forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => What's New => Topic started by: Alexis on January 14, 2021, 10:15:31 PM
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Not sure if this is actual fact or just rumors . But it is posted on facebook and over on Hyperscale that Squadron is perm closing ? Do anyone of you guys know what is going on with them ?
Alexis
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It appears that they simply shut down their webstore in order to renovate their website. Beyond that, the rumors of them closing permanently don't seem to be grounded in solid information.
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Perhaps fuelled by their recent 70%-off sale?
Sandy
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Thanks Vic for clearing that up .
Never know Sandy , markets are changing and it seems to be here today gone tomorrow ...
Alexis
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Perhaps fuelled by their recent 70%-off sale?
Sandy
The 70% off was very limited in nature and was not a total clearance, although in these times, who knows.
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I just heard that Squadron has filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. From another forum:
"Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filed.
Court: Texas Northern Bankruptcy Court
Case number: 3:2021bk30105
Assets: $500,001 to $1 million
Liabilities: $10,000,001 to $50 million
Judge: Michelle V. Larson
Chapter 7 Filed: Jan 19, 2021
Type: Voluntary
Updated Jan 20, 2021"
Sad, but inevitable IMHO. After Mr. Campbell sold it off, it went downhill pretty fast.
I can well and fondly remember looking at, and drooling over, their ads in Scale Modeling in the early 70's, and getting my first catalog from them in '73 when I was 12. I dreamed of going to one of the three stores they had then. It boggled my mind then that there could be a "model shop" that large. I think almost all of my Christmas presents that year came from them.
I enjoyed their small print flyer that came in the mail in the 90's, usually with some good sales.
Another sad aspect is that this takes the assets of VLS, Eagle Strike/Aeromaster, Superscale, and Sentai along with them. Perhaps someone will buy up those lines. I hope so.
The page turns, and another chapter closed. :'(
WD
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I'm not surprised that it came to that .
Alexis
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Sadly in our hobby the landmark hobby stores do tend to come and go. Older UK modellers especially may recall back in the 60s and 70s the go-to model mail order shop was BMW Models in Haydons Road, Wimbledon. I did all my mail order buying there from far off NZ and was devastated when BMW was no more. Life and modelling goes on.
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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I still have kits in my stash I bought from them years ago. They were my main supplier store for many years. Sad to see them go.
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I can well and fondly remember looking at, and drooling over, their ads in Scale Modeling in the early 70's, and getting my first catalog from them in '73 when I was 12. I dreamed of going to one of the three stores they had then. It boggled my mind then that there could be a "model shop" that large.
WD, we must be of similar vintage. Your post brought back a rush of high school memories, walking home from school to find my first catalog in the mail, so I pulled them out to head further down memory lane. Here's the first I got, in 1972:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50866575752_db89137d4d_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kuUuNL)Squadron covers, 1972 (https://flic.kr/p/2kuUuNL) by Robert Hallinger (https://www.flickr.com/photos/188152442@N04/), on Flickr
It was always so exciting to receive postal packages from Squadron, after sending off a check written by Mom, reimbursed with money from my paper route. The Squadron Shop and Scale Modeler magazine opened up a whole new world for me. It added realism, history and fine art to my enjoyment of the hobby. I was thrilled in 1974 when a Squadron Shop outlet opened in suburban Philadelphia on the Rooselvelt Boulevard (Rt. 1), a 40-minute drive from home (I was 16 and had my license by then). I remember trips with friends on Saturdays to the Shop, which was an amazing display of more models and supplies than I had every seen together at one time and place. Kid in a candy store! ;D
Remember any of these?
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50866476616_1e80c8414f_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kuTZkw)Squadron covers, 1972 (https://flic.kr/p/2kuTZkw) by Robert Hallinger (https://www.flickr.com/photos/188152442@N04/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50865759698_0816571ce9_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kuQjdS)Squadron covers, 1972 (https://flic.kr/p/2kuQjdS) by Robert Hallinger (https://www.flickr.com/photos/188152442@N04/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50866536852_1e7f8affa2_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kuUif5)The Squadron 1972-73 (https://flic.kr/p/2kuUif5) by Robert Hallinger (https://www.flickr.com/photos/188152442@N04/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50866441996_d0cb137223_o.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kuTP3C)The Squadron 1972-73 (https://flic.krse/p/2kuTP3C) by Robert Hallinger (https://www.flickr.com/photos/188152442@N04/), on Flickr
The Squadron was a pretty slick publication for a few years, but costs later drove it into a standard b/w newsprint catalogue. Fond modeling memories!
Saddened to see it go.
