CONSUL 224    Tim Champlin collection

Tim Champlin sends us some shots that not only give us the first good look at an intermediate-decor larger model Consul portable, but also which give us a look at a particularly rare model!

First, a brief description of the "intermediate" decor.  Note the white script CONSUL name, the blocky keytops, the dial settings for tabulator stops (right) and ribbon selector (left.)  Note also the two-tone paint.
If we look closely at the side angled view of the machine, we note that there is an odd lever or control on this Consul 224; it is for a removable carriage.
At right we see the machine with the carriage removed.  This modification required a very serious redesign of the back end of the whole machine in order to accommodate this feature. 
At left, a closer inspection of the rear of the machine and the carriage separated.  As we know from the few other machines ever devised with this kind of design, the general idea was the provision of carriages of various widths; users could purchase one machine, and a variety of carriages to meet special needs.  This was often aimed at small offices which did not wish to purchase standard machines.  Usually, this kind of machine was not popular and consequently they're not easy to find today and are thus rare.
Our studies have led us to discover that production of many things mechanical in the former USSR and USSR-controlled nations was centralized, and that production of certain special machines was assigned to certain companies.  At right, we see my GROMA COMBINA, which was produced in East Germany during the period 1957 through 1960, at which point production ended.  This machine was an adaptation of the old GROMA portable which had been out of production for several years, but modified to incorporate a totally removable carriage assembly.  The machine won some awards, but was dropped.  See more here. What is of interest with Tim's newly found Consul 224 is that it dates from the 1960's and could represent the ordered replacement for the Combina, which would have made more sense in terms of cost being based on a machine already in heavy production.