Chicago Show - New Shelf Scenics, Buildings & supplies (2 Viewers)

[debrito]

Good afternoon ken and Erika,

I would like to say that it was a huge pleasure meeting you both in Chicago, it was fast but pleasant. I am looking forward to see more of your extraordinary dioramas.

Take care.

Rodrigo.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Hi there Rod,
Thank you so much for your kind comments. Ericka and I are just starting to clean up the loose ends post OTSN show, and get ready for the annual Jane Austen conference in Philadelphia followed by the Military History Weekend in Williamsburg. It looks like we will be pretty busy for the next few weeks.

I am sorry that you Russian factory arrived damaged and that I did not get a chance to see it set up with the red factory. These things happen from time to time although I have been very, very lucky these past few years shipping finished work.
I hope you and your lovely wife plan on returning to Chicago next year, and if you do we really should spend a little more time chatting.
Take care until then,
Ken Osen

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Here is a sneak peek of one of the French buildings that we will be putting into production soon. These, like our factory, will only be available painted. We will have several buildings as backdrops at a reduced depth like this at about 4' deep, and a few full round with interior details. Those of you that are familiar with the large French farmhouse that I patterned for Conte can exspect a higher level of detail.
We will also offer some damaged and destroyed buildings for those of you that want to build a village that has been the unfortunate host to opposing forces.
You should expect to see at least two different buildings available by December. Details to follow soon!

All the Best,
Ken

 

[mestell]

All are just fantastic Ken. I want to thank you again for the scenic bases you made for me. I have been using them everyday for numerous photo shoots since Monday. I already have ideas for my next four . I am looking forward to the early 19th century buildings that you have mentioned to me, especially the Inn. I will be in touch.

Mike

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Thanks Mike!
I was fun spending time with you this last weekend... I wish I could do the same with more collectors but it is really hard to do at the shows.
I have been looking at you postings and I am glad to see you using your farm base already. I think we can add some nice features to the new sections next year so you can really have a lot of flexability for your set ups.
I have been busy taking photos off and on for the last few days too. I was so busy that I really didn't have a chance to take any before the show and I wanted to record images of most of them before they were shipped.
Talk to you soon... keep the pictures coming!
Ken

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Well this year we offered a couple of bases with water features. I really enjoyed creating these as they reminded me of some of the places I spent time as a kid.
This first one has Fall trees at the rocky shore of a small lake. My Aunt up in Canada had a farm with lakes like this and on some days they were as smooth as glass.

Here are a couple of close ups of the lake edge on the shelf dio (11" X 28"). Note the turtle at the waters edge poking his head out...

This was photographed in front of my standard studio back drop with two photo floods. We never use Photoshop to improve the images... what you see is what you get.
I enjoyed doing this one and hope to build one a bit bigger and more dramatic this Winter.
Ken
Hudson & Allen Studio
"When it Absolutely, Positively has to look Real"

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Here is the second one we sold at the show. It features a creek like the one that used to be near my house as a kid. We always seemed to be able to find a pocket full of frogs there!
I cannot begin to tell you how may times I got chewed out by my folks for coming home wet, muddy and full of burrs. I can also tell you that I fell off a log just like that and had black muck up to my knees...

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Here are a few more images of the creek...

Here it is with a figure for scale. This one is an ONWTC WWI German that I sculpted while I was still a partner.

And here is the shelf diorama with a John Jenkins Designs Woodland Indian for scale.

Here is an overhead view looking down at a section of the creek.

And a last view of the fallen log. The shelf diorama measures our standard 11" X 28" and was photographed in front of my hand painted studio backdrop. We lit the diorama with two photo floods to simulate natural sunlight. Please note that we never use any photoshop for retouching the images so you can see exactly what we produce. In addition to our 'Wild Grass' I planted many different weeds and flowers to simulate a natural field in the wild.

I hope you enjoy looking at these.
All the Best!
Ken Osen

 

[marco55]

Super fantastic.I got to get me some of your bases.
Mark

 

[Andanna]

Obviously, Ken & Ericka outdid themselves this year. I think the highlights were the large factory set with the interior and the two water displays. Ken & Ericka opened a room in a secret location on Friday at 10 am. By 10:25 am about 1/3 of all displays had been sold. An hour later the large factory building and the creek display were sold and the room slowly started to resemble Walmart on Black Friday (I am hereby not necessarily admitting to knowing what Walmart looks like on Black Friday).

