There’s always so much to do at WonderFest!
The days are packed with events. Once the show closes at 5, we fill the nights with events, too.
Friday Daytime: Pre-Show Workshops
Badger/Black Heart
Airbrushing & Model Finishing Class
This class is SOLD OUT as of 4-9-24!
9am-3pm – Spend a day learning to paint on a fantastic work of art!
Register now for the Black Heart/Badger model airbrushing class at WonderFest 2024. The painting subject for the class will be Black Heart’s 1:3 scale Werewolf…13 inches of lycanthropic fury… sculpted by Joe Simon. The headliners for the class will again be Gordon Oberman and Jeff Camp. The class will be limited to the first 24 folks to register and will use Badger Air-brush products that will be provided to all participants.
The class offers two options:
- Option A is $425 and includes a Badger’s Patriot airbrush and a low noise/auto stop compressor, 12 bottles of Badger
paint, Black Heart’s 1:3 scale Werewolf bust, and six hours of expert instruction. - Option B is $365 and includes everything in Option A except the compressor.
Compressors will be provided for all folks to use during the class. We encourage participants to bring their own paint
brushes for fine detailing and a couple of wide brushes (1 to 2 inches wide) for dry-brushing.
This class is SOLD OUT as of 4-9-24!
AFM Model Boot Camp
9am-5pm — Come for the instruction, leave with the knowledge!
Hey Modelers, are you ready to get small this year? As in small scale micro-modeling? Well, we are, and we’re proud to announce AFM’s all-new Mummy Diorama Class! The Mummy Lives, and you could be the one to bring him to life! Small scale modeling requires specialized techniques and this comprehensive class will teach an impressive array of modeling challenges unlike any training seminar before it!
Techniques covered will include:
- Working with Metallic Waxes to define metallic surfaces.
- Wet-on-wet painting techniques: mixing and blending colors on the model.
- “Painting” with pastel shade sticks.
- Using alcohol to create surface textures and weathering.
- Plug n’ play lighting kit to create a flickering fire effect in a fire pit custom-made just for this class.
Class fee is $310 per student, offered on a limited seating capacity, and it’s open to modelers of all skill levels. Apply now to reserve your seat for this AMAZING opportunity now by contacting AFM at the link below.
Design Futuristic Models:
3D Modeling for 3D Printing Innovation!
8 am-6 pm | Instructor: Stephen Burns
New to 3D? This class is perfect for you. Take a deep dive in learning how to build in Blender specifically for 3D printing. Blender 3D is an open source 3D software package that allows you to build, texture, animate, create effects and 3D print. And it is amazing!! This class will focus on getting to know Blender 3D as a software and how to build, texture and render your 3D visions.
3D Printers have come down in price tremendously. Class will address two types: Resin printers (SLA) and filament printers (FDM). Printing Software to be used and discussed will be Chitubox, Lychee and Cura.
Cost is $275 per person. Prerequisites: Bring your own laptop, install Blender 3D (it’s free!), and have a mouse that has a scroll wheel for the middle button.
SCIFI MODELING SCHOOL
Sponsored by TAG Team & Iwata
9 am-4 pm in the Madison Room
This class is SOLD OUT as of 2-22-24!
SciFi Modeling School Episode V: Return of the Falcon with Guest instructor Mike Salzo!
Saturday-Sunday Daytime
Dealers!
10am-5pm
Two Dealer Rooms!
Open 10 am till 5 pm Saturday and Sunday.
Dealers from around the world will be set up at more than 160 tables.
Early Bird tickets are available to get in two hours early on Saturday morning. See the Admissions booth.
501st Legion | Bluegrass Garrison
We’re so happy to welcome the members of the 501st Legion – Bluegrass Garrison.
You’ve seen the 501st on the Mandalorian series as well as adding a distinctively Star Wars presence at our past shows! They add a life-size element amid all the model-scale ones on display.
The Bluegrass Garrison will also be collecting donations for Norton Children’s Hospital.
Exhibits
10 am-5 pm both days – in Dealer Room B
Props, monsters, art and costumes…and the stuff that (scary) dreams are made of!
Tracy’s Corner
It’s our annual exhibit tables in Dealer Room B, inspired by the collection of Bob Burns! Thanks to collector Tony Hardy and his talented friends, Tracy’s Corner will have plenty of eye candy on display this June.
You won’t have to look far to find Nemo in our 70th anniversary “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” display! You’ll see collectibles, artifacts, blueprints and prop replicas from this landmark film!
Charity Raffle & Auction
Open Saturday 11 am–5 pm, Sunday 10 am–5 pm – in Dealer Room A
Every year at WonderFest there’s a Raffle and Silent Auction to benefit worthwhile charities. This incredible effort has raised more than $22,000–while hobbyists have taken home startling goodies–thanks to the generosity of many donors and friends of WonderFest.
Guest Talks!
10am-5pm
Guest Presentations
10 am-5 pm both days in the Upstairs Theaters
Every year our industry guests do presentations, participate in panel discussions, and do audience Q&As!
A schedule will be posted in the days leading up to the show.
How-To Demos
All Weekend
How-To Demos for Figure and Hardware Modelers
These FREE presentations by modelers change every year and usually last from 30 minutes to an hour, (or even two). Focus is on major topics and skills demonstrations. Some will allow the viewers to go hands-on and try the techniques shown.
Two tracks are offered: One for figure modelers and one for vehicle/hardware modelers.
