Ali62 Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 It is the books that I will miss the most I think 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B (Sc) Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Sorry to hear of this. Back in the late Eighties and early Nineties I bought quite a bit from them, by post. Good service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy54 Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Sad news indeed, I used to look forward to their monthly newsletter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainpeden Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 This was posted on Hannants newsletter: "Message; It is sad news that after more than 50 years Squadron MMD has declared bankruptcy. We just received a delivery from them but this does mean we will not be receiving anymore True Details, Avionix, Superscale, Eagle Strike or Squadron tools etc. All our remaining stock has been moved into Limited Availability. Be quick if you want any. Squadron Signal books are supplied to us by the UK importer but we expect them to also sell out over the next few week. We have just removed more than 40 with 0 stock from our website." I assume all the Microscale decal products will also become unavailable? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73north Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 I will miss the Squadron Signal book series as well , I have their PANZER GRENADIER DIVISION Gross Deutschland softback from SQUADRON/SIGNAL ( PUB. 1977 ) - it was beautifully printed and produced Shame to think the Company was gone - I think mismanagement contributed to their decline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LN-KEH Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 3 hours ago, iainpeden said: I assume all the Microscale decal products will also become unavailable? Why should the bankruptcy of SquadronSignal in Texas influence the availability of Microscale products in the rest of the world? Microscale is a different company located in California, with SquadronSignal being just one of many shops selling their stuff. Hannants just need to find another way to get their products to England - some of the flammable liquids need special handling http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=MD&Category_Code=FINPROD&Product_Code=&Search=&Sort_By=newest&Per_Page=20 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainpeden Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 As far as I am aware Superscale and Microscale cane from the same company, hence my question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenton guy Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 4 hours ago, iainpeden said: As far as I am aware Superscale and Microscale cane from the same company, hence my question. 4 hours ago, iainpeden said: As far as I am aware Superscale and Microscale cane from the same company, hence my question. Superscale was the result of some sort of breakup of the Microscale team. One moved to Nevada due to strong environmental regulation in California. Neither was a component of the Squadron operation. Microscale is still a going concern, printing for others (including Xtradecal) and selling their own line on the internet, especially reprints of long gone early issues. Lately, Superscale did seem to be an in house brand at Squadron, very few issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 I got hold of a Squadron / Signal catalogue about ten years ago. Looking through it suggested a healthy, successful company, simply based on the range of products they stocked then. Obviously, the later years of the company did not go so well. It's sad to see any modelling-related company go to the wall. I wonder how many more companies will fall victim to the current virus / economic situation? Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMA131Marine Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Squadron made the mistake of spending more of their time and resources trying to expand into other aspects of the hobby market, such as collectibles and R/C, than they did keeping their core customer base happy. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 moved to chat as its not exactly a rumor thread is it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPuente54 Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 This is sad to read. I have been a customer of theirs since I was 18; that's almost 50 years. I used to go to their Elmhurst, Illinois store(the Chicago area store as it was advertised). until they left the open retail stores and went to mail order only. I had always received good service from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28ZComeback Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 The mail order concept was brilliant in the seventies when local hobby shops specialized in Spitfires, Mustangs and 109s. However the internet, email and rising real estate values made the business model unworkable and the last 20 years was a slow death. The last time I received a catalogue I nearly laughed —it was like getting a cassette player from an elderly aunt. Times passed them by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Puff Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 I'm afraid that I can't feel sorry for them. They got a lot of my hard-earned back in the '70s and '80s, particularly because they carried stuff that simply couldn't be bought in Australia, but they never seemed to be able to cope with the coming of the internet. As the internet-savvy competition increased, so Squadron seemed to decline. Their dire situation was not improved by some very strange decisions, like diversifying into fields not of the least interest to their core customer base, and every time their corporate structure changed there was a new raft of just-graduated MBAs moved into senior positions, apparently hell-bent on making things worse. I can't remember when I last ordered anything from them and I'm sure there are many others in the same boat. They just seemed to loose interest in catering to their base, and you don't stay in business very long when you pull strokes like that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempestfan Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 I admit being late to the party, and apologies for this. Sad news indeed, but as a lot before have said: Probably self-inflicted. I spent quite a bit of money at them from ca. 2003 to 2006, and must say they were REALLY good. Always incredible bargains each month, good service, and acceptable s&h. I think I stopped buying when they stopped sending out their hardcopy newsletter, ca 2006, which was a waste of money- but they had my email, so why not asking if I wanted a mail each month? No cost and so much quicker... I think it is somewhat ironic that a sort-of pioneer of mail order which is obviously the prevailing business model these days goes belly-up. But then you need to read the signs... Last time I was on Squadron Pubications website (it was my impression the model shop and publishing departments were separated in one of the preceding transactions?) I found some attractive prices, but I will rather die than pay 55 bucks s&h for a 5 $ Walkaround.... Possibly their worst offence was to not negotiate a good overseas shipping deal with a preferred carrier. RIP, and I hope Macky Sue or Sue Macky is either retired or has found something at least as good. