Tangfish,
I have just purchased the same model from an auction but mine is white with brown knobs. So I wonder if the sets come standard with different colour knobs to the body?

Kjbichel,
perhaps they did, I looked at the photo of Brad's again and noticed that his had what looks like black knobs versus the regulation brown bakelite body.

It's hard finding much infor on the Aristone. Seems like they licensed other Manuf's body designs a lot.

Any chance you could post a pic of yours? Image Shack is handy for the hosting if you need it.
http://imageshack.us/

Also, since I'm rather new to collecting, is it acceptable to enquire what you paid for your acquisition? Forgive my faux pas if it is not.

It's generally okay to ask abut prices. I think I paid about $60 for mine in 1990. Probably alot by today's standards but I did get it from an antique dealer who specialised in vintage camera gear and radios and they did have the ability to get their hands on anything sought so I guess one gets what they pay for.

Known colours for this set are brown and white though there may be other colours. One thing I will say is that I thought this was a kit set at one time because I'd never seen another one like it. Until last year so that is about 17 years of collecting and only seeing the one I own in that whoe time. Then last year I saw several.

One thing on Authenticity though. Whilst there was Aristone, I am not sure whether they were the original designer of the set or not but that may be the case.

This page
http://www.bestnet.com.au/Other%20title.htm
shows an Aristone in a more familiar Music Masters case. Seems like a common practise to buy or licence cases and put your own stuff in it.

As to the case you and I have Brad, I have yet to see it anywhere except yours and mine. (and kjbichel's) And only as Aristone. Maybe the did original cases too?

Just found some more info on the Aristone, and answers your question about did it come under other names, Brad.

Have been talking to a bloke named Stephen Savell from Australian Vintage Wireless. He seems really savvy about vintage radios. When I asked him about spare parts and a replacement dial for the Aristone, I sent him a photo of it and quick as a flash he got back to me saying that that particular model was made by 4 makers... Airzone, Elizabeth, Midland and Aristone. He had a blank (ie nameless dial face like yours Brad and an Elizabeth one that was identical to my Aristone except it was green rather than orange and where mine said Aristone this one said Elizabeth.

Ordered the Elizabeth and it's on it's way. Very happy about that. Have you heard of this guy before? Seems to know his stuff and from what I can gather has been into radios for quite a while and has a big stockpile.

Cheers

I have Steve's website link in the service directory here, yep.

As for radio stockpiles, mine is small and it's a big distressing because I was hoping to double the size of it last year. I am showing a bigger interest in consoles at the moment because they are cheaper than the mantel and table sets. There is very few available though. There are a few council 'cleanups' on at the moment in my area - any radios? Nope. Plenty of 70's cassette players and VCRs though.

Well, I got my dial glass on Monday, so my Aristone has magically transformed into an "Elizabeth".

If you thought that Aristone was a little known brand how about Elizabeth? Still it looks pretty once I polished it all up.

Speaking of council cleanup. The local tip has a recycling centre. I spied an old 30's style big floor standing radio. Mostly intact. but missing a knob and dial glass, but the chassis was pretty clean and intact looking.

Asked what they wanted for it and was told $350!!!!!

My jaw hit the floor. $350 for something you'd have to buy without knowing it's working status and no dial glass??? No way!

Seems they think that because someone sold one once on eBay for that price they think tehirs is worth it too. Bahh humbug!

Out of curiosity, which tip is that. The reason I ask is that Tamworth has had a similar setup for about ten years and I have retrieved quite a few handy items including two fully working coloured tellys and a cargo barrier for my car from there - $6 for the two tellys and $5 for the cargo barrier. All are in perfect condition too.

Logan Council Tip. Logan is just south of Brisbane, Say 20-25ks south of Brisbane city. A few tips have them, Canberra I remember had one. Got a perfectly good battery for my mobile phone from there.

The Brisbane one near us doesn't have one though.

BUT what do you think of the price they want for the old floor-standing model? Am I being unreasonable?

Oh, By The Way Brad, you mentioned starting a list of Aus Radio Stations. There are a couple out on the web already.

http://www.ausradiostations.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_radio_stations

http://www.business.vu.edu.au/bho2250/Radio/radio.htm

The Wikipedia one is well done and nicely laid out.

Consoles seem to attract a lower price because most collectors don't have the room for them. I am lucky in one sense because I am currently single so there's no battleaxe bossing me around and telling me what I can't have. On the other side of the coin, my bedroom is a bit smallish and I have no less than 50 mantel type valve radios on semi-permanent shelving plus a Kriesler tablegram and a Kriesler 'Projectographic' which is a huge table model radio, as well as four average sized 1930's consoles. There's not alot of room for kicking dirty clothes onto the floor, that is for sure. In knowing this you can get an appreciation for why consoles arn't as collectable and because of this I think $350 for a 1930's console is rather rich. Good 1930's consoles can be had for around half that price and I have paid as little as $60 for one of mine.

If I was the punter and I saw that set I'd make the tip manager an offer and then decide whether to buy based on what he's prepared to lower the price by. The most I've ever paid for a set is $750 and that was for a rather rare 1932 Airzone mantel.

This is not to say that consoles arn't worth anything. That set you spoke of is probably worth every cent though because I know that they can be obtained far cheaper, haggling is certainly worth the effort.

Hi Brad, I realise the mention of a "1938 Kriesler Projectagraphic" Table radio was previously around 2006 but just to mention the 2010 price of the above Console I bought recently was $75 not much dearer than what was mentioned earlier. It's in great working condition but I'll redo the caps etc; tidy the rest up and possibly re do the external veneer polish etc. As said, the prices seem to be dictated by the brand and rarity, room available with the final choice in some cases, by getting agreement from your "partner" if you're in that situation or being told "you can dust and sweep/vac around it etc".
Thanks for a great site . hotsparks38