Jim is a modeler who lives on the North Side of Chicago, and a proud member of the Military Miniature Society of Illinois. He edits the quarterly club journal, The Scabbard (email him to join the free electronic subscription list), and co-hosts with Barry Biediger the Small Subjects podcast (available here or on the podcast platform of your choice). He has been a professional music critic and journalist for most of his career, and now teaches Reviewing the Arts, among other courses, in the Department of English and Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. He continues to write about popular music and other topics for The New Yorker, and is the co-host with Greg Kot of Sound Opinions, “the world’s only rock ’n’ roll talk show,” heard on 150 public radio stations across the U.S. weekly, and worldwide via podcast. He has written 11 books, most of them about music, but of particular interest to people visiting this site is Sheperd Paine: The Life and Work of a Master Modeler and Military Historian. DeRo also has played in punk-rock bands since age 13, but he jokes that he is a drummer, not a musician. You also can visit him on the Web at JimDeRo.com.
Garbage Day (75mm or 1/24th, 2023). Photo by Bob Sarnowski.
Initial Reconnaissance, 1787 (54mm, 2022)
The Death of Lannes (54mm, 2022; photo by Bob Sarnowski)
Click here for a look at the box in progress and additional views
Night Raid, 1945 (1/32nd and forced perspective, 2022)
Seven Steps (75mm, 2022)
Samhain (75mm, 2021)
Witches to Their Sabbath (75mm, 2020)
Photo by Bob Sarnowski
Click here for a look at the construction.
Adieu! (75mm, 2020)
Photo by Bob Sarnowski
Click here for a look at the construction.
The Whole World Is Watching: Chicago 1968
(75mm, 2017)
Click here for an article on the history and a step-by-step look at the construction.
The Grotto
(54mm, 2016)
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Photo by Bob Sarnowski
The Eagle Has Landed
(54mm, 2016)
Click here for the step-by-step article
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
(75mm, 2015)
Click here for a look at the construction
Harsh Awakening (Moscow, 1812)
(54mm, 2015)
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Cave of the Storm Nymphs
(75mm, 2014; photo by Bob Sarnowski)
Click here for additional views and the step-by-step article
Il Cenacolo
Milano, 1798
(2014, 54mm; photo by Nick Infield)
Click here for a step-by-step look at the construction
The Cutting-Out Expedition
(2013, 54mm; photo by Nick Infield)
Click here for a step-by-step look at the construction
From the Earth to the Moon
(2012, 75mm; photo by Bob Sarnowski)
Click here for additional images and a look at the work in progress
The Spoils of War
(2012, 54mm; photo by Nick Infield)
Click here for additional images and a look at the work in progress
Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners
(2011, 75mm; photo by Bob Sarnowski)
Click here for Jim’s step-by-step article on the construction
Retreat from Moscow
(2010, 1/35th & 54mm; photo help: Shep Paine)
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Hell Before Dawn: Storming Badajoz by Escalade
(2009, 54mm; photo by Bob Sarnowski)
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Pour l’Empereur
(2007, 54mm)
Click here for Jim’s article on the construction and adding sound to a box diorama