A list of demos topics and times will be posted closer to the show date.
Airbrush 101
SAT: 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm; SUN: 11 am, 1pm
During WonderFest weekend, sign up for one of six FREE 75-minute, hands-on classes (limit 12 students each class), staged and sponsored by Iwata. No charge for WonderFest attendees.
Make & Take for Kids 16 & Under
Saturday-only: 11 am–1 pm & 2–4 pm in the Elliott Room
Kids ages 16 and under can learn how to build or paint a model—and then take it home.
A great place for beginners to try model painting without fear. Best of all, it’s free! First-time modelers age 16 and under can learn to paint a model using acrylic paints—with help from a crew of patient and experienced volunteers—and then take the finished model home! (Above that age can participate, but there will be a small fee of $5.)
Thanks to Round 2 for donating snap-together kits and Black Heart Models for donating small resin busts this year! And to Kaiju Modeler and WonderFest for supplying paint, brushes, and hairdryers to speed the process.
There’s no better way to bring a new generation into our fantastic hobby!
Friday-Saturday-Sunday Night Programs
Friday
TAG Team/Iwata Airbrush Party
7:00 pm – Madison Room
- Test Drive Iwata Airbrushes and Compressors.
- Try NuWorlds Paints! Formulated for plastic, metal and resin.
- Talk with experienced Iwata representatives.
- Meet Iwata artists and see some of their work.
Free to all WonderFest attendees.
Friday Night May 3st | Louisville Gore Club Podcast present
8 pm – Upstairs Theater
THIS IS YOUR LIFE – LIVE! – with BELINDA BALASKI!
Saturday
The Rondo Awards: Fan-voted and presented at WonderFest!
Saturday, 4 pm in Upstairs Theater A
Fandom’s only classic horror awards decided by fans, for fans!
We’re happy to welcome David Colton and company back to WonderFest for their live awards presentation for the best in print, film, web, art, media, toys and models… in short, just about everything that makes our monstrous world go ’round!
So make a date with Rondo for Saturday evening. Seating starts at 4 pm in Upstairs Theater A.
Learn more about the much-coveted acromegalics at www.rondoaward.com.
Are you an IRON MODELER?
Saturday 6 pm-10 pm
It’s like ‘Iron Chef,’ but with models!
Eight 3-person teams are given a “base item” (could be a kit, could be a random item), a big pile of parts, greeblies and assorted castaway household items, and four hours to build the best model they can out of what they’ve got. A spray booth and paints are provided as well, but teams need to bring any glue or tools. At the end of four hours, the models are judged and the Iron Modeler Champion Team is crowned, giving them bragging rights for the next year. Oh, and there’s prizes too.
Official start time is 6pm, but you can arrive any time after 5:30 to set up your table. Teams should arrive no later than 5:45. If your team is not there by the 6pm start time, another team will take your place.
If you have any questions, just email John Lester.
Saturday Night in the Upstairs Theater:
Chiller Cinema presents a double feature!
Our friendly horror host and fan fave Doctor Gangrene (Larry Underwood) presents a pair of genre favorites in his usual style with a with a cool, fun double feature!
7PM – Matinee (1993)
“You think grown-ups know what they’re doing? That’s just a hustle, kid. Grown-ups are making it up as they go along, just like you. You remember that, and you’ll do fine.”
Director Joe Dante’s cinematic love letter to the days of showman William Castle, here represented by John Goodman’s “Lawrence Woolsey” hits all the right notes of 50’s horror, cold war scares, and a more innocent time.
Our very special guest, cast member Belinda Balaski, will introduce the film in-person!
The IMDB synopsis states: “The teenage son of a navy sailor newly stationed in Key West gets some excitement with his friends when a small-time film producer comes to town to premiere a kitschy horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis.” The film-within-a-film, MANT!, is a riot!
AND…after a brief intermission…
9:30PM – The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
“Professor, there’s a big lizard back there and he’s heading this way. Now get aboard!”
Filmmaker Ray Harryhausen decided to bring a never-filmed Willis O’Brien project to the screen in 1969.
Special guests Vanessa Harryhausen and Connor Heaney will introduce the film!
Cowboy “Tuck Kirby” (James Franciscus) seeks fame and fortune by capturing an Allosaurus living in the Forbidden Valley and putting it in a Mexican wild west show. His star attraction, called Gwangi, turns out to have an aversion to being shown in public. Another film featuring the astonishing stop-motion special effects talents of Ray Harryhausen. Standout scenes include the delicate animation of a tiny Eohippus horse and the dynamic roping sequence of cowboys trying to subdue an Allosaurus.
Sunday
The 2024 Wrap Party!
Sunday at 7:30 pm in the Upstairs Theater
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the WonderFest Wrap Party… It’s JAWS in 30 Minutes or less!
The crew that brought you Scripts Gone Wild are bringing a briny new take on a classic we all love. Join us as we poke the shark with a cast of WonderFest crew and special guests! Cast members are Frank Dietz, Dave Hodge, Daren Dochterman, Dwight Turner. Dana Hope, Melinda Angstrom, Beau Kaelin, Divinity Rose, and Bruce the Shark.
Choose to eat at the event ala carte, visit the cash bar, or just come for the fun! Food and drink sold separately.
WonderFest Sunday evening, June 2nd, at 7:30pm.
Tickets are just $9 per person, sold at Admissions and at the door.