MFCA Exhibition Returns to Philadelphia with Judging, Vendors, and Seminars

The MFCA Exhibition put craftsmanship front and center in Trevose, where painters, sculptors, collectors, and vendors filled the Radisson Hotel Philadelphia Northeast for a Friday-through-Saturday weekend built around figure art rather than a quick contest block.

The 2026 show ran April 24 and 25 at 2400 Old Lincoln Hwy. in Trevose, Pennsylvania, with general admission set at $20 for both days. Exhibitor registration was $35, absentee exhibitor registration was $25, vendor exhibitor registration was $15, and children under 12 were admitted free.

What gives MFCA its staying power is the judging culture. The club describes its open judging system as formative rather than punitive, and judges were often available to provide feedback and critiques. That made the exhibition useful in a way many shows are not: a first-time entrant could get real guidance, while a veteran could still benchmark a piece against some of the strongest figure work on the circuit.

The competition covered Historical, Ordnance, and Fantasy subjects, each with Painter and Open divisions. The Open side also included scratch-built originals, conversions, vignettes, and dioramas, which widened the room beyond straight box-stock painting. MFCA also made clear that the show welcomed newcomers and juniors, keeping the weekend from turning into a closed club for only the most established names.

The vendor mart was nearly as important as the judging tables. MFCA said the annual show and mart drew vendors from throughout the United States, with inventory ranging from miniature figure kits, plastic and wood models, books, toy soldiers, militaria, and art to connoisseur figures. That made the floor itself part shopping trip, part networking session, and part reference library for painters looking to push their work farther.

Seminars and demonstrations rounded out the weekend, with topics including brush control, color theory, historical accuracy, advanced painting techniques, and figure sculpting. MFCA also highlighted special guest Bill Merklein, whose résumé includes sculpting for Monarch and BattleLine Miniatures in the 1980s and creating more than 70 G.I. Joes for Hasbro. The show’s auction figure was a 75mm Militiaman at the Battle of Cowpens, January 1781, by John Rosengrant, with bidding starting at $1200.

For painters who care about standards as much as spectacle, MFCA remained a useful bridge between historical figure tradition and the wider miniature scene. Its Grand Master award, established more than 30 years ago, still carried real weight in the hobby, and the annual show kept that legacy visible in a room full of fresh paint, hard judging, and serious display discipline.