Mysteries of blue (HMV 101 specifically)

[Steve]

I thought I'd add a few pictures of a "black" blue 101 just acquired as there is a thread already about one for sale on Ebay and some confusion over what the colour looks like. The blue is almost black and although the previous owner had been in possession of the machine for over 55 years, he confirmed to me that he had no idea it was blue all along!

Below you will see two 101s side by side. Yes, one of them is struggling to be blue whilst the true black one laughs at the attempt to be black!

Below that you'll see two blue 101s, the standard one and the "black" one!

[Steve]

A couple more in an attempt to show the difference between black and blue. I waited to be out of direct sunlight but in natural light and its still hard to show!

[poodling around]

A couple more in an attempt to show the difference between black and blue. I waited to be out of direct sunlight but in natural light and its still hard to show!

Isn't there something about being able to tell a dark blue one from a black one and a normal blue one because of the fittings being different and made from nickle ... or something ????

[Steve]

A couple more in an attempt to show the difference between black and blue. I waited to be out of direct sunlight but in natural light and its still hard to show!

Isn't there something about being able to tell a dark blue one from a black one and a normal blue one because of the fittings being different and made from nickle ... or something ????

Well, I'm not sure what you mean because the obvious difference to anyone is the fact that the dark blue 101 had a rexine interior and not a wooden veneered motorboard, surely, not to mention a blue horn and turntable felt. Also, yes, all colour case versions had nickel (later chrome) fittings externally whereas the contemporary black had all black fittings. Only the early front winder i believe had nickel fittings as shown in my photo. My dark blue one has a lid catch and pakawa handle painted black by the previous owner to disguise the surface corrosion and loss of plating. As I said previously he had no idea it wasn't even a black case! The faux pas is forgivable given how dark a blue it is.

[poodling around]

A couple more in an attempt to show the difference between black and blue. I waited to be out of direct sunlight but in natural light and its still hard to show!

Isn't there something about being able to tell a dark blue one from a black one and a normal blue one because of the fittings being different and made from nickle ... or something ????

Well, I'm not sure what you mean because the obvious difference to anyone is the fact that the dark blue 101 had a rexine interior and not a wooden veneered motorboard, surely, not to mention a blue horn and turntable felt. Also, yes, all colour case versions had nickel (later chrome) fittings externally whereas the contemporary black had all black fittings. Only the early front winder i believe had nickel fittings as shown in my photo. My dark blue one has a lid catch and pakawa handle painted black by the previous owner to disguise the surface corrosion and loss of plating. As I said previously he had no idea it wasn't even a black case! The faux pas is forgivable given how dark a blue it is.

Aha ! So the dark blue 101 has a rexine interior motorboard where-as the other blue ones were wooden ! I get it now !

Thanks !!!!

[Steve]

Isn't there something about being able to tell a dark blue one from a black one and a normal blue one because of the fittings being different and made from nickle ... or something ????

Well, I'm not sure what you mean because the obvious difference to anyone is the fact that the dark blue 101 had a rexine interior and not a wooden veneered motorboard, surely, not to mention a blue horn and turntable felt. Also, yes, all colour case versions had nickel (later chrome) fittings externally whereas the contemporary black had all black fittings. Only the early front winder i believe had nickel fittings as shown in my photo. My dark blue one has a lid catch and pakawa handle painted black by the previous owner to disguise the surface corrosion and loss of plating. As I said previously he had no idea it wasn't even a black case! The faux pas is forgivable given how dark a blue it is.

Aha ! So the dark blue 101 has a rexine interior motorboard where-as the other blue ones were wooden ! I get it now !

Thanks !!!!

Hey???! No, I didn't say that. I said the standard black 101s obviously as we all know, similar to the later black 102's, until at least 1948 and ignoring the fake wood effect over metal motorboard of 1931/2, had wooden motorboards with varnished veneer finish. The colour models had rexine covered motorboards to match the colour elsewhere. If you look at my dark blue 101 it does not have a wooden veneered motoboard but a blue rexine covered one. That is how I spotted it on Ebay, no less.

My standard light blue 101 has a blue rexine motorboard, not a wooden one either, which is to be expected.

[nostalgia]

Here are some photos of my own dark blue, and a black 101, that I uploaded to the forum back in 2020, these photos are now gone..so I thought this is maybe the right time to re upload these.
Congratulations on finding a dark blue Steve. I myself thought back in 2020 I had purchased a black machine, before looking more closely at it...
I also have a light blue, but it is not on the uploaded photos.