flea market find,Fada model 1000 catalin...
 

My friend and electronics mentor was at the local flea market today and happened upon a model 1000 Fada bullet radio, all complete, He gave $130.00 for the radio. He noticed that even though the finish was a dark brown color, at the bottom of the radio it was a dark green color. He gingerly cleaned a out of site area that was the brown color, turns out it was just caked with nicotene. Upon further research he believes the radios true color was blue w/white knobs and handle, they are yellow colored know and he was told that you could not bring the white color back out. If this radio is indeed a original blue color would that not make it very rare and worth much more than a green. Any Input would be greatly appreciated. cheers Mike

$130 for a catalin? Excellent score. Catalin is a very unstable product and continues to cure as it ages, thus the change in color. Yes, if it appears to be brown, it was probably green or blue when it was first manufactured. (The common "butterscotch" colored ones were actually a whitish alabaster when new). The greens, blues and reds are generally worth more to collectors.

Mike Koste
Gobs of Knobs
Ambler, PA

There are those who claim they can restore the color somewhat, but butterscotch was def. white at one time.

Also, it is extremely rare when they haven't cracked over time. Not a lot of attention paid to UV problems back then.... :D