"Pilot Radio" magnifier decal repro?
 

Does anyone know if the delicate black outlined gold "PILOT RADIO" decal for the optional deluxe magnifier for TV-37 has ever been reproduced? I see that many are worn/faded
https://antiqueradio.org/art/PilotMagnifierFront.jpg

Same here. I stabilized mine with some clear lacquer for now but a repro would be great.

Can you safely remove the screws and the glass? If you did, wouldn't it be flat enough to put on a flatbed scanner? I mean, you could use a photograph to reproduce it, but I think scanning it would be more accurate to size and shape.

It is one big molded bubble piece on the front with the flanges and decal on the edge and a flat surface and flange glued to the back side. The filler port is below on the front half. No scanning here.

The way it mounts is with some upper rear clips that hang on the horizontal louvers and a lower bumper post which explains all the broken louvers. It is heavy. Now back to our topic.

I see on this website, http://www.vintageradiolabels.com/custom-decals.html ,
that number 11 would look okay in gold, but you really need the black outline to make it stand-out on the bronze/gold background. It's such a great free-form design that it really needs to be repro'd correctly. I wonder if anyone would take on the job. I know I would pay fairly for one.

Eh.......... I almost want to photoshop it for you, cuz I want to say that it wouldn't be that hard, but like most things, I'm sure it'll end up being a nightmare. Why don't you contact that dude and ask for a quote on a custom designed thingy?

I can recommend Solidesign for creating a custom decal:

http://www.solidesign.bizland.com/decals.html

They made decals for my RCA CT-100 TV and other sets. Great work, reasonable prices.

I’d take a good close-up photo of the decal that you need, with a ruler by the decal to show the size, if possible. Email that to Scott and ask for a quote. He can clean up the image as needed and print you a whole sheet of decals. You’ll end up with extras, which you can donate to ETF or sell to fellow collectors to recoup your cost.

Phil Nelson
Phil’s Old Radios
https://antiqueradio.org/index.html

Thank you Phil and everyone that responded. That pic from the Net is the only one I could find. My decal is nothing more than a ghost imagine, having long faded away. Maybe between the pic and general dimensions a repro could be made.

The hardest part of making decals is the art work. The better the scan the easier it is to clean up and get the correct colors or metallics reproduced. I use an ALPS printer for making them.
I just looked at my magnifier and the label is gone, Phil if you can send me a high resolution picture I'll see what I can do and give them to anyone that needs a replacement.

Chuck

That's very nice of you Chuck, but I would be glad to pay your for efforts and I'm sure the many others with the lens would too. I sure hope Phil can get that picture sent to you!

Sorry, my magnifier has no trace of any decal. The TV came with drawings for building that little magnifier stand with legs, so I assumed it was sort of a homebrew product.

My TV-37 article has another photo that someone sent me, showing a factory Pilot magnifier with a worn decal. I believe it's the same photo that decoejoe67 posted.

If you go to this link, you'll find a photo showing a more intact magnifier decal:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...o-3-television

Perhaps that image would be enough to work with, if someone could measure a worn decal for width and height.

Regards,

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
https://antiqueradio.org/index.html

Excellent Phil. I sure hope you can work with the photo and actual dimensions to create something passable Chuck. The font is totally free-form as typical with Pilot Radio's style. Gold with a thin black lined border to make it stand-out against the gold trim of the lens. The first time I saw the decal I thought someone did it with a small paint-brush!
If you're successful, consider one sold already! Many thanks, Joe.

Ok I hate to jump this post but does anyone have a Pilot TV-37 magnifier to sell?:bat:

It's okay, but I wanted to say that you're likely going to have buy one with the TV-37 to get one. There's two factory models. The best is the one pictured above with the decal, and one that has a narrower flange and no decal. Then there's a few aftermarket. I've seen two rectangle models, and one octagon. I have not seen any of them come-up for sale separately at any price for many years. They're all fairly scarce.

It's okay, but I wanted to say that you're likely going to have buy one with the TV-37 to get one as I did. There's two factory models. The best is the one pictured above with the decal, and one that has a narrower flange and no decal. Then there's a few aftermarket. I've seen two rectangle models, and one octagon. I have not seen any of them come for sale separately at any price for many years. They're all fairly scarce.

Ebay magnifier for sale but you have to also buy the TV. You should be able to resell the TV pretty easily without the magnifier

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-Pil...0AAOSwhlZZyTfJ

Photo blow up of Pilot script. Too bad the reflection intrudes.

-Steve D.

Awesome Steve! I hope it's okay with Chuck.

I tried editing the logo supplied above then found a newspaper advertisement on the internet for pilot radio. The newspaper add is a little different then the magnifier logo. Maybe they may help Chuck out. I only had access to a simple picture editor without dithering capability etc.

Very nice work! That's REAL close to the style of the decal.

I'll see what I can do with the samples that were posted. Dave A is going to try and stop by with his magnifier tomorrow I'll see if I can fit it on my scanner or if that fails try the camera route.

My magnifier is one of the smaller versions with small flange and only clips to the grille at the top. It looks like there may have been a small rectangular decal on the bottom flange.


Chuck

Here's what I have so far:

I do need the over all size of the decal and spacing between the words. Also if it is on the front of the flange or on the rear. Needs to be reversed if on the rear.


Chuck

I took my magnifier down and measured the ghost imagine of the original decal.

1. The decal is on the front of the flange above the bubble. Steve D.'s previous post above has a good close-up reference pic.
2. The overall length of both words is 3"
3. The height of the words is 3/16ths
4. I would say the spacing of the two words from the bottom to the "T" to bottom edge of the "R" is also about 3/16ths.

Good luck Chuck and thanks.

Noice.

I have print ready artwork finished, I need to know if the color is metallic gold or just a golden color. Metallic gold will be bright, the printer will use a metal foil to print the color.

This is actual size, you should be able to print it and cut it out to see how it fits on the flange. Let me know if the size needs to be corrected.


Chuck

Looks great Chuck. I actually don't have a printer to check it :sigh: I wonder if someone else can do it.
I would say just a golden color would be best as long as it has the black outline.
I looked at the link and the height looks quite a bit bigger than 3/16th's, which it must be, as well as the overall length being 3" max.

I guess there's not much interest in the decal Chuck :sigh: Supposedly there's not a whole lot of the "deluxe" lenses around, but it would've been great to have the decal available.
Thanks for your efforts anyway.

The final artwork is finished, I just sent it off to DaveA to see how it fits on the magnifier.

I'll print a few in with another decal job I have, so there will be a few available.

Chuck

Great news Chuck! Please let me know when you have them available. I will be glad to pay you for your efforts. Many thanks, Joe

It's a nice job on the artwork, it's hard to find someone who can print gold though.

The lack of actual magnifiers is probably the biggest reason for lack of interest.

I have three Pilots and zero magnifiers.

That's what is great about the ALPS printer, printing gold or silver is no harder than printing any color, it even prints white.

Chuck

I have two different types of Pilot magnifiers but they're both in storage up in a house in the San Bernardino mountains 105 miles away. I broke my ankle and had surgery so I can't drive up there or climb stairs when I got there. I think it's great Chuck was able to do the Artwork.

Chuck, if you do eventually have a decent decal available, please let me know. As I said I would be glad to pay you fairly.
I finally figured out how to post pics other than using Photobucket. You can see how faded my decal has become. Just a ghost image now.

They are finished and ready, if you want a couple send me a stamped self addressed envelope. Email or PM me and I'll give you a mailing address.


Chuck

Great news Chuck and many thanks. PM sent.

Do you have any more of the decals? If so I would like to buy one or two.