Having said that, I was prepared: I had been in the gym for several months prior to the visit of the H&A room lifting weights and was able to push the elder couple in front of me aside easily . I secured my selected items with signs, mouse traps and well-aged German mountain cheese. If it had not been for this thorough preparation, I might not have been able to buy anything from Ken & Ericka.

I also remember that the number and size of Mestell's dioramas required Ken to rent a second hotel room.

In short, there are few photos I was able to take as I was busily fending off people from my purchases. But here they are. And I think Ken was in a Civil War mode when he designed most of these. I wonder whether Mestell had anything to do with it. Upon finishing their business, Ken & Mestell looked as if these two had single-handedly beaten back Pickett's charge. I would have loved to take a photo of this historic moment - but see above: I was still defending my purchases .

PS: Moderators: This posting might contain humor expressed through slight exaggerations.

The Civil War Dioramas:

Ericka's trees (which are available in "shrubs" form in one color from H&A):

The creek diorama - in my opinion a new highlight in diorama building (no exaggeration here):

 

[thebritfarmer]

Most excellent Ken. I thought last years bases were amazing but these have topped those by far !!

Great stuff and thank you for sharing them with us.

 

[Jagdpanther]

These bases are really nice!

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Thanks all for the kind comments! There are a number of them that went out of the room before I took images and a few here that we will ship over the next couple of days that I still hope to.
As mentioned before we have a number of new buildings coming out and I will build at least one diorama for each one to photograph and sell like we did for the factory.
We are also working on a web site for Hudson & Allen where we can invest more time explaining the research and execution of our scenics and accessories. We will also be able to offer more of the small one of a kind items which is not practical on this site.
Feel free to make suggestions for scenics that you would like to see. As you know these are a great way to showcase any manufacturers products and we really try to keep everyone in mind.
Looking forward to hearing from all of you!
Ken

 

[Rob]

Here is a sneak peek of one of the French buildings that we will be putting into production soon. These, like our factory, will only be available painted. We will have several buildings as backdrops at a reduced depth like this at about 4' deep, and a few full round with interior details. Those of you that are familiar with the large French farmhouse that I patterned for Conte can exspect a higher level of detail.
We will also offer some damaged and destroyed buildings for those of you that want to build a village that has been the unfortunate host to opposing forces.
You should expect to see at least two different buildings available by December. Details to follow soon!

All the Best,
Ken

Superb Ken,really nce building.Am I right then in thinking you will do some as backdrops and some full size?.

Am also really looking forward to your backdrops!

Rob

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Yes... The initial release will be buildings about 4" in depth for those that might not have deep display areas.
We will also offer some structures with full interiors along the lines of the building I patterned for Conte Collectible some time ago, but at a higher level of detail.
The collection will allow collectors to simulate a small rural French village and then we will move on to other geographic areas of war torn Europe for various periods.
Details to follow... Hope this helps!
Ken

 

[Rob]

Yes... The initial release will be buildings about 4" in depth for those that might not have deep display areas.
We will also offer some structures with full interiors along the lines of the building I patterned for Conte Collectible some time ago, but at a higher level of detail.
The collection will allow collectors to simulate a small rural French village and then we will move on to other geographic areas of war torn Europe for various periods.
Details to follow... Hope this helps!
Ken

Thanks Ken it does.I have been planning a dio for a while and wanted a building in it,however none that are available right now are what I want,I think your farmhouse could be just what I need

Rob

 

[Hans]

... will only be available painted. We will have several buildings as backdrops at a reduced depth like this at about 4' deep...

All the Best,
Ken

This is exactly what I need!!

 

[old tank]

BEAUTIFULL WORKS OF ART KEN and ERIKA. Looking forward to your building backdrops.4 inches will be good. Will you have them displayed on your hudson @ allen on the treefrog site. Thank you for the good news.

 

[nasirkasmani]

outstanding works.
simply world class.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

As the various scenics and buildings become available we will post images and pricing information here on this site. Thank You All for your support!
Ken & Ericka