I got the Hermes about a week ago now. It was quite dirty, especially inside, so it took a few days to really get it clean. Luckily it arrived intact and everything worked, except the paper support (which someone inexplicably glued to the back panel of the machine with double sided tape) and the left ribbon advance, which was stuck due to old lubrication. After 3 days of cleaning its as clean as its gonna get. 

I might be replacing the old felt inside due to the smell, although its still in good shape physically. As I initially hoped much of the supposed damage to the paint was just dirt. There are still a few scratches on the sides and front, and quite a bit of paint damage on the back. The platen is quite hard, but still grips the paper well. 

In terms of what I think of it. The carriage moves very smoothly and easily, so I like that. Typing wise I a little underwhelmed. Its not bad, but the touch the quite heavy and not as "tight" and smooth as I expected. I guess I just expected more considering the hype around the Hermes 3000.

Im glad I got and tried it, now I have to think about whether I will keep or sell it. I still prefer my Olympias and Erikas at the end of it.

Phil_F_NM wrote:

An Oliver No.9 Printype is on the way. Wish it luck in its travel across the state!
Phil Forrest

Get it really clean and it is kind of a revelation in workmanlike typewriters. Watch out for the "gang clear" lever which clears all the set tabs. It's on the right side of the carriage and if the rid that extends through the carriage and actuates all the tabs to reset is a little stuck from old grease or whatever has been spilled on it in the last 50 years, the plastic can easily break. Happened on mine. I cleaned up the tabulator rack and used some epoxy to fix the plastic lever.
Phil Forrest

Some of the ones sold on amazon are ok but even from the same seller can be hit or miss. This is only my experience, so take that with a grain of salt. I would like to find some fine silk ribbons but I've only used nylon so far with the best results in my machines. Some of the cotton ribbons I've gotten seem to be older but still with good ink. That said, they can have a coarse weave and seem to not have a dense thread count, creating an almost "dot matrix" look to the type on the page. My next batch of ribbons I'll be getting from Ribbons Unlimited, which I've heard good things about. 
Phil Forrest

The Oliver No. 9 Printype is here. 
I guess it was a little over a week ago that I bid on this tank and it arrived yesterday. Thankfully, it was packed extraordinarily well and the machine arrived completely unscathed from its travels.
Everything on this machine works, with the exception of the bell, dare I say this is one of the "best" operating typewriters I've purchased to fix. The only think it's missing is the optional pencil holder.
I can't seem to post an image directly into the thread, so here's a link to a photo of the beast:


Phil Forrest

EDIT: Removed html extension from image link. Note: This image may not display in all browsers. Subsequent posts on this subject were made before this edit.