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Unusual Green front wind 101 on Ebay ?

Looks pukka but I haven't ever seen a green one before and most coloured portables have coloured motor boards , so is this some sort of marriage ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-HMV-101- ... 3cd573401f

Hmm, there's something very strange going on here. I've never seen, or heard of a coloured front-winding 101, and must admit to being highly suspicious! Why, for instance, is the case fitted with the "Pakawa" carrying handle, which were not fitted to any 101s, including the first side-wind machines, until much later?
I thought "marriage", too, but you can't get away from the fact that it's a proper front-wind case, and the covering seems to be original. The only way this could be a "marriage" is if the case was originally a later green 101 side-winder, (that carrying handle again?) and the original winding hole has been filled in, but the pictures give no indication of this. Plus, where would the extra material to cover the winding hole and the needle bin mount have come from. The motor board of the later machine, perhaps?

The lid transfer gives the game away, as this design did not appear until 1928.

A front wind 101 should have the earlier design with "His Master's Voice" on a plaque within the picture frame, and "Patents Applied For" beneath the frame.

Apart from this the machine looks quite convincing, but I would not take the risk of buying it. In fact I have never wanted a front wind 101, as the side wind is so much more practical to use.

The other year there was a Red HMV 100 on eBay. The seller explained that it had been professionally painted. If you didn't know enough to be suspicious of a Red 100, the fact that it was painted was very hard to spot.

Painting doesn't look like it's the answer here, but maybe something like that is part of the explanation for its existance.

Even so, the complete "how" and "why" may remain a mystery.

Cheers,
David.

Judging by the blotchy appearance of the outer covering, I'd say it was originally black, and has been bleached,dyed green and the record pocket and lid lining from a later side winder added. This would explain the wrong "HMV" transfer, but not the wrong carrying handle.
This is not to suggest that the seller is trying to mislead in any way, it could have been done years ago.