotic 2023, things have returned to normal again, and in which, in addition to traditional programs, we introduced two new programs and published two new books! The first program builds on the 2023 partnership with Back to Basics and consists of miniature coloring workshops for the youngest that we conducted in the City of Zagreb Libraries, while the second program is the Agram Lego Section. Read about all of this, as well as the two new books, below.

I n s t A G R A M

Another novelty is that since 2024, UMS Agram has its own Instagram profile . During 2024, we published around 150 posts and gathered almost 200 followers!

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

E X H I B I T I O N   O F   M I N I A T U R E S   A N D   T A B L E T O P   S C E N E R Y

We started the year with preparations for our annual Miniatures and Models Exhibition, during which we also organized a weekend miniature painting workshop and, for the fifth time this term, our international miniature painting competition, the 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 Miniature Painters Croatia FB group. In a large number of showcases, there were numerous miniatures for tabletop strategy games, board games, and an entire showcase was dedicated to award-winning exhibits from previous miniature competitions. Several showcases were dedicated to projects that the Association has been implementing for 21 years, such as the UMS "Agram" Library and Reading Room, the Spatial Model Making Workshop, and the Miniature Painting Workshop. The works of our member Ana Polanšćak had a special place in the showcases.

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Exhibition of Miniatures and Tabletop Scenery Agram 2024 was held this year from 22.2. to 10.03. 2024. The exhibition was held on Wednesday 21.2. in the afternoon and was attended by a large number of members and friends of the Association who exhibited their works.

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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 Miniature Painters Croatia FB group. A large number of showcases contained numerous miniatures for tabletop strategy games, board games, and an entire showcase was dedicated to award-winning exhibits from previous miniature competitions. Several showcases were dedicated to projects that the Association has been implementing for 21 years, such as the UMS “Agram” Library and Reading Room, the Workshop for Making Spatial Models, and the Miniature Painting Workshop.

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This year we hosted a special exhibitor, Gardens of Hecate. A Zagreb-based craft that makes and paints miniatures and terrains for tabletop strategy games.

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During the first weekend of the Exhibition, February 24-25, we held the 18th annual international miniature painting competition Black Queen Hobby and Miniature Painting Competition!

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As contestants arrived and registered for the competition, our hardworking staff photographed all the exhibits before sorting them into categories and carefully placing them in glass cases.

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WARGAMING DEMOS

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This year, for the first time, we organized demonstrations of the tabletop strategy games Forbidden Psalm and The Doomed. Over the course of both days, a handful of games were played on beautiful terrain!

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SELLERS' COURT

During the weekend our sponsors were present with their sellers' booths: The Bigbear Miniatures, The Zone Miniatures i Carta Magica.

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MINIATURE PAINTING DEMONSTRATIONS

The Vladimir Horvat Gallery space allows for workshops to be held over the weekend. Therefore, we organized three demonstration workshops over the weekend. This year, the workshops were held in a cinema hall. The lecturers' work was recorded with a camera and projected onto a projection screen in the hall.

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BACK TO BASICS PAINTING WORKSHOPS FOR THE YOUNGEST

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Throughout the weekend, we held our new workshops for the youngest, in which our youngest participants painted their first miniatures.

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SPEED PAINTING CONTEST

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On Sunday afternoon, a miniature speed painting competition was held. Participants had 90 minutes to paint one miniature. Thanks to our sponsor Hobby Chest, who provided us with a large donation of painting materials from AK Interactive, we organized a miniature speed painting competition.

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With that, we came to the very end of this wonderful weekend and all that remained was the distribution of prizes and awards to the winners.

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OPEN MINIATURE PAINTING WORKSHOPS

Over the next two weeks, our volunteers held open miniature painting workshops on weekdays from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Miniature painting workstations were set up where our visitors could paint miniatures we had prepared (or their own if they had brought them) using our materials and tools.

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On Wednesday 06.03.2024. the annual session of the Assembly was held, where we determined the guidelines for work in 2024..

