Small Subjects
Small Subjects is a podcast devoted to discussing big topics in the worlds of scale modeling, diorama-building, and sculpting and painting miniature figures, as well as presenting interviews with some of the top artists in the field, including every era, and ranging from historical to fantasy subjects. Co-hosts Barry Biediger, who is based in Salt Lake City, and Jim DeRogatis, who lives in Chicago, are the editors of the Web site boxdioramas.com. Both have decades of experience as modelers, though they maintain that they are always curious and always learning. They are dedicated members of the Military Miniature Society of Illinois, where they considered the great Sheperd Paine a friend and mentor. Barry is also a member of his local chapter of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society, while DeRogatis has written, co-written, or edited ten books about popular music and two about miniatures and modeling (Sheperd Paine: The Life and Work of a Master Modeler and Military Historian and Shep Paine’s Armor Modelers Guide). You can contact the hosts at smallsubjectspodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
Small Subjects
Latest Episodes
Episode 71: Joe Berton on What We Can Learn from a Well-Curated Collection
Your hosts’ pal and one of one of their all-time favorite Small Subjects guests Joe Berton had a busy summer checking in on some notable collections of miniatures, and these visits got him thinking about what all of us “makers” ...
Episode 70: Jake McKee Part 2
Your hosts last talked with wonderfully imaginative modeler and Austin, TX-based tech consultant Jake McKee about the possibilities (and, yeah, some of the downsides) of Artificial Intelligence ...
Episode 69: Chatting with Pete Culos and wrapping up RME 2026
In this episode, your hosts talk with New Jersey modeler Pete Culos, an active member of the MFCA and APG (the Artists Preservation Group), one of the most...
Episode 68: MFCA 2026, With Special Guest Joan Biediger
In this special “crossover” episode, Jim and Barry are joined by his beloved Joan, host of the fantastic podcast “Her Shrink Ray Eye,” to share their thoughts about last month’s annual MFCA Show...
Episode 67: Scenery and Groundwork
In this episode, your hosts hit the dirt running, so to speak, tackling the importance of the scenery in a diorama or vignette, starting with the question of whether we begin by building the setting (an approach Jim has taken of late) or if tha...