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3 hours ago, ReccePhreak said:

As long as they don't hire any of the "management" people or "workers" who ran that company into the ground! :soapbox:

Larry

Absolutely!  Plus all of the not related to modeling merchandise that Squadron/MMD was flogging to the customers like key chains, clothing, hats, etc.  The kind of merchandise you would normally see in a tourist gift shop.  

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It's safe to say NONE of the upper management will be a part of the new squadron. Plus its a safe bet it will have probably 99% new people working there since it will most likely be based in Georgia. Besides it was mainly the last CEO lady that killed Squadron not any of the rank and file workers. I hope they do well.

Edited by The Dude
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2 hours ago, The Dude said:

It's safe to say NONE of the upper management will be a part of the new squadron. Plus its a safe bet it will have probably 99% new people working there since it will most likely be based in Georgia. Besides it was mainly the last CEO lady that killed Squadron not any of the rank and file workers. I hope they do well.

The "last CEO lady" may have killed Squadron, but every time I called them in the past 5 years, I ALWAYS got some person who knew ABSOLUTELY ZERO about the products they sold and the hobby industry in general. But I bet they all had a liberal arts college degree in Art Appreciation or Remedial Underwater Basketweaving. It will be nice to have people working there who are generally interested (AND knowledgeable) in the hobby. Just my 2¢.

Larry

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when Squadron went belly up, I also watched Spru Brothers go into a slide. I have spent goodly sums of money with both outfits in the past, and still buy a good bit from S.B.

Squadron was actually the first mail order company I ever bought anything from. Loved their little news letters, and virtually every one got me for twenty to thirty dollars. I liked the location in Texas because I could always con my daughter to go over there and pick up the order, and then bring it home when I went down there. My problem with S.B. is they don't seem to carry much stuff I'm after these days, and many times I find it cheaper up the road. 

 

I can only wish Squadron (or whatever they'll now call it) the very best

gary

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9 hours ago, ReccePhreak said:

The "last CEO lady" may have killed Squadron, but every time I called them in the past 5 years, I ALWAYS got some person who knew ABSOLUTELY ZERO about the products they sold and the hobby industry in general. But I bet they all had a liberal arts college degree in Art Appreciation or Remedial Underwater Basketweaving. It will be nice to have people working there who are generally interested (AND knowledgeable) in the hobby. Just my 2¢.

Larry

You are probably right, in my many observations any college degree always trumps experience. If you have that piece of paper that says you went 2 years at the U in "Remedial Underwater Basketweaving" ( love that one BTW 👍) the world is yours. But if you only just have a bunch of time and experience working in the respective field your not worth squat. 

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On 5/26/2021 at 3:51 PM, ChesshireCat said:

when Squadron went belly up, I also watched Spru Brothers go into a slide. I have spent goodly sums of money with both outfits in the past, and still buy a good bit from S.B.

Squadron was actually the first mail order company I ever bought anything from. Loved their little news letters, and virtually every one got me for twenty to thirty dollars. I liked the location in Texas because I could always con my daughter to go over there and pick up the order, and then bring it home when I went down there. My problem with S.B. is they don't seem to carry much stuff I'm after these days, and many times I find it cheaper up the road. 

 

I can only wish Squadron (or whatever they'll now call it) the very best

gary

I'm not quite sure what you mean by SB going into a slide. They are busier than they have ever been and sales have been exploding. In regards to items not being in stock, they can't help that. They put the order in, and then it's up the manufacturer to have it available. 

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My friend John and I visited the new Squadron office/warehouse yesterday (they're only 30 minutes away from my house). It is obviously not my place to divulge what I learned during our conversation with Chris, but I can assure you he is working really hard on making the 'new' Squadron a really great shopping experience for modelers. 

 

There are still quite a few 'behind the scenes' issues that need to be addressed and he is still building stock. Plans to move into a larger warehouse this fall are also in work. If you'd like to support him now, you can purchase from their current stock via Amazon from seller Knotmodels until there new web site goes live. 

 

Reading many of the comments and concerns throughout the interwebs over the past several days, I am confidant based on our talk that Chris will rebuild the Squadron name.

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40 minutes ago, southwestforests said:

Ah, then off to see what they have.

 

Keep in mind the prices are a bit high simply because it's Amazon. I would guess the actual web site prices will be more in tune with what we're used to seeing from other on line retailers. 

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1 hour ago, Dave Roof said:

Keep in mind the prices are a bit high simply because it's Amazon.

These sounded pretty reasonable to me, and I'm buying them out of Social Security Disability which runs about $17 a month below the Dept HHS poverty level for a household of 1.

TAMIYA America, Inc 1/350 US Navy Aircraft Set, TAM78006 

List Price:$9.99 Details

Price:$8.88

 

TAMIYA America, Inc 1/350 US Navy Aircraft #2, TAM78009

Price:$8.84

 

And that sounded quite reasonable too, 
Shipping & Handling: $0.00

 

And, hey, it certainly beats this!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tamiya-1-350-US-Navy-Aircraft-Set-TAM78006/348376945

Tamiya 1/350 US Navy Aircraft Set TAM78006

Average Rating:

out of 5 stars Write a review

Tamiya

$21.99

 

EDIT: just got word it has shipped, cool! 😁

Quote

 

Arriving June 14 - June 16

Ordered today

Shipped today

See all updates

 

 

Edited by southwestforests
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20 hours ago, Darren Roberts said:

I'm not quite sure what you mean by SB going into a slide. They are busier than they have ever been and sales have been exploding. In regards to items not being in stock, they can't help that. They put the order in, and then it's up the manufacturer to have it available. 

