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Hard Plastic Radios - A Few Thoughts.... These radios all date from the 1950's to early 1960's. They represent a changing of radio technology. Though still tube-powered, some have no real chassis and are simply circuit boards with tube sockets, capacitors, and resistors attached. It is very hard to find these hard plastic radios in good condition. They were very prone to cracking, as well as chipping, due to the style of plastic used. Finding a perfect example is difficult, because these radios were considered "throw away" items - if broken, they were often replaced by a newer, transistorized radio, rather than fixed. This makes them much more rare than some radios! Click the smaller images to view a larger image.    Admiral Y-2993 "Avalon" - Dove White Plastic, 1961   This cute white tabletop has four tubes, and is in excellent condition. This set was purchased for only $5 on e-Bay!    Admiral Y-2995 "Avalon" - Harvest Yellow Plastic, 1961   This beautiful yellow 4-tube radio has no chips, cracks, or scratches. It was found in a local antique mall in like new condition.    Admiral Y-2998 "Avalon" - Turquoise Plastic, 1961   I finally got the fourth Avalon! It took forever, but here it is. This one is not quite perfect - a small melt spot on the front grille. So, I'll keep hunting for the perfect one, but this one is great for now.    Admiral Y-2999 "Avalon" - Charcoal Grey Plastic, 1961   This set was purchased at an antique mall for $3. It was very dirty, but there are no chips or serious scratches in the case. Notice how it differs from the other two Avalon's - there are no brass inserts in the tuning and volume knobs. This appears to be by design; I've never seen a Y-2999 which had the brass inserts. This set was re-capped and works great.    Admiral Y-3004 "Ashley" - Shell-Pink Plastic, 1961   This shell-pink 5-tube radio Admiral was a recent purchase. It has been re-capped, and works well. It completed my collection of the Admiral "Ashley" line from 1961.    Admiral Y-3006 "Ashley" - Harvest Yellow Plastic, 1961   This beautiful yellow 5-tube radio has no chips, cracks, or scratches. It was found in a local junk shop for $6. It is in like new condition, though it did need to be recapped before it played.    Admiral Y-3008 "Ashley" - Turquoise Plastic, 1961   This turquoise 5-tube radio Admiral was an e-Bay purchase. It has been re-capped, and works well. It has a few minor scratches that buffed out quite well with Novus polish.    Admiral Y-3508 - Turquoise Plastic   This turquoise 5-tube radio Admiral was an e-Bay purchase. It has been re-capped, and works well. It has a few minor scratches that buffed out quite well with Novus polish.    Admiral Y-3509   This grey 5-tube radio Admiral was an e-Bay purchase. It's pretty plain but it typifies the design of the times. It has been re-capped, and works well.    Admiral Y-3703   I purchased this radio at auction for $2. It's pretty much the same as the radio below, but with a different model number, and different style knobs.    Admiral YH-717   This Admiral is similar to the Y-3509 above. Again, it's rather plain. It has been re-capped, and works well.    Admiral 4L20A, 1958   This Admiral is similar to the 4L25N below. As noted, this style came in many colors. Also notice how this radio does not have the brass inserts like the model below - just as the gray Avalon above does not. Maybe Admiral never used brass inserts on gray radios!?    Admiral 4L25N - Carnival Red Plastic, 1958   This "Carnival Red" 5-tube Admiral is a great little radio. It also came in yellow, blue, pink, and black (and possibly other colors). I'm having trouble getting any of the others!    Admiral 4L26 - Yellow Plastic, 1958   Here is the yellow Admiral 4L series radio. This case was in poor shape as received, but I was able to buff down a few light scratches so that it is now quite nice.    Admiral 4L28 - Turquoise Plastic, 1958   This turquoise 5-tube Admiral is another in the 4L series of radios. There are many more colors... Page 2 (Firestone through Truetone)