Part of our "Model Organizations Row", WonderFest USA is one of America’s premier gatherings for science-fiction, fantasy, horror, comics, figure modeling, garage kits, movie memorabilia, and special-effects enthusiasts, bringing modelers, artists, sculptors, manufacturers, collectors, and fans together each summer in Louisville, Kentucky. The event traces its roots to 1990, when Louisville’s Scale Figure Modelers Society organized a small plastic-kit and toy Private Seller that attracted roughly 350 attendees; the event officially became WonderFest in 1992 and has since grown into a nationally recognized celebration of imaginative modeling and pop culture. At the heart of WonderFest is the Amazing Model Contest, the largest competition in the United States devoted to science-fiction, horror, and comics-related modeling, which reached a record 1,210 entries in 2026. The weekend also features packed dealer rooms filled with resin and plastic model kits, garage kits, paints, tools, collectibles, books, artwork, and specialty hobby products, along with professional modeling demonstrations, hands-on classes, seminars, exhibits, the popular Iron Modeler competition, and appearances by notable actors, filmmakers, makeup and special-effects artists, designers, and other entertainment-industry professionals. More than simply a model show, WonderFest has developed into a destination and annual reunion for the figure and genre-modeling community, celebrating the artists, builders, manufacturers, vendors, collectors, and fans whose creativity keeps the worlds of monsters, spacecraft, superheroes, fantasy creatures, and classic cinema alive in miniature form.