Best regards,
Bob
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Bob,
Some great memories there, I had them all as well. I ordered from them for many years until their use of Courier delivery services brought the additional requirement to pay Customs Brokerage fees for import to Canada and the prices effectively doubled! (We've always been anal and somewhat brutal about customs and import duties here!) Though I hadn't used them for years it's sad to see them go, a great Company for so many years.
Quote from WD
"Another sad aspect is that this takes the assets of VLS, Eagle Strike/Aeromaster, Superscale, and Sentai along with them."
Does this refer to old stock or did Squadron buy out these businesses?
Cheers,
Lance
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"Another sad aspect is that this takes the assets of VLS, Eagle Strike/Aeromaster, Superscale, and Sentai along with them."
Does this refer to old stock or did Squadron buy out these businesses?
Cheers,
Lance
[/quote]
Lance,
AFAIK, they were bought out/acquired by Squadron. To quote someone from another forum I haunt:
" B wrote: ↑
Didn't MMD buy out VLS some years back?
Yes, and Eagle Strike/Aeromaster, Superscale, and Sentai. The guy who bought it from founder Jerry Campbell was a megalomaniac who wanted to build an empire and spent too much capital on acquisitions of other related businesses. I know; I was there (Editor, Squadron/Signal publications, 2005-2007)."
I remember a distinct change after Mr. Campbell sold it, and it wasn't a good change either. I also remember the change for postage/shipping Lance, and friends of mine in Canada and overseas were all but cut off as it just wasn't feasible to order from them anymore.
Bob, yes, yes, yes, I remember those catalogs, and yeah, I remember my mom writing the check after I gave her my mowing money too!
Just think of the dozens of Squadron books on one subject or another that will now disappear. Hundreds I'd say.
FWIW, I got an email from author David Doyle. I'd post the contents of it here, but it doesn't have anything to directly do with WWI modeling. He's having a sale on Squadron books (all off topic from WWI). He does mention that a great many authors that have written for Squadron Publications for the last fifty years will now no longer get any royalties, etc. from their books. Sad. If you're interested in the contents of the email, PM me, and I'll send it to you.
WD
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Yes, the loss of the Squadron "In Action" Publications is another sad event, and then there's the Encore Kits which I like a lot. Although only a few released they are a fine Kit. I sometimes wonder at the future of our Hobby, my absolute favorite "brick and mortar" Hobby Shop, one I haunted for half of my childhood (I remember bicycling there with my Grocery Packer pay more then 60 years ago!) closed a couple of years back. BC Shaver in Victoria Canada. Anyone from Western Canada will recall it, it was a wonderful place until the day it closed! Squadron was my first real Mail Order Hobby Store, and now it's gone, such a sad development!
Cheers,
Lance
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I think some will survive here and there. I was cruising videos on YouTube the other day, and a guy with a brick and mortar shop has a very active channel. I figure between that and mail order will be the only way we'll still have brick and mortar shops.
WD
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Sad to see them go, thanks for the insights on their demise as it seems the seeds were sown a decade or so ago.
But, we have good stores available and hopefully those publications and other assets will be picked up here and there.
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Sad to see them go, thanks for the insights on their demise as it seems the seeds were sown a decade or so ago.
But, we have good stores available and hopefully those publications and other assets will be picked up here and there.
I have to say, observing their business practices from afar, mostly, and having bought a few things from them recently, I am not surprised to hear this news.
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Sad to see them go, thanks for the insights on their demise as it seems the seeds were sown a decade or so ago.
But, we have good stores available and hopefully those publications and other assets will be picked up here and there.
I have to say, observing their business practices from afar, mostly, and having bought a few things from them recently, I am not surprised to hear this news.
I'm not surprised one bit either knowing what I do from friends that were there during the sale from the original owner. However, there are a lot of us here who well remember 30+ years of great service, good products being brought out, and their advancing our hobby greatly during that time that are saddened to see it turn to this.
WD
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I have delt with them for over 50 years and over the years as a modeler and retailer and had excellent service. Only in the last couple of years have I had any issue. I ordered items that were "in stock soon" and had to cancel items than never arrived for several months. I did order a 1/16 scale Tamiya Jagdpanther kit, however that did arrive within a few weeks.
I was looking at my personal stash of their specialty decals and found stuff I doubt I'll ever see again. Their ENCORE Roden series of 1/32 WW1 models were outstanding models.
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Well, looks like there is some good news on this front. Always nice to see a hobby retailer NOT go under.
From David Knight's blog:
"For modelers of my age and older, Squadron Mail order and the Squadron shops hold a special place in our heart. The decline that took place over the last ten years was fairly sad. The good news is that the trademark, trade name and website were purchased out of the bankruptcy and a new group has resurrected the name and website. It is to soon to know if this will be a success, but I am rooting for them."
FWIW,
WD