There was a line of people surrounding the tables, which framed the room’s perimeter with an additional ring of tables in its center.

The room drew a crowd, so instead of roaming around and taking pictures at your leisure, everyone followed a viewing line which ran from the left side of the room to the right. It was great in the sense that you were guaranteed to see everything, but also required expediency in terms of photography. The challenge was to get as many different angles as you could without holding up the people behind you.

There were G-FEST volunteers stationed in the room and announcing to everyone not to touch anything. They also advised those of us taking photos to be mindful of our lanyards when we lean in. 

One talented model maker created a large-sized diorama depicting an epic (I should say “Legendary,” as most of the models were from the current era of US films) battle. It featured Godzilla x Kong’s pink-scaled Godzilla, King Ghidorah, King Kong, Shimo, and the Japanese Final Wars (2004) Gigan.

Another model standing next to his diorama was a fire-damaged Jet Jaguar. The burnt parts weren’t intentional, as the creator’s house caught fire, damaging his Jet Jaguar piece while completely melting many others. A video played behind the model showing the damage and providing a GoFundMe link to support his family as they work to rebuild their lives.

There was no denying that his diorama was the most impressive thing in this year’s model room, but if I were allowed to take one home with me, it would have been the 1991 Godzilla vs King Ghidorah. Next to Godzilla, King Ghidorah is my favorite monster, and this was the first Heisei-era movie in the series I’d seen. This was back in the late ‘90s and before any of them were released in the United States. To get these movies (and subtitled) you had to order VHS bootlegs from a mail-order service called “Club Daikaiju.”

My second favorite model was the one of Godzilla fending off the twin larvae from Mothra vs Godzilla (1964). ‘64 was a banner year for the King of Monsters with the release of my two favorite Showa-era movies: Mothra vs Godzilla and Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster.

There were some pretty amazing non-Kaiju models as well. One highlight was a magnificent T-Rex that would fit right at home in an old stop-motion movie by Willis O’Brien or Ray Harryhausen.

H.P. Lovecraft fans would appreciate a detailed Cthulhu in an action pose.

Before leaving, guests were encouraged to vote for the “People’s Choice” winner. Normally, I vote, but this year I just couldn’t choose which one I liked best, so I abstained.

As mentioned in my last post, this was when we separated and headed upstairs for my first panel. The next chapter of my G-FEST 2026 series will post soon. We’ll also revisit the model room again to see the winners, so stay tuned for that.

Coming up…The Vendor Room vs G-FEST! (For real this time)

~ Dave