Completed restoration last month... and I will freely admit it's not totally authentic...
I cheated a little bit. I know, shame on me... the red cabinet wasn't available until the following year, with the 1949 models. But I didn't care for the all white color scheme. Before I restored it, this was obviously a radio that was kept on the kitchen counter top, judging by the 50 years of dried food droppings schlobbered all over the cabinet. It needed to be repainted, so I opted for red instead of white. Personally, I think it's an improvement over white, so my apologies to the purists who know these Transitones only came in all white or the molded dark brown marble look in '48
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I don't think you should ever have to apologize for making your radio what you want. If a purist buys it from you and wants to return it to the original color, that's their prerogative. I like the red look myself!
It's a very common model anyhow so no harm done. Now if you had painted a Philco 201X or a 509X red some here might be upset.
Regards
Arran
Um, according to my records, that model was only available in brown and ivory in 1949 as well - not red.
I'll be darned... I just saw a red 1949 on eBay that appeared to have the original finish. The decal was appropriately worn, and the label was mostly intact underneath... where there was a chip in the label, red shown through, indicating the label was put on after it was painted, and apparentely not masked over.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Philco-Transiton...7675.l2557#
The usual sources of antique radio supplies have been selling Philco Transitone decals for years. So the ability to repaint one of these in any colour, and add an original style decal afterword, isn't exactly a new phenomenon. I used to repaint Bakelite cabinets in assorted colours, but I usually tried to find ones that were more subdued and in keeping with the period of the set. Now if I repaint a Bakelite I usually respray them in an off white or pure white colour.
Regards
Arran
From the ad:
Quote:The radio has many coats professionally applied red lacquer, hand rubbed to a smooth shine.
Red paint usually = $$$ in the eBay alternate universe.
Why? I don't know.
But anyway...either the seller did an amazing job of masking off the sticker on the underside, or managed to remove it before painting, and glued it back on afterwards.
The "Philco Transitone" decal is obviously new.
Maybe it was just the bad lighting on the photo that made the decal in front look darker than it should. The sticker on the bottom was what threw me. Don't know how he salvaged it. I tried removing mine, but it was far too brittle. Then I tried masking it off, but doing so would only damage it from the tape. So I finally wound up scanning the label and printing out a new one, which was reglued onto the bottom after painting. I scraped the old one off and sanded it smooth prior. Despite it not being an authentic color, I still like red better than white
And, as Arran pointed out, it's a common set. Far from rare, so one painted not to factory specs isn't the end of the world. I was actually restoring this for a friend, who wanted one of those colorful bakelite sets as his first venture into the wonderful world of antique radios. But after I finished it, I liked it so much that I decided to keep it for myself! I restored and gave him one in the original marble finish cabinet instead.
All my dud tubes are drying a fresh coat of red paint as I type this.
Gonna make a bundle selling 'em on eBay!
Quote:All my dud tubes are drying a fresh coat of red paint as I type this.
Gonna make a bundle selling 'em on eBay!
Oh no, Tom, you want to paint your tubes blue
Steve
Haha! Well this guy with the red 1949 on eBay got it bid up to $130, but it still didn't meet his reserve price!
Greg, the only thing I would change with your set is to paint the knobs to match the cabinet. It looks good and will add color.
My friend Henry Harmony, a Great American, collects "plastic sets." Over the years I have tried to pick up red or orange sets for him for that reason! Most of them were either brown or white!!
Hmm, Do I smell a shill?
SHILL !!! SHILL !!! SHILL !!!!!
