Theodore Paul - Custom Television with Atomic 50s design

The "Super 32"
A pair of these custom trapezoid creations are nearing completion. I will do a full photo shoot when finished. Still need to work out an additional diffuser panel for the backlit screen mask. And the emblem is just taped on for now so I could get an idea of how it would look.
Both sets have brand new out of the box vintage Sharp 32 inch picture tubes and chassis from 2001 mounted inside. I was lucky to find several of those a while back. Flip down door in the center houses a dvd player. Screen surround light can be set to any color with a remote.

Finished up my latest creations today... 2 different sizes of TV stands for my Telstar Predictas.  I was going for something with LOTS of drama - space age atomic flair and insect like all at once. Turned out pretty cool. Théodore Paul

Made a custom stand for this Telstar TV today.  Also did some mild customization on the set itself.  I added bottom and top arms for a full surround Saturn ring effect and a pair of dual faux antennas.  The plastic pedestal was originally part of a vintage Gusdorf stand that was really flimsy and not prepared to handle the weight of the Telstar safely.  But the white pedestal now floats above a 1/4 inch thick steel plate and everything inside is welded steel.  You could use it as a jack stand for a vehicle now... and with the new improved wide heavy footprint it will not tip over
Theodore Paul

THE COMET! A one of a kind custom design build that I have been working on for over a year. Still a few tweaks to make and some internal wiring to finish up. The back of the rotating screen enclosure lights up as well. The Comet uses a new 32 inch Samsung curved flat screen gaming monitor. I figured I would embrace the flat screen this time instead of working with an old CRT like I usually do. The legs light up and the center oval light has remote control LEDs that can be set to a solid color or an Outer Limits style pulsing light. A few of the parts required machinery that I don't have. Fortunately I was able to find some talented folks to help with those pieces. My brother David Natale made an awesome old skool sci-fi style promo poster for me with some of his original artwork / characters.
Theodore Paul

Yes - I know it is a little "over the top" ... not for everyone. But I wanted something that looked like a Lunar landing module from some old sci-fi art.I had some scraps of really pretty black walnut plywood from another cabinet build and spliced them together with some maple to build a 2 tone cabinet.I used an extra vintage RCA color TV screen mask from the parts pile which fit pretty nicely up against a 2001 Sharp 25 inch crt. You lose some of the corners and edges of the viewing area - but not too much.There is a flip down hinged grill panel on the front for a DVD player. And I added an old piece of motorcycle gas tank trim to spice it up. The knobs are just for looks - but I back lit them with some LED lights so that they glow. And there is a light dome on the bottom that lights up for full spaceship effect. Custom built wacky deep space antenna as well. Big shout out to my buddy Nicholas Bedard who is a friggin talented genius and fabricated the legs for me based off a drawing I did.
Theodore Paul

I tried something new on this Predicta - I capped every slat on the wooden grill with a piece of brass U channel. It definitely makes the grill pop. I also used the brass mandolin fret in the joints like I did on the Holiday model I posted a few weeks ago. I am doing 3 of these Predicta Barber style cabinets currently. 2 will get refurbed with original colors but this one got customized and blinged out a little.
THeodore Paul

This cabinet had a lot of issues - it came out really nice... but not quite as perfect as I had hoped. I bleached the mahogany and then used a white transparent stain with just a hint of coral added to it so that the wood grain areas would pick up the coral on the side panels. The back cover was cracked in several places. I glued it all back together and sprayed it in a lighter tone of coral.
Theodore Paul

Another custom Predicta cabinet from the salvage and parts pile.
Cabinet was super rough so It got painted instead of refinished.
I am working on shaping a clear piece of acrylic that will cover the
screen center area just for safety. (It is important to have a cover on the tube for implosion protection on these old sets) I inlaid all of the cabinet joints with brass mandolin fret material for a little extra class.
Theodore Paul

Here is a wildly styled and rare small production piece from the late 90's that I was recently fortunate enough to be able to acquire directly from the man who built them. There were only twelve of these made. Nine were commissioned and purchased by a single customer building an installation wall of TVs. Two more were special ordered by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and this was one that the maker still had in his shop. The inside of the screen surround halo lights up with recessed LEDs. I am working out an issue with the original peg legs - but for now I thought it looked cool sitting on these splayed out brass legs.
Theodore Paul