Squadron Acquires Gold Medal Models

[peteski]

I received an email earlier today.  For those not familiar with Squadron, they are an online retailer catering to military, civilian aircraft, and automotive modelers.

Notice that the announcement does not mention either model trains or 1:160 scale. While it is great news that someone will continue Loren's line of excellent photoetched items, I hope that they will not kill off the model train part of it.  @Loren Perry can you maybe clarify whether Squadron will continue producing model RR items?  And happy retirement - I'm sure it is well deserved.

I have been friends with Loren Perry for a long time and many years ago I told Loren that when he gets ready to retire one day that I would like to be able to buy his line to continue on the brand Gold Medal Models that he created so many years ago.

Loren and his wife will enjoy a nice retirement and time together now and be able to sit back and watch his brand continue on even though it is located on the opposite side of the country!  Loren resides in Lopez Washington... and of course Squadron is now located in Ellijay Georgia. So, big change for the brand. We intend to carry on with things the exact same way Loren has offered them.  This includes his Photo Etch fittings in 1/700, 1/350, and other scales and also his decals and even his ship modeler's PE guide book.

We have many of the 1/700 items in stock. About 1/3 of what Loren has left has arrived to us. Another 1/3 will be here Friday... and the last 1/3 will be here next week.  After we get everything in, we will re-stock everything that has sold out..... including the decals that have not been available for some time.

We have intentions of growing the line as well. Loren has a very specific way of laying out PE and instruction sheets and more importantly is very picky about the materials he used. We intend to keep everything the same. He didn't name it "Gold Medal" for no reason!

We are also looking forward to having Loren on our upcoming "Squadron TV" channel soon interviewing him and letting him tell all of us the history of Gold Medal, how it came to be, and talk a bit about his personal model building hobby. We are really excited to be able to work with Loren on this interview and hope that you will tune in when the time comes.

If you are a ship modeler and have never tried any of Loren's Photo Etch ship fittings be sure to try out some of the offerings. What is needed to build a contest winning model kit is always included in his sets and I am sure you will find the parts to be easy to understand and use.

As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email or call me and I will help you any way I can! We also have a live chat function on our website and as long as I am at the shop and not running around in the warehouse I am available there too!


Thank you,
Brandon Lowe
https://www.Squadron.com
877-414-0434

[StarCruiser]

Per Loren Perry - he's keeping the MRR line for now - so it's not going away.

I'm sure he'll consider selling that as well once he decides to retire completely.

As a followup - here's a couple of posts from Steelnavy.com from Loren himself:

https://members.boardhost.com/Warship/msg/1656108119.html

https://members.boardhost.com/Warship/msg/1655938357.html

[peteski]

Well, that's a good news for sure.  Thanks!  So I guess the original website will stay active?

One could dream that at some point someone would eventually be able to get GMM, MicronArt, and Traincat2 business under a single umbrella.  I know, that ain't happening.

[Chris333]

Micron Art did a last re run not long ago.

[peteski]

Micron Art did a last re run not long ago.

Really?  AFAIK, they shut down several years ago, and Reynard's wife was selling remaining stock on eBay.  The website has been gone for several years too.

[Chris333]

It was in the Z scale section of Trainboard and possibly only Z scale buildings. I bet if you check Zscalemonster's site they are in stock now. I remember he said it was the last time and only ran them because a bunch of folks asked.

[peteski]

It was in the Z scale section of Trainboard and possibly only Z scale buildings. I bet if you check Zscalemonster's site they are in stock now. I remember he said it was the last time and only ran them because a bunch of folks asked.

I was not aware of it.  Thanks. Either way, I'm not really interested in Z scale stuff.

[Chris333]

Crap    it was Miller Engineering    not Micron Art 

[peteski]

Crap    it was Miller Engineering    not Micron Art 

You surprised me, but now that makes more sense.

[Chris333]

Well just to post some actual info here is the link about Miller.
https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/any-update-on-miller-engineering.135152/

[peteski]

Thanks for the link to the Miller Eng. thread Chris.  Someone there mentions that Reynard Wellman (Micron Art) passed away several years ago.  I don't beleive that is  true.  I think he is still among the living.  I tried to find an obituary for him and came up empty.

[C855B]

... I tried to find an obituary for him and came up empty.

<thread drift>

Means nothing. Obits are published at the behest of the grieving family. Increasingly, timely obits are a cue for "lesser members of the greater community" to target properties and possessions for theft during publicized memorial services or interments. Many funeral homes offer security services during these times... at a price.

My mother and MIL do not have published obits.

FWIW.

</thread drift>

[Cajonpassfan]

Really?  How sad....
Otto

[tehachapifan]

Well, that's a good news for sure.  Thanks!  So I guess the original website will stay active?

One could dream that at some point someone would eventually be able to get GMM, MicronArt, and Traincat2 business under a single umbrella.  I know, that ain't happening.

The GMM website hasn't come up for me for the past week or two. Also, seems GMM products are getting harder to find in some shops, although I managed to recently get what I needed in chain link fencing (I needed a bunch for upcoming projects). Anyone heard the latest on if the N scale line was picked up by Squadron or anyone else?

[Loren Perry]

The Gold Medal Models website for N-scale and HO-scale items has mysteriously gone down. I've contacted my web host and they're now working on tracking down and solving the problem.

I'm still in business with all our model train detail sets. Prices and shipping charges remain the same as before. For now, we're still able to take orders the old fashioned way, via snail mail with checks or money orders. PayPal orders should also be working as long as an actual order is included with the PayPal payment so we know what you want.

Our two distributors, Walthers and Model Train Stuff (aka M. B. Klein's in Cockeysville, MD) continue to place regular re-orders with us and we're shipping everything they ask for so nothing else is causing any problems.

I'll post an update here when the website is back up and running. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Loren Perry/Gold Medal Models