Columbia portables, color range question

[edisonplayer]

Did Columbia Viva Tonal portables come in various colors in the US?edisonplayer

[nostalgia]

According to the book, The Columbia Phonograph Companion, Volume II ( Robert Baumbach), I was able to find this information about US made Columbia portables, made in these different colors ( not counting black):
Columbia Harmony Portable Junior: Red, brown
Columbia Harmony Portable No 2: ( as the Junior model? Colors not listed in the book)
Columbia Viva Tonal Portable, Model 120: dark brown
Columbia Viva Tonal Portable, Model 125: dark brown
Columbia Viva Tonal Portable, Model 130: blue, red

This is my own imprentations of the book, corrections are as always, welcome.

[nostalgia]

Can someone please tell me what soundbox the Columbia model 100 was equipped with from factory?
I might have a model 100 at hand, but the soundbox may be missing, so I would like to check if this is a soundbox
that is hard to find, or not. Thank you.

[Phono48]

The 100 was fitted with the Columbia No.15 soundbox. This was, however, not the familiar No.15A, which has the red rubber insulator on the back, that is a later version. The original had a pot metal back, painted black, with no additional insulator. Most have now been replaced with the the 15A.

[nostalgia]

Thank you, Barry. Good to know it is not an obscure soundbox, that is (too) hard to find.

[nostalgia]

Coindicence..or synchronicity, I will not even dare trying to decide, but when working with the Columbia list, this model 100 came up for sale at a very low price, and I got it, and collected it today. I admit being very pleased with how good it looks. It is atually the blue "crackle finish" that was rumoured to exist, and here is the proof in the photos just taken on my kitchen table, which by the way less and less is staying an eating table.
I think the tonearm has been repaired at some stage, but apart from it, it looks very good for its age. And well, I maybe finally have to later on now dive into trying to repair the tonearm of this 100, that you have warned me about in here;)
The blue color has now also been added to the UK Columbia portable list for this model.

[Oedipus]

The 100n also came in brown crackle finish. The soundbox on the 100, with a pot-metal back, was the 15B. The original No 15 was the one on the 113 and 113A machines; the most common one, found on 201, 202 etc. is the 15A.

[nostalgia]

Thank you Oedipus for adding and correcting the information of the model 100, these corrections now also have been added to the Columbia portable listing thread.
And, while we are talking about the model 100, I upload photos of another model 100 I bought a few days ago. Originally I bought it to use as a donator in the future, but since the black crackle finish is not yet mentioned and listed to exist for the model 100, and also because my machine does not have the Columbia trade mark inside the lid, I would like to ask if this is a model 100 or not? It has a Columbia soundbox attached, but the tonearm support inside the case looks different than on the blue model 100. This is an all metal model, no leather.

[Oedipus]

Yes, I'd say the black crackle one is certainly a Model 100; odd that there's no transfer in the lid. Have a really close look at the finish inside the lid; it could be that someone has refinished it at some point (why? Don't ask me!).

I cannot see what you mean by the tone-arm support, but it doesn't sound like something that would make it a different model. But in the photo, the tone-arm looks as if it might be brass rather than pot metal. It might be a replacement, though I think I have seen 100s in the past with brass arms. I can't see which soundbox it has, as only the back differentiates a 15a from a 15b, and many 100s now have a 15a because the potmetal back of the 15b has disintegrated.

There was a cheaper version of the 100 sold under the Academy brand (which Columbia owned at that tine); called the 'Nippy',it was of similar size, but made of wood instead of steel, and the tone arm did not have plano-reflex angles. The soundbox had a distinctive potmetal mask, but its backplate was the same as the 15b!

[nostalgia]

I took a few more photos, also of the back of the soundboxes on the two models, the patent number ends with 263, and are similar for them both. I can see that only the black model really has a tonearm support, and on the blue model it does not appear to have broken off any support. I also took a photo of the lid interior, as far as I can see it, it does not appear to be refinished? Or maybe this is hard to tell really from the photos...Is it only me, or does the texture of the crackle finish in general look smoother on the black model?
After scrutinizing the two models even more this late evening, I can also actually now see a few more differences. The speed indicator area is slightly different, with a small knob under the indicator only on the black model, and this way enabling a step by step adjustment, and the turntable mats also are of different materials on the two machines.