What is a craftman kit

Craftsman kits are like building a bridge from toothpicks & glue in highschool. You have to build everything yourself.

If you are looking to step up i would go with laser cut kits (as others have already mentioned)

Some good companies include GC Laser, B.T.S., and Bar Mills.

http://www.btsrr.com/

http://www.barmillsmodels.com

http://www.gclaser.com/

Painting these wood structures can be a little tricky because of the way the wood absorbs paint. You have to spray prime them first, otherwise the moisture in the paint will warp the wood. I would then spray paint, or airbrush the larger pieces. Regular brush paint goes on too thick and you lose a lot of the detail.

If you want to be all gung-ho and go straight to craftsman, then campbell scale models has a large selection. But I would get a chopper and a HO scale ruler: