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From the S Scale.io board: Ron Bashista owner of American Models has passed away.

There are no further details at this time.

***UPDATE***

Apparently Ron died of complications from Covid-19. (Source: S Scale Fine Scale Modeling Facebook- Joe Camila)

Rusty

Last edited by Rusty Traque
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As others have already said, this is very sad news to hear.  My thoughts and prayers are with Ron and his entire family.

Over the years I had conversations with Ron mostly about trains, but sometimes a little politics and economics got mixed in, we were on the same page.  Ordering from Ron was always fun, one time when I was done with my order he said "is that all", and I added a nice New Haven woodshed caboose.

In 2019 I worked with Ron and he helped our club design a custom tank car which his team created for us.  This project was great fun for me, and I want to believe that Ron enjoyed it too. I have attached a photo of one of the cars.  We printed 50 cars as #1997 for the year the ACSG Carolinas Division was founded , and 50 Cars with the #2019, for the year Ron and his team built the cars for us.

Thanks for listening,

George

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Images (1)
  • ACSG Tank Car

One thing I will never forget is that everytime I talked to Ron, I could hear Rush in the background.  So much so that Ron and Rush are permanently associated in the recesses of my brain.

I will continue to do what I can to keep them in business. I try to never buy anything on the secondhand market that AM or one of their dealers has in stock. It's always a good day when I have a package show up from Whitmore Lake, MI.

BTW - there is a nice message from his wife Karen and a couple of great pics on their homepage...

https://americanmodels.com/

Quite a few years ago I did an interview with Ron for an article in CTT.   For some reason, it wasn't accepted, even though I included photos and notes.  Their loss.  One was finally done years later.   While to talking to him I noticed his thoroughness in planing his products.   He kept his cards close to his vest as to new things since he didn't want to be accused of delaying products he promised.  Once in production and in his hands for sale, his products took everyone by surprise (a friend of mine bought two Train Masters when they suddenly appeared at a show where they were introduced).  Ron was made a lifetime member of the Southeastern Michigan S Gaugers a few years ago and brought a test shot of his triple bay hopper to a meeting.  He once even hosted a meeting at his facility in Whitmore Lake.  It was like being the proverbial kid in the candy store!  Little things like this will keep his memory alive for me, as well as AM's products.

He got me back into S with the release of his GG1.  The one I have is from his first run, and it's still performing like the day I got it.  His policy of providing any part and quick help via phone made AM a stand-out company.   Thanks, Ron.

Last edited by poniaj

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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