Joe Pacak writes: “‘Modern Warfare’ is a take on a shadow box that I made using an after-market Game Boy shell and 1/700 scale modern Russian vehicles from Pit-Road. I modified the Game Boy shell to take internal lights (the scene is lit from the front by a LED strip), battery pack, switch, and the diorama itself. The vehicles were all modified in some way. I drilled out hull openings and doors, then scratch built hatches, tracks skirts, etc. I also did a bit of carving in order to suggest various internal details. The base is carved foam to which I added some modified model railroad shrubbery and scratch built some burned out fruit trees using wire. As far as what the piece is about, I guess it’s my commentary on the changing face of modern combat. The idea for the composition came from drone surveillance photos and videos of Russian losses in Ukraine. From there, it was a short step to how video game-like killing by remote control has become.”