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W E E K E N D   M I N I A T U R E   P A I N T I N G   W O R K S H O P S

During the second weekend of the Exhibition, March 4-5, we organized a MINITURE PAINTING WORKSHOP – Frostgrave.

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The workshop was held over two days (the whole weekend) and participants painted five different figures for the Frostgrave game, which can also be used for DND sessions. The focus of these lectures is 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. Each participant received 1 wizard (male/female), 3 warriors (2 male and 1 female or 2 female and 1 male) and 1 male barbarian. 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 are adapted so that the leaders devote equal time to all participants and can be adapted to all categories of miniaturists (from beginners to slightly advanced).

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During the weekend, May 4th-5th, we organized a MINITURE PAINTING WORKSHOP – Bretonnia.

The workshop was held over two days and the participants painted a Bretonnian knight on horseback for the tabletop strategy game Warhammer The Old World. The focus of these lectures was painting multiple miniatures at once, but the knowledge from the workshop is equally applicable to painting armies for board games and collections of figures for pen&paper RPGs. Each participant assembled their own knight with a spear, shield and ornamental helmet as well as a horse according to their own wishes. The workshop presented paints and accessories, figure preparation, several techniques for painting miniatures from basic to advanced, as well as techniques for applying stickers, and finally basing the figure. Water-based acrylic paints were used as part of the workshop..

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The workshop included the following thematic units: 1. Planning and preparation and assembly of miniatures 2. Processing miniatures before painting 3. Basic colors 4. Shading and highlighting techniques 5. Placing matte stickers 6. Freehand basics

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During the weekend, 21-22.9.2024, we held a new weekend miniature painting workshop called Dragon Busts. Guided by this, the organizers selected suitable dragon busts by the famous miniaturist Karol Rudyk, which all participants painted. Each participant 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 made an inner base for the frame from balsa, into which they placed their dragons at the very end of the workshop. This time, each participant was able to explore various effects through their painting at their own discretion. The choice of “color scheme” or whether they want to use OSL effects or anything else is left to the participant.

 

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B A C K   T O   B A S I C S   Miniature   Painting   Workshops

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In 2024, we started a new program called Back to Basics miniature painting workshops for the youngest in collaboration with the Zagreb City Libraries. We held a total of four workshops during October and November with 29 participants, our youngest fellow citizens.

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A G R A M    L E G O    S E C T I O N

As part of our Agram Lego Section, we have been organizing a series of expert lectures related to our current group LEGO project since 2024. Our experts lead lectures in various fields such as architecture, mechanical engineering, naval architecture, sculpture, etc. In 2024, we covered the topic of Hogwarts – sacral and fortification architecture of the Middle Ages.

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A G R A M   G R O U P   B U I L D

As part of this UMS "Agram" project called Agram Group Build which was created after Kruno and Marko talked about joint projects on Wednesdays and how cool it would be to bring more people together on Wednesdays to work on something together. From that came the idea of Group Builds. In 2024 we worked on a series of busts of Musketeers .

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W E D N E S D A Y' S    H O B B Y    C O R N E R

Wednesday's Hobby Corner is conceived as a collection of free activities in the space used by UMS "Agram" during Wednesday evening sessions. Most activities are open to everyone, with some benefits for UMS "Agram" members, such as storing miniatures in display cases between sessions or borrowing books from our extensive Library.

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A G R A M   A R E N A   S U M M E R   –   T U R M   2 0 2 4

Turm 2024, part of Agram Arena Summer, organized by UMS "Agram" and Gardens of Hecate, took place in July 2024 in Zagreb.

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UMS “Agram” has a tradition of awarding the best painted models/military at our events, which we could not miss at this visually stunning event.

