I've always loved the radio the castaways used on Gilligan's Island. It was so iconic on the show, and it's a beautiful 60's radio design. Yes, I know you can still find the Packard Bell AR-851, but you'll pay a pretty price. And, as a prop maker, the fun for me is trying to create a spot on replica of the real thing.

Now, I've never met a real AR-851, but there's more than enough images of this radio online as well as detailed measurements. After gathering what I thought was enough research I started to model the radio in a 3D program called Fusion 360. My goal was to 3D print the pieces of radio. But that doesn't mean just pushing a button and the radio comes out. I needed to figure out all the individual components, how they would assemble onto the main radio. Once I had the main body form figured out, I set to create 3D models of every knob, handle and detail.

Then, each part was printed on a high-resolution resin printer and carefully prepped for finishing.

I wanted to really 'nail' the vintage esthetic and so much of that comes from the paint, materials and the graphics. For paint I found a nice warm off-white that seems to capture the look. The "brass" face is simply brass paint. And that chrome handle is also chrome painted 3D printing. The two radio knobs have real spun aluminum discs.

I think my favorite part is the graphics. All the logos and lettering we carefully created in Adobe Illustrator. And to get those graphics on the radio I used a number of printing methods. The two PB logos are printed on a transparent water-slide decal and attached to a real aluminum plate. And the "floating" radio dial numbers are printed on a transparency sheet on a laser printer and mounted to a thick piece of clear acrylic.

In the end, the only piece I didn't make myself was the telescoping antenna.

Is it perfect? No, I'm sure a keep eye can find some tells. But I loved bringing this to life.

Steve Radtke

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