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Kesterton Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I just received an email from Fine Scale Modeller announcing an auction of the assets of the company. In case anyone wants to see the details - this is the link to the auction house and the sale details: https://www.rosensystems.com/upcoming-auctions/1675 I missed this thread and other messages about the store. I used to order items from them to collect while in the US for work, and of course I have a tube of Green Stuff and the finer White Stuff filler. Sad to see such a well-known shop go. I saw Caboose Hobbies (another famous US model train store based on the outskirts of Denver) also closed recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsr Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 Assets up for auction https://www.rosensystems.com/upcoming-auctions/1675 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 Including Quote Customer List (Including Email & Physical Addresses) May be worth keeping an eye out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 I am surprised they are allowed to sell your email address without your consent to whoever. Regards Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 On 4/9/2021 at 9:00 PM, Robert said: I am surprised they are allowed to sell your email address without your consent to whoever. It will depend what permission you gave when you signed up the website T&Cs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 Just got an email that squadron.com will reopen http://www.squadron.com/ has a statement. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPuente54 Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 I just received an email today(June 7, 2021) from the new owner that Squadron.com was open and under new management,etc.. @dnl42 has the link. He does have a good supply of kits and materials now. I haven't tried to use any filters to find anything; but, that will happen in later searches.I wish him good luck in his business. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombat Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 On 4/11/2021 at 6:09 PM, 3DStewart said: It will depend what permission you gave when you signed up the website T&Cs. It’s the US...compared to UK / EU it’s virtually the Wild West for data protection, or lack thereof. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treker_ed Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 On 6/7/2021 at 7:11 PM, wombat said: It’s the US...compared to UK / EU it’s virtually the Wild West for data protection, or lack thereof. Even in the UK it happens - even when no permission was given (this is before GDPR though.) 5 years ago we purchased Solar Panels from a company, just before the Government of the time changed the subsidies paid to companies for installation of the panels (they slashed them so much, wasn't worth getting out of bed to go to work!) The company concerned decided to put themselves through voluntary liquidation about 6 months later. Anyway, we started to get dozens of phone calls from energy companies offering us new deals, new warranties for the panels, etc. We wondered what was going on. We did some digging and found out about the voluntary liquidation. Part of the assets was the customer list. Our phone number was ex-directory, and we had stated to them categorically that under NO circumstances was this to be used or given out for any purpose other than to follow up with us after the panels had been fitted as part of the customer service programme. This was noted on the paperwork that we signed. Our details were sold on, and our phone number along with them. In the end, we had to change our phone number with BT just to stop the unwanted phone calls. We were getting about 20 a day at one point, through to about 7 or 8 pm every day! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slingshot_IL Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 (edited) Long time lurker, 1st post. Seems like they opened back up 24 hours ago. I received this in an email: ' Quote Hello Fellow Modelers! We are excited to announce that www.squadron.com IS UP! Our team has been working tirelessly over the past 6 weeks to be ready for this day, the day we can say, www.squadron.com is back and running! We have cleaned up the navigation, eliminated a lot of products and categories that were not core to our vision of what Squadron is going to be in the future. We have also sourced thousands of models kits, detail accessories, paint, books and tools for you to order! We are still loading hundreds of new products every week, so if you don't see something you're looking for, check back often or email us and we can prioritize getting it loaded in for you. The new site does operate a little different from the old site: We only allow in stock items to be added to the shipping cart. We do not plan on taking 'backorders'. If an item is out of stock, you can sign up to be notified by email when it is available again to be ordered. Be quick on this, we may only have a limited number, and if you can't catch the item in stock, you'll have to sign up on the email list again. We are offering FREE SHIPPING on orders over $39.99, for the continental US and we have adjusted shipping costs for all other order. One important item you need to keep in mind. Any and ALL orders placed before January 11t, 2021 were cancelled when the original company filed bankruptcy. We will have additional information with regards to the bankruptcy in our FAQ section in the coming weeks. The relaunch is here! We are excited to share this next chapter of Squadron with you. Until then, Happy Modeling! Chris Decker www.squadron.com Edited June 10, 2021 by Slingshot_IL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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