I'll probably opt for the veneer, although that's almost a love/hate thing for me. I've almost finished with a Seeburg M100B jukebox and prior to that, did the side panels on a Wurlitzer 2300S as well as some table and console radios. If you have a router or laminate trimmer with the edge bit, it's really a pretty simple job and one of those things that actually renders results that appear to be harder than the job actually was.

For a change.

I guess that's why the Anderson model seems to turn up more often, as a somewhat less expensive model. Wonder how much RCA reduced their cost in that hardboard was only subbed for the side panels? By '58, the recession was going full tilt, so I imagine anything they could do to reduce costs and stimulate sales was tried.