[Sam samuelian]

That's great advice and I'm going to do my best to follow it! When a hobby no longer is fun and becomes a money pit, what's the point? I've always loved collecting and I've been lucky that the majority of my purchases have been good investments besides. But I never buy anything with that in mind. I always tell friends to "buy it because you love it, not because of value".

You've convinced me to not worry about the cloth. There's a guy named Bret who offers a dozen or so different patterns/colors on ebay. I got a sample of his ribbed gold cloth that is absolutely beautiful and rich looking. I think I like it better than the original and am sure the gold will match the finish and also the prominent gold in the decals. So, I just ordered it!!

Thanks to all who responded and made this an interesting thread and a learning experience. Radio people are great!