[37silverstreak]

Hey Arran,
unfortunately, no I don't know about the baffle plate. you are probably right about it being a marketing ploy, or perhaps an attempt at protecting the speaker. Without actually seeing what it looks like I couldn't tell you.
I did paint the chassis on my 128. It had some spots of minor rust and I tried cleaning it, but it ended up looking blotchy. I removed all the IF cans as well as the tuning condensor. I masked up everything and used Krylon Satin Nickel spray paint. I left the front of the chassis unpainted as it had several factory stamped markings on it that I didn't want to cover up. I soaked the IF cans in a parts cleaner and then polished them up usings "Mothers" aluminum polish. It was a lot of extra work, but the 128 along with the Philco 90 baby grand were the very first sets I fell in love with when I was a kid. It took many years before I finally obtained them so they are both getting the deluxe treatment!
Also, like you, I wouldn't mind getting the G.E. M-61 as a comparison for the 128. I think that it has a neat Deco turn to the 128's styling. Although I don't like it quite as much.
Kevin