Recent articles and videos about box dioramas, some written especially for this site, as well as older/vintage articles.

New as of October 2025

• Here’s a fun video of renowned French military artist Eugène Leliepvre, which begins with him examining a Historex box; thanks, Tony Stencel!

• “This Artist Creates Secret Worlds Inside Boxes,” a portrait of Crista Grauer; thanks, Pete Culos!

Older Pieces

• Yes, But Is It Art? Jim DeRogatis on “Art As Algorithm” by Joan Biediger and “Modern Art” by Dennis Levy.

• A Second Round of Restorations at the Brandywine River Museum, 2024

• Thoughts on Dioramas by Jamie Stokes

• Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death

• The background and construction of Jon Harbuck’s natural-light box “Gassed.”

• From The New York Times in early 2021: “Got a Box? Make a Museum.”

• A useful glossary of electronic terms submitted by Noah and Selena McCoy

• Museum Dioramas: Highlights from N. Kalis’s Web site Modeling Hints and Reviews for Large Scale Modelers and Others

• Jon Harbuck: The Dug-Out, History and Step-by-Step

• Ian Duthie: Enemy at the Gates, Step-by-Step

• Joe Berton: Boxed Dioramas at the Musée de l'Armée

• Barry Biediger on Forced Perspective

• Jim DeRo: The Whole World Is Watching: Chicago 1968

• John Ballard: Building a Boxed Diorama: 101st Airborne Division, Normandy, 6th June, 1944

• Jim DeRo: Dioramas and More at the Milwaukee Public Museum

• Cynthia Parsons McDaniel: The dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History, an interview with exhibition specialist Tom Doncourt in New York City

• Ali Alamedy, Rebuilding in Miniature

• Nick Infield: He Swims Among Us Step-by-Step

• Jim DeRo: The Eagle Has Landed Step-by-Step

• Jim DeRo: Harsh Awakening Step-by-Step

• Jim DeRo: Cave of the Storm Nymphs Step-by-Step

• Barry Biediger: Box #3 Step-by-Step

• Darryl Audette: Andy Warhol, Step-by-Step

• Markus Eckmann: A Night at the Scriptorium, Step-by-Step

• Jim DeRo: Remembering the Tonka box diorama kits of the late ’70s

• Jim DeRo: Last Supper Step-by-Step

• Darryl Audette: Building a theatrical mood box

• Darryl Audette: Achieving a flickering candlelight effect

• Barry Biediger: “NYC 1977,” Step-by-Step

• Dave Morrow: Shep Paine Australian exhibit

• Michael Berger: Napoleon at the Sphinx, Step-by-Step

• Jim DeRo: “The Cutting-Out Expedition,” Step-by-Step

• Jim DeRo: “From the Earth to Moon,” Step-by-Step

• Jim DeRo: “The Spoils of War,” Step-by-Step

• Greg DiFranco: Making a Natural Light Box

• Darryl Audette: Restoring Shep Paine’s Wyeth boxes

• Jim DeRo: Restoring Shep Paine’s Victory box

• Jim DeRo: “Cleopatra Testing Poisons,” Step-by-Step

• Jim DeRo: Adding Sound to a Box Diorama

Older Articles

Older articles on box dioramas, previously published (and many pretty darn rare!)

• “Billeted on the Peasants” by Brian Courtney (Military Modelling, December 1988)

• “Beyond Tourcoing” by Geoff Barnes (Military Modelling, May 1979)

• “Soirée for the Emperor” by Philip O. Stearns (Military Modelling, August 1975)

• Exciting New Diorama Built, Photographed and Described by Ray Anderson” (Military Modelling, May 1975)

• “The Loyal Toast: Reginald Franklin describes an historical diorama; the artistic approach to military miniature presentation” (Military Modelling, December 1974)

• “Stable Duty” by Chris Leason (Model Soldier magazine)

• “The Virginia Raids: Mike Williams Constructs Two Dioramas from the American War of Independence” (Model Soldier magazine)

• “Box Dioramas! Peter Hills describes a novel and fascinating method of displaying and protecting figure models in all scales” (Military Modelling, July 1972)

• “Cigar Box Dioramas: A How to Do It Handbook” By Arminta Neal (1958)

• The Lincoln Dioramas at the Chicago Historical Society (courtesy of Joe Berton)

• Making of “Ludwig and the Landlady” by Nick Infield (Historical Miniature, 2005)

• Making of “The Limits of Glory” by Bob Letterman (1997)

• “Spoils of the Conqueror” by Philip O. Stearns (Campaigns, 1976)

• “A Military Wedding c. 1890” by Philip O. Stearns (Campaigns, 1980)

• The Work of Reginald Franklin (Campaigns, 1977)

• La Mort de Marat by Didier Marillet (Figurines)

• Le Coin du Debutante by Jean-Pierre Duthilleul (Figurines, l996)

• Hougoumont by Jean-Pierre Duthilleul (Figurines, 1998)

• L’auberge du Poney fringant by Dominique Hamelin (Figurines, 2003)

• Displaying Your Model: Light Boxes by Richard Windrow (Osprey 2009)

• The Creation of “At the Well” by Glynn Porteous (Campaigns 1982)

• Total Realism in Model Making by Philip O. Stearns (Campaigns 1978)

• The Creation of “Nostalgia” by Jacques Leliepvre (Campaigns 1979)

• The Making of La Cour des Miracles by Yves Bigre, (Campaigns 1978)

• The Golden Eagle Tavern by Bob Santos (Campaigns, 1979)

• Realism in Miniature by Roy Dilley (Campaigns, 1976)

• The Work of Ray Anderson (Campaigns, 1976)

• A Medieval Diorama by Ray Anderson (Campaigns, 1976)

• Recipe for a Diorama by Ray Anderson (Campaigns, 1981)

• Fifteen Dollar Russell by Ray Anderson (Campaigns, 1980)

• Building Character by Ray Anderson (Campaigns, 1978)

• Historical Vignettes by Ray Anderson (Soldier magazine, 1973)

• Artist Rebuilds the Past: Dwight Franklin, 1923

• Billeted on the Peasants by Brian Courtney (Military Modelling, 1988)

• Pressed into Service by Norman Abbey (Military Modelling, 1974)

• The Final Feast by Norman Abbey (Military Modelling, 1974)

• Living in a Box by Geoff Barnes (Military Modelcraft, 2005)

• Munich 1919 by Geoff Barnes (Military Modelling, 2010)

• The Historex Story (Military Modelling, 2003)

• Ray Anderson: What Makes a Successful Diorama

• Sheperd Paine: The Art of the Dioramas (Campaigns)

• How Shep Paine Created “The Swamp Ogre” (Campaigns)

• The Dioramas at the Chicago Historical Society