Ambroid kits

If I remember correctly, these are wood kits, and the Ambroid instructions are not real informative, unless you have built many "craftsman" wood kits previously. They will also have to be painted and lettered when completed. However, I can not remember if these kits come with all the metal ladders & grab irons or not. I suggest you check the contents against the instruction sheet.

Thought I would try The Brass Caboose for the decals however I'm open as to where to acquire the additional detail parts if needed as for paint I'm looking forward to using my new air-brush and compressor.  Have been an avid modeler most of my life but these wood kits are relatively new for me. Cheers Jim

You should be able to purchase most of what you need from P & D Hobby Shop.

I built some Ambroid kits many years ago.   I still have a caboose kit in my stash.    I remember them having all the detail parts needed such as ladders and grabs and stakes.    On the cabooses, the bigger grabs were formed from wire provided.   

I have built many wood kits and learned that if they are to represent steel cars, it works best to paint the wood siding with sanding sealer before assembly and then lightly sand them.   Possibly more than one coat.    This fills in the grain in the wood and gives you a very smooth surface that works much better to model steel.   

I have thought that it might be worth trying to rreplace the wood with styrene and just use the diecast detail parts.   I have not tried it however.

These kits do NOT come with trucks and couplers however.

Instructions on these tend to be adequate but they are not going to hold your hand either.

Trucks - probably plain old Bettandorfs

Sanding sealer!!!!  Absolutely a must for the kits that build "metal" cars.  Not needed for the wood cars.

Most, if not all of the basic detail parts were included - but as with nearly every kit, you can always add more details.  P&D or Precision Scale for parts if you want to replace or upgrade parts.

Should have come with decals - if you overspray those with some Dull Coat,  you might be able to get away using them.

I built several in the Ambroid kits mid 1970's when they first came out.  The kits were manufactured for Ambroid by Bob Weaver - owner of the Quality Craft line of wood structure and car kits.  In later years Bob Weaver expanded his model train  offerings with a line of plastic and brass models sold under the Weaver brand.  The Quality Craft kit line was sold to a different owner and reemerged as Gloor Craft.   On my roster I have an Ambroid DR&GW 40' box car and ATSF 50' reefer.  The kits came with decals and fairly good instructions.  Photo's below:

Thank you all for your input this is definitely a great source of information.  Cheers Jim

That Erie horizontal rib hopper is  a WONDERFUL kit,   I built the HO version many years ago, before finding the Overland brass version.   I would consider building the Ambroid kit in O and replacing the wood with styrene. 

Be sure and post pictures! 

I third the suggestion of replacing the wooden components with styrene. It won't cost that much and you will be far happier in the end.

Thanks, "Keystoned" for the kit history.  I had understood Gloor Craft to have been an old Weaver brand, and while intertwined, that is not true.  Have also seen Gloor Craft, Weaver, and Quality Craft used interchangeably, also not accurate.  However, it does not look as though many of these chicks got far from the nest.

Rule292 posted:

That Erie horizontal rib hopper is  a WONDERFUL kit,   I built the HO version many years ago, before finding the Overland brass version.   I would consider building the Ambroid kit in O and replacing the wood with styrene. 

Be sure and post pictures! 

Thanks to Jay Criswell I've been put on the list to acquire one of these cars from the collection of Lou Cross.

It will be a build I will cherish. 

Oh, and the photos of these cars in Robert Karig's Coal Cars, the First Three Hundred Years show the cars with a t-section Andrews truck.   Offhand I can't remember seeing any in O scale.

Rob, I'm also on the list to get a few of Lou's cars, one is an Ambroid 40' outside braced reefer.

What's the best glue to use on these wood kits?

How do the trucks normally get attached, wood screws?

If you are familiar with cyanoacrylate glues ("superglues") they are fast and low volume. They come in various thicknesses.  For close fitting parts, the thin is best.  For parts with a little play, you may need the medium or thick.  There are spray chemical accelerators that make them even faster to use.  Disadvantages are smell (some folks find it intolerable), and the danger of gluing your fingers together because these glues are so fast and effective (they are used surgically as well).  Second choice, and much slower, but less toxic and tricky are wood glues.  Titebond was one make.  Hard to keep from inadvertently forming fillets when you don't want them.  Won't work on metal parts.  There are other variants of the superglues ("gorilla glue") but I haven't used them for modeling.  Might be worth a try.  Probably should practice on some scrap balsa/hardwood to get a feel for the glue you are using before working on the kit.

