Episode 51: The MMSI's 49th Chicago Show with Joe Berton and Pat Vess

Above left: MMSI President Joe Berton with 2024 Best of Show winner Scott Primeau; right: Show Chair Pat Vess with Judging Chair Jim DeRogatis.

Enthused as ever after any fantastic modeling exhibit, your hosts devote this episode to talking about the 49th Chicago Show sponsored by the Military Miniatures Society of Illinois on Oct. 18-20. After 14 years serving as assistant to Head Judge Shep Paine, Jim has filled that role since Shep’s death in 2015, with Barry serving as his chief assistant. One of the most veteran members of the MMSI (and the subject of Episode 34), Joe Berton is the club’s president and primary storyteller, while Pat Vess (who appeared with Joe on Episode 16, and many other occasions when he just happened to phone in the middle of a taping) is the hardworking Show Chair. They talk about their highlights from the 2024 show and others in the past. We’ve included a few photos of exhibits they mentioned here, but many, many more can be found along with a full list of the awards on the club’s Web site here, with special thanks to Andy Gulden and Bob Sarnowski. Also watch for the final issue of the club journal The Scabbard for 2024, coming soon! (Email jimdero@jimdero.com if you aren’t already on the electronic mailing list; subscriptions are free.)

Above: Scott Primeau’s Best of Show. Below: The Queen Elizabeth flat by Noel Meyer.

Above: Two extraordinary WWI airplanes by Kreston Peckham (left) and Dave Peschke. Below: From the exhibits by Andy Gulden and Bill Horan.

Above: Joan Biediger gets a million-dollar trim from expert hair stylist and painter Gary Baker (photo by Pat Vess). Below: Barry brought home the kettle drummer figure from the Bill Ottinger display, lovingly arranged by Joe Berton, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the club.

Above: By the Rev. Bart Muller. Below: Two takes on “Where’s Jefferson” by Mike Pierce. Joe thought both makers benefited from pointers at the Sunday-morning post-judging session in 2023.

Above: Large-scale excellence: British Napoleonic field artillery by Bud Bowie and a massive 1/16th Sherman by Bob Sarnowski. Below: The two Shep Paine dioramas Joe acquired for the MMSI from collector Worth Linen: “The Elefant’s Dilemma” (pictured in its temporary home on Pat’s basement shelf) and “The Lady Be Good.”

Below: Marder III and bust of Marie Antoinette by Barry; Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas by Joe Berton and Jim’s latest box diorama “The Librarians.” All three showed their work for exhibition only.