Grandfather's Garage (1 Viewer)

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

One of the things I remember as a kid was spending time in various family garages... my grandfather's, my dad's and even my brother who was eighteen years older than me. Although I have to admit that I am not one to enjoy rolling up my sleeves an getting grease and oil all over my hands I still have some affection for the sights, sounds and smells of an old garage and all of the things that seem to find their way there.
It was here that I learned some of the things that later became the foundation for many of the things I do today. All of the adult men in my family taught me one or more of the basic skills that they thought might be important some day... measuring, cutting and drilling wood and metal, soldering, welding, sanding and painting.
It took years for my dad to recognize that many of the things that he did in full scale I did with my miniatures.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Well my dad is 91 now so Ericka and I moved my office to the other side of the house so that we could have a first floor bedroom for my dad when he visits. You have no idea how much stuff accumulates in a relatively small space in a few short years. Thousands of small parts, glue, paint, tools and projects never finished. I suppose the advantage of being a model maker is that unlike my dad and grandfather, my junk is small and usually pretty light in weight.
One of the things that was uncovered was a project that I started about 18 or 19 years ago when I was planning on building a small 1/32 scale railroad module. The paying jobs always push the personal model projects to the back of the queue and that was the case with this one. Ericka and I took a few images this morning to share with you so you could see something well... non military for a change.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

The workbench was the place you could find my dad on any weekend. I had, and still has boxes, cans and jars full of old screws, nails and springs. The work bench was the first ting I built with the cabinet hanging above. I spent a fair number of hours there myself as a boy building wooden boats and planes.
Now I sit at a workbench in the house and it seems totally fitting that I build one of the work benches of my youth... but very small!

Here it is on my workbench with a Sharpie next to it for scale reference.

You can see some of the details in these last two images. Notice the nails, mitre box, hammer and plane. We always had drawers below the bench top and if something small fell in there while you were working it wasn't easy to find.
The Mason jar with dirty paint thinner was made by turning some clear plastic rod with my Dremel tool and then polishing it. The bottom was hollowed out and then I painted the inside to look like dirty thinner. The top was painted to look like the lid. I made several other clear bottles for the garage including an old Whiskey bottle and a milk bottle.

The shelf above the bench includes old paint cans. I photographed some old labels and cut the image from the pictures. The film layer was carefully peeled away from the paper to form a thin "label" for the cans. I don't know about you but I can never keep a paint can clean on the outside during a job so I remembered that in creating the model. I also added an "accidental" paint ring on the workbench with the small can while the paint was still wet.

The stove body was turned from hard wood, sealed and then details of plastic and metal added. It was planned to put that in the garage too, but I think it will end up in a different building... someday.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

I wanted this garage to look right for just after World War I... just about the time my dad was born. There were always old tires (and there still is in my Dad's) hanging on the walls or in racks, old newspapers and garden tools. My dad still has one of those great oil filler bottles so I turned one of these out of plastic rod too. The old round style gas can was modeled after one at my Uncle's barn up North. I would love to have one of these today but they can be pretty pricey as a collectible.

I like the way the sunlight raked across the brick floor in this image. I made brick patterns including some of the old style ones with designs or manufacturers initials molded in them for interest. The floor was laid up on Plexiglas one brick at a time.

 

[4th Hussar]

Fantastic detail and weathering. It reminds me of my grandfather's workbench except it is missing all the Prince Albert tobacco and A&P coffee cans that old guys saved

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Here are the last few images. The first one has Ericka peering in the rear window and another one with one of the WWI Germans I sculpted while a partner with ONWTC. I know this will help some of you as a scale reference.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

I hope you enjoyed looking at these. I really hope to get back to the project someday.

All the Best!
Ken Osen

 

[lenswerks]

That's pretty neat Ken!
I was looking for a sleeping dog somewhere on the floor.

I hope you begin to market more of your detail items in the future.

Donnie

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Fantastic detail and weathering. It reminds me of my grandfather's workbench except it is missing all the Prince Albert tobacco and A&P coffee cans that old guys saved

I did remember the cigar boxes!

 

[wadepat]

Hi Ken,

Your modeling skills are truly quite remarkable! I cannot imagine how many hours were consumed in making this incredible model of the garage. It seems perfect in every detail. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I am very, very impressed!

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[Lewey Gun Vick]

Ken, this is AWESOME!!!! Can't wait to see what you come up next.

Best Regards,

Jake

 

[marco55]

Ken,
You are a brillant artist.You have an eye for detail that is uncanny.You should finish this as a homage to your father.
Mark

 

[The Lt.]

It's alway a pleasure Ken in seeing the results of one of your works of art and thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule to share it with us. What's next other than the many little and big projects you have in front of you.

 

[mikemiller1955]

Ken...

Wow...this has got to be your best piece yet...

very few dioramas actually draw attention away from the figures...

this one does...

the detail is ridiculous unreal!!!!!

 

[Leadmen]

Truly a master at creating detailed miniature replicas of your experiences growing up. I enjoyed the photos of the garage and reminded me of my Dad's garage with Prince Albert cans and other stuff. Thanks for showing us. John

 

[amhuff1]

Ken
That is simply amazing.

 

[Gideon]

great tribute to your generations.

The WWI German just looks bizarre in an American garage setting - I love it tho.

 

[joesgis]

Just flat out amazing Ken, and like no other. Your creations stand alone and have a warmth and character to them as if they are the real thing. Your work just has a quality of organic realism that few others have been able to harness- your artistic endeavors have so much personality; they're like living, breathing scenes. Thanks for sharing again . I hope you and Ericka bring lots of stuff to sell at the Westcoaster.

Joe

 

[aujj65]

Just incredible the amount of detail shown, like the way the floor has some of the bricks "Frog - up".......it must have taken ages to make?

With all your other work and projects - just how many hours are there in a Ken Day?

Jeff

 

[Mister Dave]

Thanks for digging this out and sharing it with us Ken. This is one of the best looking bits of work I've seen on here. So many important little details recognizable from the old garages we've all visited at one time or another.

Absolutely brilliant!

MD