Hello and welcome to the forum!
What a nice set of machines you are starting out with !
I think I made a comment on the Underwood before but I'll say it again, "What a NICE machine that is"
I hope it works as well as it looks when it is returned from the shop.
A very eye catching color on the Contessa to go along with (her)  sleek body styling and of course the ever sturdy Olympia. Looks just like the one I have but mine doesn't have the paper gage yours does.
I prefer typewriters that are used and not just collected but, that doesn't mean they can't look great too.
Good job !

HABD!!

schyllerwade, I saw one of those Erika Modell 8s on Ebay not too long ago and thought that it was quite a machine!
OliverNo.9

schyllerwade wrote:

Oliver--
yes I like it a lot so far. It has a pretty solid key action, and by solid I mean,--well it gives your fingers a workout. But in a way I like it, it makes writing feel a little more like hard work. As if because the task is a little more strenuous, the end product might be better because of it.
As well, I am aware that the 5,6,s,m models are the more sought after, but I have come across plenty of postings where people search for years before they find one with a qwerty layout. 
In terms of craftsmanship, I am blown away. 
Where other machines have a plastic switch, the Erika has a forged metal system of gears and levers. it just feels like it was built to a more precise set of tolerances. It's really a thing of beauty.

What are you using at the moment?

schyllerwade, I have just over 20 machines and I try to use most of them regularly, except for the '15 Fox 24, and the Hammond 2.
Currently, I am using my '12 LC Smith no. 5, a personal favorite.
I have a '35 Erika Modell S with a qwertz keyboard but French accent keys and shift keys and backspace key written in French. http://typewriterdatabase.com/1935-erika-s.7283.typewriter

Schyllerwade, you're welcome.
I stopped at a large antique mall yesterday to check on the availability of the Olympia (FN ?) ultra portable that I had seen there two weeks ago and I did also keep my eye out for an Underwood just like the one you have.
I think there was one of those there a year or two ago but I passed it up at that time because I was looking for something a little more familiar and a bit less than the $280. price tag.
I did not see anything like it yesterday but there are certain booths there that have the good stuff like that quite often.
The Olympia turned out to be in need of a bit of work and my older son strongly discouraged me from it so we left it there.
However my younger son brought home a 50s era Remington Rand desk model for a whopping $12.
A pretty nice machine over all and although it needs a good cleaning and  a little touch up paint here and there, it types really well.
It has a 14" platen and the tiny 12 P type face that I think is odd to find on an office model but, I'm sure there was a reason for it at one time or another.
Anyway, he is pretty happy with it. He says that now that he has two Remington desk machines he can use them as book ends on his desk.
I'm going to encourage him to keep one of them on his dresser because it seems the only place his room stays clean, is where his typewriter is.........

schyllerwade wrote:

Oh ok so you know all about them!
Wow that is very nice. I like the white keys with black lettering. That was one of the reasons I was drawn to the underwood models. I mentioned the Erika being hard to type on but I think I just have to get used to the mechanisms of typewriters (coming from mac computers). It seems like there's a sweet spot that doesn't require much effort and makes a clean impression too.

I too plan on using the machines I accumulate. I wasn't familiar with the LC smith but I googled it and it looks gargantuan lol a great looking machine nonetheless.
What is it that you like about it? Frankly I don't enough a big enough workspace for one of those behemoths but I can certainly admire them

schyllerwade, it is hard to explain the what I like about the LC Smiths. To me they are just nice, and fun, to use.
You mentioned that your Erika 8 is hard to type on. It may need to be cleaned. I would use some mineral spirits or denatured alcohol to clean the segment (the slotted piece of metal where the typebars are mounted). The Erikas, at least in my experience, usually have a light and smooth type action. It may need to be cleaned.
OliverNo.9