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A D V E N T   I N   A G R A M U

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During November and December, we organized a program called Advent in Agram, which consisted of interactive workshops on making Christmas balls and shorter demonstration workshops during December. Interactive workshops involve participants making their own models according to instructions and under the supervision of a leader. No registration is required for the demonstration workshops in December, and they consist of a series of separate topics that cover model-making methods, effects, and materials related to the winter period, such as making snow, ice, and the like, which the lecturer demonstrates from behind the desk. As part of Advent, we organized:

Miniature Photography Workshop

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Demonstrations In Making Winter Terrain

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Workshop for making Christmas decoration in shape of a Hobbit Hole

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Secret Santa

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Bits and Miniatures Fleamarket

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APPEARANCES AT COMPETITIONS, CONVENTIONS, EXHIBITIONS AND OTHER EVENTS

Kup Zagreb

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The Zagreb Cup, a model-making competition organized by ZMMS, was held this year over two days on May 18-19, 2024, at Family Mall. The organizer asked us to participate by presenting our programs and projects, which we were happy to do.

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Svet v Malem, Pivka, Slovenija

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Svet v Malem, a model-making competition, was held at the Museum of Military History in Pivka, Slovenia, on May 25, 2024. We also presented our programs and activities at this competition. For the first time, our Norwegian member, Sebastian, came with us, for whom this was also the first competition abroad in which he participated. In addition to the competition, as is tradition, our Slovenian partner Back to Basics and Miniatures.si organized demonstration workshops on painting miniatures. Our Marko was also invited to hold one – on quick painting of the Bretonnian Man-at-Arms.

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“First of all, the venue is perfect for a miniature convention. The Military History Park in Pivka has an interesting story, and learning about its historical and geographical importance, as well as Yugoslav military history in their museum, was certainly interesting, although for me the best part of the place were the large planes, helicopters, tanks and cars hanging or standing around the venue. This provides a perfect complement and contrast to all the tiny miniatures on display. The exhibition mostly consisted of military and historical vehicles, dioramas or displays, but the three of us entered in the slightly smaller categories of "Wargaming", "What If (Sci-fi)", "Movie Scenes", "Bust" and "Figures of All Scales". Even here, there were some pretty good entries. But most impressive of all were some of the dioramas depicting historical military events (also complementing the museum exhibits and several historical artifacts housed there), such as Winter Relax, Alsace 1944, a "Best of Show" from Moson. This large rotating diorama, complete with well-lit interiors and a completely realistic winter scene of vehicles, soldiers and equipment, was so impressive to me that we also awarded it the BEST OF SHOW by UMS AGRAM award and presented it to the author, Giampiero Bianchi.”

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International TableTop Day 2024, Jalžabet

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On June 8th, we organized an interactive miniature painting workshop as part of International Tabletop Day 2024 in Jalžabet near Varaždin.

Our Mario, with the help of local Viking Sebastian, led a miniature painting workshop that was supposed to last two hours, from 10 am to 12 pm. However, due to great interest, the duration was extended to almost 5 pm.

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PSMK 2024, Budapest, Hungary

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In parallel with the workshop in Jalžabet, our second delegation headed to Budapest to represent UMS Agram at the international model-making competition PSMK 2024. Our team, Kruno and Marko, headed there on Friday and stayed until Sunday, even though the competition itself was a one-day event.

Upon arrival in Budapest, we joined the miniaturist team for a welcome dinner with Hungarian specialties. Throughout the weekend, it was a pleasure to exchange experiences and knowledge with world-class figures such as Margot Crombeecke, Chloe Plattner, James Zhou and Miklos Bute.

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On Saturday morning, we arrived at the competition and set up our stand (which later won a “We Like It” souvenir from the organizers). We then placed the exhibits in the corresponding categories and the competition could begin.

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After a short deliberation, the decision to award the BEST OF SHOW by UMS AGRAM was easy to award to Chloe Plattner's wonderful display.

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Kamping Kitbash

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Kamping Kitbash is a three-day event dedicated to indie board games and miniatures making. This is the first edition of Kamping Kitbash, and it took place at BROEI - a converted old factory near the center of Ghent, and was organized by Nerdlab, a local collective dedicated to promoting the fusion of fine art and technology.