Haven't made any O scale Ambroid kits but made quite a few HO cars. Back in the day I used Ambroid nitrocellulose glue which was like Duco cement. It dried quickly and seemed to work. Only years later did I find most of the kits I made with it are returning to kit form, falling apart.

Then I switched to yellow glue like Titebond, later Elmers made a yellow glue. Very strong but you had to clamp the pieces and let it set.

Then an skilled modeler told me about Aleens quick set glue in the purple bottle.

Its strong and sets up in a few minutes allowing you to move on. It also dries clear and nothing has fallen apart yet.

Pete

I've got some Gorilla Super Glue and it works great (their "duct" tape will take skin off!) and I also have some Elmers Wood glue.  My dad used to use wood glue that came in a powder form and he added water to it, that stuff would not come apart.  But seems like all wood glue you have to clamp the pieces together to get a good, permanent bond.

Guess I'll use the Gorilla Super Glue, I know it works.

I think building these old kits is a blast.  With patience and taking your time, and practice, they can be made into very credible models.  I did have the spreadsheet, created to help in liquidating some of the Lou Cross Estate, posted on this forum but the entire thread was removed by management.  Anyone interested in getting a copy of the spreadsheet can email me (should be in my profile) and I'll be happy to send them a copy.

Jay

Bob Delbridge posted:

I've got some Gorilla Super Glue and it works great (their "duct" tape will take skin off!) and I also have some Elmers Wood glue.  My dad used to use wood glue that came in a powder form and he added water to it, that stuff would not come apart.  But seems like all wood glue you have to clamp the pieces together to get a good, permanent bond.

Guess I'll use the Gorilla Super Glue, I know it works.

I concur with Bob regarding the Gorilla super glue, it is the best I've used and it stays fresh in the bottle for a very long time. It will fasten brass, wood, plastic, you name it. The older it gets, the better.

One weak link in these cars is the center sill.  Most of them have a 1/4" square piece of wood for the main center beam and the instructions say to attach these 1/16" piece of wood on each end.  That becomes the platform to mount your K couplers.  Everybody I know who built one of these cars substituted brass for all of this.  The 1/4" square piece can be either tube or solid.  Solid provides a nice low weight.  

Just thought you ought to know,  

cheers, ray

Built a bunch in HO....when I was into HO.

Now in O3R...continue to build the old kits...like Ambroid, Athearn, All-Nation, et al.   It's what the hobby is all about for me.

Things I've learned along the way for the O3R builds:

Weaver trucks are my favorite...work well with the wood bolsters as provided.  Of course, they're harder to find, now.  Hoping the new Lionel version of the trucks/couplers will fill the void.

Car weighting?....if needed, I'll cement (epoxy) a couple large threaded nuts from my workshop junk box on the car floor directly over the bolsters inside the car before adding the sides.

I add a coat of "Decal Film" by Microscale to the old decals provided in the kit before attempting to use them.  Some of these decals are old/dry enough to be unusable unless given a fresh film chance.  The downside is a film that's harder to hide in finishing.  The upside is preserving what may be your only chance for accurate lettering/graphics of the car.

I will swap out newer details available on the market....ladders, AB brake gear, running boards, etc.....if the diecast versions provided in the kit are crumbling or too crude for today's sensibilities.  Ditto handholds, handrails.  I also add rudimentary brake gear using styrene strip/rod stock, and some extra piping (brass rod) where appropriate and visible in use.  Lots of choices to choose from in this category.  Not too much finesse....just enough to add 'busyness' to the underfloor area.

I dislike "sanding sealer" intensely for sealing wood towards giving it a sheet metal-like surface for finishing.  I use multiple coats of polyurethane to do the same.  It flows or sprays on better.....IMHO, of course.  Using styrene as a substitute?.....interesting idea!....might try that if the wood provided appears too porous or easily sealable.  OTOH, a bit of 'woodiness' showing in the model.....for Pete's sake, that's what the kit's all about and underscores the hand-built nature of the car!  IOW, don't celebrate the kit material....but don't totally hide celebration of your own handiwork!

Nope, not at all the shake-the-box car kit.  Certainly not the remove-it-from-the-packing-and-put-it-on-the-track genre, either.  But I have more personal satisfaction and pride in building these models than spending 3, 4, or 5 times the kit amount for a RTR version...if it ever comes available.

FWIW, always.

KD