Don't throw old out that old cabinet.
Back before the days of plastic, radios and TVs were installed in nice wood cabinets,sometimes made of the finest woods available.
I gutted and then refinished one of these old RCA cabinets and plan to use it as a diorama for an old 1940's car that I have in my collection.Why 1940? well it was the year that this old fart was born and my parents happened to be driving a car just like it so I thought that it would make for a nice little piece of family history.
I plan to put mirrors inside to reflect the cars front and rear.I also plan to add lighting and 1940 style music that will be controlled using the knobs.The pictures will be put in a glass frame and added to the outside top of the cabinet.

Nice idea John. It looks great and really makes for a nice display.
Please post finished photos when you get the mirror part done.
Cheers,
Charles

An interesting/Very Cool Idea. Like to see it when completed. milvehfan

Thanks guys! I have had a lot of great response to this idea.
For guys of my era when we were kids there was no screen to look at ,so we sat and stared at the speakers and memorized the tuning dial instead.Roy Rodgers,Gene Audrey,The Inner Sanctum etc...etc...Many wonderful hours spent in front of those old radios where the visual images were all in your head.(good training for future dioramists)We had very active imaginations in those days.
The same idea could be used using radios or TV cabinets from the 50's and 60's.Just think of the diorama that could be built into an old jukebox.

John VERY cleaver, looks like it has marketable potential!!! And I remember those good old days too, in front of the radio and just letting your imagination go wild Would'nt trade those days for anything! Best of luck with your idea!!!

Frank

John,
Very cool idea. The market potential in my opinion could be quite good for this.

John: Great Idea, just one small thought, could you rase the car up? it's ashame to hide the whitewall tiers. Dosn't take away from the beauty of this work.

Just got me thinking,,,,,,,,,,,,, (dangerous I know!!!! me thinking that is!!!!!!)

A car in a radio as opposed to a radio in a car !!!!!!!!!!!

Great idea for a novell type of gift and if you get the music right will really set these period cars off really nicely.

I agree with showing off as much of the car off as poss in the front view.

Nige

Great idea for a diorama. Also, you might keep am eye out for an old tv set. that would even work for a '60's type Vietnam news photo dio. Good thinking, john.

Matt

Cabinets for display and storage.
I plan to keep my car dioramas for my family.Here is an old radio cabinet from the 30's that could be used for display as well as storage.The radio part was long gone when I inherited this cabinet.Originally I thought of keeping it to store booze or as a stereo setup.
A few years ago I refinished it and built in the three levels of showroom type floorboards, thinking that it would be a nice place to store some of my favorite 1/18th diecasts.
The individual shelves/floors would be removable from the back for closer inspection of the cars.On the inside walls and back panel I would put behind non-reflective glass ,original pictures of cars that my family have owned over the years .(Most pictures also contain images of family members as it seems in those days everyone wanted their picture taken next to the family car.)Another option would be to build a complete automobile showroom and hang reduced size pictures on the walls.This idea could also be used for dioramas that you don't want to have on permanent display but want easy access to for viewing in -the-round.
For my purposes ,I think that this would be a nice way to document a bit of family history as well as make for a safe and easily movable display for future generations to enjoy.