Hmmm! I wonder whether this Olympia buffer might just help to upgrade the Hermes....There's enough front to back space but not enough vertical height with the current configuration. Also, I've only got hand tools so I can cut/drill/file but not machine any new parts. Definitely something to think about.
My typewriter budget doesn't extend to a platen resurfacing but a pica Hermes to cannibalise would make life easier. Perhaps it makes sense to wait and see what eBay comes up with for a few weeks before embarking on an Elite to Pica transplant with the carriages I already have. . . Though the project does have momentum at the moment!

The ball bearings which the carriage runs on are scored and some are rust pitted. 

The right hand carriage release button is seized but as the left one works it can be moved when necessary.

The typewriter was already missing most of the paper feed mechanism when I got it.  Also, I wouldn't want to use a continuous feed anyway. The rubber on the platen is cracked and several of the paper rollers are seized.  I have a spare 21" carriage which is what I would prefer to use. However it has elite spacing and the electric machine has pica. There is no paper bail bar with the electric machine. Irritatingly, although the carriages are the same size, the platen in my spare one is 5mm too wide to fit. This is due to the the fancy paper feed arrangement taking up more space at the ends of the platen than the standard paper bail.

Options which spring to mind are:
1) see if I can switch the platen, paper rollers and paper bail bar mechanism from the spare carriage. This will require the creation of 5mm extra space somehow to accomodate the wider platen but probably has less work than the next one...
2) exchange all the 12cpi components on the spare carriage for 10cpi components from the machine I am working on. The margin stop bars look like being the easiest. There is a toothed rail which engages with the escapement mechanism - this has vertical adjustment only. The tabulator stops are on a bar which has lateral AND vertical adjustment. So, plenty of scope to get things wrong! Also, this would give a machine with a two colour paint job. Unless I can disassemble the carriage ends and swap the covers. And the numbers on the paper bail would not be exactly in line as the carriage moved - but I'm sure if I get that far I could live with it!

After partially dismantling the carriage I have found the cause of the margin stop failure - something has snapped off. I think this may be due to a design fault, with the manufacturer overenthusiastically installing some heavy continuous roll feed mechanism onto an already hefty 18" carriage without upgrading the end stop. There is no buffer or shock absorbing mechanism so it is metal to metal contact taking the full deceleration force when right margin is reached (and possibly the left margin - I think the same sliding bar may deal with both stops but cannot confirm this until I have repaired and reinstalled it).Off to the garage for a spare part hunt!

These cherry stones, eaten by a mouse, and some ears of corn fell out of the typewriter when I turned it upside down. It also came with several live harvester spiders.