've just returned from Wondefest 2003, a major model and toy convention in Louisville, Kentucky, and it was my first time to attend the show as a dealer (my table display is above). I found the response to be terrific. I saw a lot of friends and customers, both from the various EZboard forums I'm active in, and those who have visited this site. It was terrific to meet you all, and thanks for your kind comments about the Dan Perez Studios website and my sculptures and kits. It's meeting people like you that makes all this an enjoyable endeavor. I have so much news that it warrants its own page here. So without futher ado:

BIG NEWS FIRST

Response to my table display was excellent, and I got so many inquiries about both the Good Smeagol and the Popeye that I have decided to make these available as model kits. Smeagol is going into clay for molding in just a day or two, and will be available within about a week. I'm taking pre-orders now, so click on the link above to be the first on your block to own a copy of this bust.

Popeye will follow, but I am adding a Eugene the Jeep and a SweePea to the kit, and those will need to be sculpted (won't take too long, though). Watch my What's New page for more news about these kits, and thanks for everyone who expressed their interest in these. I decided to add SweePea after we stayed up late in our hotel room, drinking tequila shots and watching old Max Fleischer Popeye cartoons!

Rygel XVI also generated its share of interest from you Farscape fans and I am thinking about releasing this one as a bust. I do intend to sculpt a full body for him, but this will probably be prohibitive to cast due to the size (the head is approximately 1:3 scale)We'll see what happends on this one.

OTHER COOL STUFF

Tom Seiler of Posigrade Creations was kind enough to buy me a copy of Amazing Figure Modeler at the 'fest, which contained a five star review (their highest rating) for the Beulah model kit I sculpted. I will add a link with the comments to the Beulah page a.s.a.p. If you're interested in ordering what I affectionately call "the artillery shell," contact Tom at Posigrade Creations.

One of the coolest things to happen at the 'fest occurred in the early hours of Saturday, right after the dealer setup. Convention guest and legendary makeup artist Tom Savini (who did the makeup effects for Dawn of the Dead and a bunch of other cool movies--he also directed a nifty updated remake of Night of the Living Dead) was browsing the tables, and he stopped by. He said the Smeagol was "fantastic." This was a big feather in my cap, and a perfect way to start off the convention.

Another really cool thing was meeting Brent Armstrong. He came by Mike, Rick and Tom's suite (aka Party Central) Saturday night, and we drank a lot of tequila, but I didn't know who he was until the next night. It turns out he worked on the big warrior bug sculptures for Starship Troopers, and he knew about my Warrior Bug model. Man, this guy can party down!

SOME COOL PEOPLE

It was great to meet other model enthusiasts, sculptors and kit producers, and I'd like to shout out to folks like my most excellent table partner, Patrick Keith of Morgan Keith Studios, as well as Gabe and Regina Perna, Saul Alvarez, Wayne the Dane, Dan Cope, Robb Rotundi, Dan and Theresa Brandt (I know, I know, I'm strongly considering it!), Charlie McGrady (whom I traded some kits with so I could get a bitchen hunting pair of T-Rexes), Mark Van Tine, Bill Jones, Mark Brokaw, John Pinkerton, Jerry Buchanan, Sam Greenwell, and Troy Naeyaert, who took the pic of Your Humble Narrator below:

If I missed mentioning someone, let's just attribute it to too much tequila and too little sleep. But it was great to see and talk to everyone! Special thanks to all my customers. Wonderfest was a blast...