'57 Zenith Z1511B "rocket-pod" TV

[DavGoodlin]

Those Zenith bugeyes seem to be rare on this side of the US.

That one looks very good too.

RCA sets can be had easily and I would gladly trade one of my 5.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

You can detail my sets anytime. It must've been pretty clean to begin with.
I did a careful job cleaning my sets, but they didn't come out that nice.
Great find! Those are heavy beasts, even without a power transformer.

Thanks. My "thing" is detailing these old radio and TV cabinets. I have done a few for other people in the past. The trick is in the buffing. Use several products and buff the finish very vigorously and repeatedly each time. You'd be surprised at how many seemingly permanent looking mars will just disappear.
On this set I used non-pumice Go-Jo, Barkeepers Friend, fine automotive buffing compound, metal polish, and finished with a light spray and buffing with furniture polish. The set was very dirty and covered with buff-marks and scratches, but with each step it looked better and better. It's a work-out for your arms, but is worth the effort!

[Username1]

That is a really really really nice tv.... I like those metal tv's even if they are just beige....

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by Username1

That is a really really really nice tv.... I like those metal tv's even if they are just beige....

Now is the time to acquire these. Even fully electronically restored they go for reasonable prices. They may be less stylish than pre-1950 sets, but they play so well and are a ball to watch classic movies and Sci-Fi on.
I must say that I lucked-out with the color scheme on this one. It seems the more subdued colors were bigger sellers with conservative '50's buyers - considering how many you see these days!

[Eric H]

I scored this 17" Bugeye from Goodwill for something like five or ten bucks, it's also a dull color scheme but it worked right out of the box!
It' missing the little knobs on top like so many of these are but I can't complain.

[bars&tone]

That is one good-looking and Clean set!

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by Eric H

I scored this 17" Bugeye from Goodwill for something like five or ten bucks, it's also a dull color scheme but it worked right out of the box!
It' missing the little knobs on top like so many of these are but I can't complain.

Very nice example! It may have a duller color scheme, but it looks great. It's amazing how that earlier ('56) "bug-eye" model seems the same as my later ('57) version until you look closely. Even the "Z E N I T H" lettering is more space apart on mine. Lot's of subtle differences.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

You can detail my sets anytime. It must've been pretty clean to begin with.
I did a careful job cleaning my sets, but they didn't come out that nice.
Great find! Those are heavy beasts, even without a power transformer.

The set was in decent shape, but the usually very dirty, scuffed/scratched case. As I mentioned earlier, I spent hours buffing out the original paint and doing a detailed paint touch-up. It came out way better than I expected. I had actually planned to re-paint the ivory top panel it looked so worn!
Joe