I have an Invicta portable (ca. 1949), which is, if I understand correctly, a poor man's ICO: the same (or very similar) Olivetti innards in a flimsier, lighter-weight casing.

I have mixed feelings about it: It's compact, feels solidly-put-together, & it looks great, and the typing action is quite nice, although the typebars seem oddly long & gangly in proportion to the smallish case. But it's rather basic in terms of features: there's no paper guide or paper support (at least some ICOs do have the latter), and no tabulator. My Invicta only has two line-spacing options: slightly too close together or slightly too far apart, whereas I think ICOs and even other Invictas may have a third. The spools are smaller than the standard size (1 5/8").

The last couple of ICOs I've seen for sale on eBay in my neck of the woods have reached over £100, which is way more than I could spare. If that's the going rate, then I don't think they're particularly good value for money. They're lovely to look at, though, and if I had the funds and the opportunity to get a nice shiny red one, I'd certainly be tempted!

misteraitch wrote:

My Invicta only has two line-spacing options: slightly too close together or slightly too far apart

I had thought of typewriters falling into two classes - those designed to look best at single spaced lines and those designed to look best at double spaced lines. Now that you mention it I think I do have a few machines with this valuable third option.