Ambroid Wood Craftsman Kits

K Series

The original kits, delivered in an amber-colored box (which I call "Am"), were not numbered. The Am box lasted until some time in the mid-50's when these kits were delivered in a more plain yellow box ("Y"), only to be followed by a blue-and-white box ("Bw"). It was with the introduction of the Bw box that the kits started to be numbered. What later became (the first) K-11, the Unicel car, seems to be the last Am-boxed car, released in 1953 and K-10 the first to have been released as a new kit in the Bw box in 1955. Towards the end of the Ambroid era, these kits were delivered in a more "modern" blue-and-gold box ("Bg"), and a few other boxes as well. Some kits have been sold in a Northeastern ("N") box but with the Ambroid instruction sheet. If these kits were prototypes or delivered during the transition from Ambroid to Northeastern is up to anyone's guess at the moment.

There are a number of "inconsistencies" in the K-series numbering. It appears that all 1-of-5000 kits were at one time (January 1959 catalog sheet) grouped under the K-8 number. The three-in-one kit with the passenger cars first had the number K-S, but was later renumbered to K-8. The ACF Center Flow Hopper was first released as K-15, or maybe even K-16 according to some sources, but later renumbered to K-11, even though the Unicel Reefer already had this number.

As with all information on this site, this is data collected with help from many fellow modelers, eBay auctioneers, and from looking at various and numerous pictures of boxed kits and advertisements.

Click on the Kit Name to get the detailed description of the kit, Click on the camera symbol to get a picture of the built kit.

Kit #	Kit name	Road	Car Type	Box	Made By	Reissued By	Notes
K-1	Boston & Maine Snow Plow	B&M	MOW	Am Y Bw Bg	N	N: HM-1	Advertised (not as a new kit) April 1950
K-2	Convertible Stock Car AAR Prototype	NKP ATSF ACL MKT SOU. MoPac PRR	Stock	Am Y Bw. Bg	N	N: HS-1	Advertised (not as a new kit) in April, 1950
K-3	ACL Watermelon Car	ACL	Box	Am Bw Bg R	N	N: HB-5	Advertised (not as a new kit) January 1951
K-4	Great Northern Express Refrigerator	GN	Reefer	Am Y. Bw Bg	N	N: HR-1.	Announced as New in a September 1954 ad
K-5	Open Platform Passenger Coach (B&M)	B&M	Passenger	Am. Y Bw	N		Advertised as "new" kit in January, 1951. no kit number indicated on box or instruction sheet
	Open Clerestory Passenger Car	B&M	Passenger	Bg.	N	N: HP-1	March 1963. Improved version of previous car.
K-6	Open Platform Combination Baggage Car and Coach (B&M)	B&M	Combination	Am. Y Bw	N		Advertised as "new" kit in January, 1951. no kit number indicated on box or instruction sheet
	Open Clerestory Combination Passenger Coach	B&M	Combination	Bg	N	N: HP-2	March 1963. Improved version of previous car.
K-7	Open Platform Baggage Car (B&M)	B&M	Baggage	Am Bw	N		Advertised as new in September, 1951, but said to be delayed in a November, 1951 ad. New April 1952
	Open Clerestory Baggage Car	B&M	Baggage	Bg.	N	N: HP-3	March 1963. Improved version of previous car.
K-8	Special 1 of 5000						From a January 1959 catalog sheet. See note under 1-of-5,000
K-S K-8	Open Clerestory Series, "Three-In-One-Kit"	B&M	Passenger	Bg3	N		March 1963. Renumbered from K-S to K-8
K-9	Great Northern Caboose	GN	Caboose	Bw Ag3 N	N	N: HC-1.	September 1956
K-10	B&M Winged Snow Plow	B&M	MOW	Y Bw Bg	N	N: HM-2.	October 1955
K-11	Unicel Refrigerator Car	PSCX	Reefer	Am. Bw	N	N: HB-6	1953 and May 1960
K-11	HC Center Flow Tank Car	GN. PRR. UP. ATSF MKT NYC	Tank	Bw Or R	N	N: HH-3	September 1966. 6 road names. Duplicate kit number. Renumbered from K-15 or K-16.
K-12	40' Single Sheathed Box Car	CB&Q. MKT PRR DRGW	Box	Bw Or Bg N.	N	N: HB-1	March 1961
K-13	Livesay Poultry Car	LPTCO	Box	Bw Bb Bg	N	N: HS-5	September 1963
K-14	CP 8 Hatch Reefer	CP	Reefer	Bg	M, N?		Reviewed August 1964
K-15 K-16	HC Series Center Flow Tank Car	SF GN UP	Hopper	Or	N	N: HH-3	Later renumbered to K-11
Kit #	Kit name	Road	Car Type	Box	Made By	Reissued By	Notes

The K-Kits and their Prototypes

Acknowledgments

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