[Philips210]

Hi.

I agree, they look quite well appointed but are very cheaply made. The construction of many similar radios were often from a type of dense cardboard, covered in vinyl and stitched to give the appearance of leather. The insides were generally very cheaply made too. I remember the awful combined volume control and on/off switch that always caused trouble in these types of radios.
Other than that they were generally reliable.

Regarding the fate of the radio in The Sweeney, I couldn't help laughing. The radio was on at the time and after the first shot it goes off station with heterodyne whistles. After the second shot there's silence and it gets shot for the third time. After each shot it rocks about.
I suppose it's possible if the ferrite rod was damaged by the first shot then that may account for the whistles though it was all probably staged. Quite amusing all the same.

Regards,
Symon