Much admired by his peers (Shep Paine among them) for his wild and playful sense of imagination, the Rev. Spencer Van Gulick stands as not only a pioneer in fantasy modeling, but as its all-time great box diorama maker. Our efforts to reach out to him for an interview came to naught, and we only learned several months later that he passed in January 2025. You can read a tribute to him here, and this article about his work from the short-lived Fantasy Modeling magazine that sheds some light on him and his unique visions.

Once There Was a Hill That Ate People (100mm); click here for an additional image.

Is That You, Daddy?
(From the collection of Shep Paine)

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
 (From Campaigns magazine #33, March/April 1981)

(Spencer Van Gulick; 54mm, 1979)