Austrian Model 48 Melamine resin body repair

[countryman]

This Austrian Model 48 had a seriously damaged shell. Since it is somewhat rare I wanted to rescue it. After good experiences with black Milliput epoxy putty for Bakelite repair I now tried the lighter colored standard version.
Because such a large chunk was missing, I needed a mold to work against. Luckily it was a flat surface, so I used a piece of plywood covered with a freezer bag. Epoxy won't stick to Polyethylene, so I hoped to get a fairly smooth surface on the outside and that plan worked out well.
Then I painted the patch with lacquer in RAL1015 "light ivory". For a quick hobby repair I really like how it turned out.

The phone is quite interesting, it resembles the more common German W48 but is an independent design, developed at the same time (post-war) by the Austrian Post (ÖPT) and the manufacturers Schrack and Kapsch. Both never made as huge numbers of phones as their European competitors, but are both still in business in return...
Mine was made by Kapsch in 1963. The circuitry is also interesting. In addition to the ordinary circuit there is a button switch and a signal. The phone used a 10-strand mounting cord and a subset to work on a party line with 4 or even 8 parties. That must have been common in Austria at that time. Luckily it works as an ordinary set as well. Originally the transmitter would have had a "spitcup" mouthpiece, this was replaced with a flat one 

To complete my collection of phones from all countries neighbouring to Germany I now only need one from from Luxemburg. That might get interesting...

[Scott]

Nicely done!

Scott K.

[Doug Rose]

thats is tremendous! What a fine job...A+ my friend...Doug

[countryman]

Thanks guys... The camera's eye is more forgiving with light colors than with glossy black. And it was my luck that the standard paint was such a good match.

[countryman]

Here's a family photo of the Austrian (left) and German (right) model, both known as "W 48". It's obvious that they are only loosely related.