[Arran]

Hi and welcome!
Didn't see your name.
Well I can tell you a few thing about this set. In 1938 (when this guy was built) Philco embarked on their No Stoop, No squat, No somethingelse ( I forget) program. That's when they started the sloped front panel on their console. Some folks like some don't. I fall in to the later. Just about all the 1938 consoles look the same to me. Now if this had been a 1939-42 model it would have a bunch of rubber wire that would need to be replaced. Lesson: Don't by a 39'-42' model unless you can't live with out it.

Terry

Terry;
   I think you were refering to the slogan "No Squat, No Stoop, and No Squint" program or ad campaign. I would have to agree with you on this to a point, the 1938 Philco consoles with the sloped control panel do look somewhat uninspired, with perhaps the exception of the 38-690 and it's Tambor door. The inclined control panel was far from a new idea, as was getting away from peek hole dials, and many were executed in a far more elegant manner. Some American Bosch models (and their Northern Electric cousins) had this feature going back to 1932-33, it may have been offered on some G.M radios even earlier. Rogers started with this on their higher end consoles in 1935 and offered it across their Deforest Crosley and Majestic lines as well, and offered them that way until 1938-39, Rogers mounted their dial window across the leading top edge of the cabinet and used a sort of rolling pin style dial behind it, if there was a sloped panel it was for the dial, as they did on DeForest Crosley and some Majestic sets, the controls were mounted down lower but still within reach.
Regards
Arran