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Throughout the weekend, there were large tables where we could all model and paint miniatures, as well as piles of figures, parts, paints, tools, brushes and kitbashing supplies.

There was at least one workshop every day of the Kitbashing Camp. On the first day, Helge (@wilhelminiatures) led a workshop on polymer clay modeling, and Terran (@conjuredcraft) on face modeling for beginners. On Saturday, there was a workshop on experimental painting led by our own Ana, and Arjan (@atelier.ag) on silicone mold making and resin casting of miniatures. On Sunday, Tara (@manglingminis) had a workshop on tabletop game design.

Modelling Cup Crna Kraljica 2024

On 05.10.2024. we performed at the Black Queen organized by HUVM. In addition to the presentation stand, our members competed and achieved notable success (all our competitors won at least a medal). Congratulations!

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XIII DAYS OF TECHNICAL CULTURE 2024

On October 18th and 19th, 2024, we participated in the XIII Days of Technical Culture organized by the Zagreb Technical Culture Association.

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On Friday, we held three demonstrations of model-making and miniaturist techniques (Ana, Marko and Sebastian) and participated in the Forum organized by SUPTK and DPTK with a presentation about the miniaturist and model-making workshops we organize.

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On Saturday, after the official opening ceremony, we presented a new book published by UMS Agram - Miniaturism in the post-Corona era and held two series of Back to Basics workshops. The participants painted their first figures! After both days, it's time for our volunteers to have some well-deserved relaxation!

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MODELMANIA @ FOTO VIDEO SHOW ZAGREB 2024

26.10. we performed at Model Mania Zagreb with the presentation of our programs:

- Advent in Agram
- Back To Basics miniatures coloring workshop for the youngest in the Reading Room and VN Gallery, 09.11.2024.
- Exhibition of miniatures and models Agram 2025
- Black Queen Hobby and Miniature Painting Competition by UMS Agram

and for the youngest we organized Back To Basics miniature painting workshops.

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VISITS TO EXHIBITIONS, COMPETITIONS AND OTHER EVENTS

KZMZ Train Exhibition

On Friday, May 24th, at the invitation of the organizers of KZMZ, we visited the Train Exhibition held at the Family Mall.

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FESTUNG CUP in Slavonski Brod

Our Vanja Ilijev performed at this year's FESTUNG CUP in Slavonski Brod.

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National championship of Slovenia in plastic modeling

On Saturday, 16.11.2024. in Ljubljana, the Slovenian National Championship in plastic modeling was held. Our delegation performed in several categories.

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It was a special pleasure for us to present and give away several copies of our latest issue to our partners and friends from Back to Basics!

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Big Panda and Tiny Dragon, Character Drawing Workshop

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During this year's Interliber, James Norbury, author of the books about the Big Panda and the Tiny Dragon, held several different events and meetings with readers. On Friday, November 15th, I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop on drawing characters from his books. Since James is an illustrator and his works include abstract landscapes, fantasy art, SF and cyberpunk comics, drawings and graphics, it was interesting for me to see how the panda and dragon characters are created using the technique of Japanese Zen painters.

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 began in 2020 continued in the following years, including in 2024, with over 50 published articles this year. Hereby we would like to thank all members for their effort and commitment in making miniatures and models, but especially for taking the time to photograph work in progress and writing articles for our site.

B O O K S    P U B L I S H E D   B Y   U M S   „A G R A M“

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During 2024, we published two books. The first is a Collection of Articles on Miniaturism and Modeling, the second part of which is called Miniaturism in the Post-Corona Era. The second book is the second, expanded Back to Basics edition of the Miniature Painting for Beginners manual.

UMS „Agram“ wishes you a happy New Year! See you in 2025!

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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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        string(21) "Izrada diorama mumije"
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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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    " ["content_hrv"]=> string(8826) "

    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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