Spru Brothers used to be the go to slot, but not anymore. Their sales are simply mark downs that still can often be beat in the states. Then there are brand names they seem to refuse to carry for one odd reason or another. Still if you compare them now to three years ago; you'll see the difference. Perhaps not making enough money, or maybe cash flow. Can only wish them the best, but they are no longer the big dog for me

gary

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7 minutes ago, ChesshireCat said:

Perhaps not making enough money, or maybe cash flow.

 

You are so off base it's comical. If there was ever a comment made completely out of ignorance, this is it. 

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14 minutes ago, ChesshireCat said:

Spru Brothers used to be the go to slot, but not anymore. Their sales are simply mark downs that still can often be beat in the states. Then there are brand names they seem to refuse to carry for one odd reason or another. Still if you compare them now to three years ago; you'll see the difference. 

I’ve noticed the same, I still use them on occasion, but they aren’t my go to. They definitely don’t offer the   deals or prices they used to. My loyalty is to my wallet, there’s nothing that I need to get in 2-3 days, so same day shipping doesn’t sway me over best bang for my buck. 

Edited by Charlie D.
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16 hours ago, Dave Roof said:

Reading many of the comments and concerns throughout the interwebs over the past several days, I am confidant based on our talk that Chris will rebuild the Squadron name.

 

If trying to (re)build a mail order or web based store I'm not sure I'd want to lift the baggage that comes with the Squadron name, or at least the reputation Squadron has earned in the last 5 or so years. I think too many people would assume more of the same experience they got with squadron.com  I'm not saying he can't build a successful business, just that it may be harder when associating the new business with the old name.

 

just my $0.03 (inflation ya know...)

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2 hours ago, habu2 said:

I think too many people would assume more of the same experience they got with squadron.com

I don't understand why someone would make decisions based on such non-logic, anti-logic even, the company's name didn't cause the company's situation, the company's people did, and this is different people.

Edited by southwestforests
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7 hours ago, southwestforests said:

I don't understand why someone would make decisions based on such non-logic, anti-logic even, the company's name didn't cause the company's situation, the company's people did, and this is different people.

 

If Ford came out with the "new" Edsel how many people do you think would buy one?

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7 hours ago, southwestforests said:

I don't understand why someone would make decisions based on such non-logic, anti-logic even, the company's name didn't cause the company's situation, the company's people did, and this is different people.

In this situation, I liken it to trying to bring back Sears. At one time, Sears was everything. But they didn't keep up with the times, had poor management, held on to older ways, and lost name recognition. Sound familiar? If a company bought Sears and tried to make a go of it, they would have a tough time. Sometimes old names just need to go away. Kmart, JC Penney, Perkins, Woolworth's, Macy's, etc. These are all a shell of their former selves or don't exist at all. We want new, bright, shiny toys, even if the old ones still did the trick. It matters not, though. New is better. He sank $75K into just the name. He now has to make that money back just to break even. It might have been better to use that cash to build up the Knot Models name. The number of people who are loyal to Squadron are fewer and fewer. Was it worth $75K? Only time will tell. 

 

I'll change your above quote to fit the other side of the coin. I don't understand why someone would make decisions basd on non-logic, anti-logic even. The company's name and past mean absolutely nothing to what they can bring to market right now. Why are people loyal to a name?

 

 

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16 hours ago, ChesshireCat said:

Spru Brothers used to be the go to slot, but not anymore. Their sales are simply mark downs that still can often be beat in the states. Then there are brand names they seem to refuse to carry for one odd reason or another. Still if you compare them now to three years ago; you'll see the difference. Perhaps not making enough money, or maybe cash flow. Can only wish them the best, but they are no longer the big dog for me

gary

 

Which brand name do they not carry that you'd like to see? I'd be more than happy to pass on your request. There may be a reason they don't carry that brand name. 

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Like the 1980’s “Super Group’’ ASIA sang ‘Only Time Will Tell’.

 

Let’s hope something good comes from this acquisition and we may have more products to purchase in the near future.

 

Take care,

 

Mr. Happy 

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1 hour ago, Darren Roberts said:

In this situation, I liken it to trying to bring back Sears. At one time, Sears was everything. But they didn't keep up with the times, had poor management, held on to older ways, and lost name recognition. Sound familiar? If a company bought Sears and tried to make a go of it, they would have a tough time. Sometimes old names just need to go away. Kmart, JC Penney, Perkins, Woolworth's, Macy's, etc. These are all a shell of their former selves or don't exist at all. We want new, bright, shiny toys, even if the old ones still did the trick. It matters not, though. New is better. He sank $75K into just the name. He now has to make that money back just to break even. It might have been better to use that cash to build up the Knot Models name. The number of people who are loyal to Squadron are fewer and fewer. Was it worth $75K? Only time will tell. 

 

I'll change your above quote to fit the other side of the coin. I don't understand why someone would make decisions basd on non-logic, anti-logic even. The company's name and past mean absolutely nothing to what they can bring to market right now. Why are people loyal to a name?

 

 

Darren, knowing your relationship with SB though, it’s hard not to read a little bit of bias in your posts . 
 

As for lines they don’t carry, how about the new Revell paint line? I was eager to try the Revell Aqua line with the demise of MM acryl ( on a side note you should try it, it brushes great, but you might have to source it else where since SB doesn’t carry it) SB doesn’t carry it so I dropped a chunk of change with Hobbylinc buying about 25 colors, thinners and clears.

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4 hours ago, Darren Roberts said:

... Woolworth's, ...

Trivia tangent time, I worked for them in the US midwest 1980s and early 90s; very very low on the totem pole, no corporate decisions were my fault!

Woolworth's in Australia is very much alive and doing well, https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/media/?tab=184415

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5 hours ago, habu2 said:

 

If Ford came out with the "new" Edsel how many people do you think would buy one?

I wouldn't buy ANYTHING from Ford anymore, EVER, no matter what it was or what it cost! :hmmm:

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