TRANSISTOR RADIO DESIGN

This Sony TR-86 was manufactured in Japan on January 24 1959 according to the date code obtained from the electrolytic capacitors, ref; Alan Kastner's RadioWallah. This is normally a fairly accurate guide give or take a week or two.  It was released several months after the ground breaking and highly successful Sony TR-610 but was far less popular with consumers.

This luscious red Sony TR-86 looks good enough to eat! It features a large reverse-painted face with a prominent gold ‘8’ above the volume knob. The dial pointer is tapered slightly giving it the appearance of a rocket or missile.  The vertical lines on the speaker grill are a nice touch to. This radios’ appearance syncs well with the whole 'Jet Age' theme of the late 1950’s.

This is one of only a handful of Sony radios that used reverse painting on the dial face and on this model it works exceptionally well! Upon release this Sony TR-86 was available in four colors; black, ivory, green and red.