Ken Kidder

(San Francisco, California, USA)

Ken Kidder was a USA based importer of Japanese and similar Far Eastern brass models to the USA, in 0, S and H0, standard gauge and narrow gauge, from the later 1940s until when?

Many of the models imported from Japan by Ken Kidder already existed for the domestic Japanese market, such as versions of the plantation 0-4-0; more popular were models of the Porter 2-6-0 in HO and HOn3, also for the Japanese market, as they represented famous prototypes there, the Benkei and Yoshitsune. Kidder later commissioned superior HO traction models made for export to the US, although among O scale modelers he had small builders assemble excellent traction cars and electric locomotives, usually in relatively small numbers for each type, some reportedly even built to commission from US buyers. The double truck Birney illustrated below was among his last projects and produced in larger quantity than most of his O scale traction.

Quote from the Model Railroader group :

"Ken Kidder has a fairly long history and his product line is best remembered today as centering around very small, unusual steam locomotives, particularly a host of little 0-4-0 "Plantation" or "Mud Hen" engines, available in a range of inside and outside frame, standard and narrow gauge, some with tenders, some with just coal bunkers. However, Kidder did venture into numerous other areas over the years, incuding trolleys. One of the most collectible items today is the Ken Kidder "Steam Dummy", a unique model representing a small, shrouded, steam engine for urban street use."