[Arran]

Supposedly the same individual was the one to go to for reproduction mirrored tops for some 1937-38 Stromberg Carlson chairside models but Bob Andersen never had any luck getting a hold of him either. I can recall getting a rather petulant response from him on a thread on the alternative forum about the Stromberg Carlson coffee table radios, a model which I have. Makes me believe that he isn't exactly floating on an even keel so to speak, but that seems to be all too common on the other forum.
Getting back to these Philco console backs I should point out that the originals were not made out of Masonite/hardboard at all, they were made out of a thick cardboard dyed black. The closest material I have seen to it is called waterboard and is used in the auto trimming trade to make door panels and other upholstered trim parts. It's the same material used to make backs for 1940s AC/DC sets but larger of course. A likely alternative maybe some thin MDF board if you can find it, but it would have to be painted flat black. Maybe Steve Davis can come up with something once he gets his shop setup again, the slots could be cut with a router and a jig rather then using a laser cutter or other computer controlled machine.
Regards
Arran