Electrola 101L portable

[nostalgia]

I came across this portable a week ago, and today I was lucky enough to have it delivered 2 km from my repair room! I bought it seconds after it had been put up for sale, even if it looked scruffy, this is the first Electrola I have come across during the last year, since I seriously started collecting gramophones.
I admittedly don't know much about Electrola, apart from that it was the German subsidiary of the Gramophone Company in Germany from 1925 until 1931 where it merged with Columbia to form EMI, which I understand was named Lindstrom Electrola in Germany up until the WW2, where everyhting was changed. (Please correct me if I am wrong!) Looking at the number plate inside this blue 101, it has the letter L after the 101, so I guess this is a rather late Electrola 101, since it also has an autobrake.

It has attached a Goldring Luxus soundbox, not original to the gramophone. I believe a HMV soundbox no4 with the Electrola name on it would be the correct soundbox for this machine.

I have taken some photos, so we can have a look. I have not yet had time to open the motor ( will do that in the next few days to have a look), and also the machine is just cleaned superficially on the uploaded photos. After some cleaning, it still doesn't look too bad, but it has a big mystery surrounding it: The blue color on the lid and the rest of the case simply dont' match.

The top lid and the outer sides of the lid are very light blue, while the inner lid and the record tray panel plus motorboard/case has a much darker blue color. I have removed the upper part of the key lock on the lid, and the color under this lock is the exact same color as the rest of the outer top lid. I was not expecting that, really.

At first I thought the lid had been exchanged and substituted with a differen lid made from another batch of rexin, but because of the color inside the lid, I am now not sure this is the answer to the mystery...

It will be very interesting to read what you think about these color differences ! The photos will speak for themselves, and show the color differences on the different parts of the portable. The front of the machine case is not yet cleaned sufficiently, after some more cleaning it will reach the blue color of the motorboard and inner lid/ lid panel.

(I was thinking of adding this portable to the general German portable thread that I opened some weeks ago, but because it is not strictly a solely German machine, I decided to give it a unique thread.)

PS. It also came with 10-12 center starting Pathé records, which was a big surprise. I know they can't be played with the soundbox following the machine, but it was still a big extra!

[Inigo]

It seems a bug herein... I already own two 101s, but each time I see one, in tempted to buy it... I resist, but surely if I were not married.. I'd buy every example I saw. Specially those tatty ones I see for low prices. Knowing how wonderful they sound, I believe every collector should have one at least. Don't know what you all think, but for me this machine is always a reference for comparing the sound of others.
Regarding your electrola, i suppose they may have used s different material or quality for the lid, sand that's why it has lost with age the brilliant drop blue colour of the rest. Maybe the sun has taken it's part.. it always decolorates anything standing enough time under its rays....

[phonosandradios]

I love that blue colour and isn't it strange that the lid is a different shade to the rest of the machine and that the colour change is a precise line between the lid and the base.

Nice as it is I can't look at starting a portable collection as I have far too many things in the audio line already to start a new line of collecting... but it is a lovely machine nevertheless.

[CarlosV]

The color difference is probably due to sun exposure, as Inigo suggested. If the machine was kept open then it is plausible that only the lid faded. It is a nice machine, identical to the the English 101 apart from the different badge. You can use a HMV 4 soundbox, or try to find an Electrola 4 (less common than the English counterpart).

[nostalgia]

Thank you for responses and suggestions. Myself I doubt though that sun exposure has caused the color difference. As "phonosandradios" also paid attention to, the color change follows precisely the line betweeen the lid and the sides of the case when viewed from the outside. Even more revealing is the color on the interior of the lid. We can see the light blue color follows the inner sides of the lid, also behind the winding key support, an area that the sun would hardly reach. Adding that I as told in the previous post has unscrewed the upper part of the case lock, and checked that under this lock is the exact same light blue color as on the rest of the outside lid, an area that the sun never could have reached. What is not visible on the photos, is that the light blue color also follows the inner sides of the lid also behind the record panel.
Adding that the portable has been stored for 30 years in a garage, and before that time lived it's life in a northern coastal town with general small sun exposure, I feel the answer is maybe closer to Inigo's first response, that a different roll of rexin cover have been used for the outer lid before being folded over the edges and cut along the inner sides, close to the interior lid panel.
I look forward to give it a total overhaul and cleanup. I already have a few HMV 101 portables, but felt it was nice also to have a copy of this German version, that it was blue came as an extra. Yes, I have a few HMV 4 soundboxes around, and will also compare to the Goldring Luxus that is already attached, while keeping an eye in the months ahead for a genuine Electrola 4 soundbox.

..and I guess I will check the blue colors on some shoe polishes I bought last year for use on portables...

[epigramophone]

I think it unlikely that such a disparity of colour between the base and the lid would have passed Electrola's quality control inspection before sale.

[soundgen]

I think the bottom has been painted for some reason , it looks very glossy

[soundgen]

I think it unlikely that such a disparity of colour between the base and the lid would have passed Electrola's quality control inspection before sale.

were these made in Germany ? or Hayes and the appropriate transfers badges used added ? It would seem an odd thing to set up a production unit with a large capital outlay to make something you already have production equipment for in England

[nostalgia]

After a quick breakfast, I cleared my kitchen table, and started to dissasemble the machine ( no wifey here ).
I removed the lid, and after deep cleansing both the interior and exterior, I realized the complete lid has the same color on both the outside and inside, and also the record panel is of the same light blue color. It is again quite unbelievable how much dirt and contamination that can settle in the rexin cover, but by using a kitchen sponge it has become far easier to cleanse it than in the past, where I only used my fingers. It is still one spot of some black contamination left, but I have left it for now since it goes quite deep into the cover, and I for sure will not tear it. After drying up I will have a closer look and possibly attack it again. I am using Swarfega hand cleaner for this job, and it works wonders, but it still contain some water, so one has to take some precautions and not overdo the work during one session.

After cleansing the lid, I then started to believe the complete lid could have been changed in the past, and was causing the color differences, but the screws holding the lid did not look like they ever had been removed, they were far too rusty but also untouched.

I then said to myself, let me have a look at the base, and while starting to think about also removing the lower part of the lock, to look for color differences, I with my vinyl gloves on had a quick look for any updates to the thread, and read Mike's last entry !

You have nailed it again, Mike ! Look at the photo of the base with removed lock, it shows the original color of the base, the same color that is found on the lid.

And you too were right, Roger. This machine would not have passed Electrola's quality control looking the way it looks now!

Now I will start to have a look at the base, if it is painted I guess it will be very hard to remove the added paint that is completely covering the base. I have been able to remove the black spots from the lid, but I doubt that was paint really. I remember having used Swarfega for white spots of paint in the past, but this is at a completely different level...

Finding a light blue HMV 101 base, could also be solution. I already have a light blue HMV 101, and if another one turns up that has an okay base, it could be used...

[soundgen]

A simple solution would be to repaint it again the correct colour if you took the lid to a car spray paint outlet they could colour match it for you ( $20? ) , then you could paint the base with the fittings out , it would be glossy but you can knock the gloss back with a cutting agent ( T-Cut in the UK )then buff up to match the top

I have seen this done on a red HMV 101 where the outside colour was badly degraded and you couldn't tell it had been done