[GB] The Galaxy Class set (Ordering CLOSED)

[Mercury7]

The 4 week wait for the paper is killing my keycap wait buzz I had from the granite set. Can't wait to start seeing hints from production. You'll have to keep us updated with teasers the way Matt did

[DanielT]

I guess the waiting time will pay up. The dye sub process that will be used on the Galaxy Class Key Set is a special one. The result of this process are crisp legends, with even better contrast than the standard process. It is the first set that will use this. And not to mention the custom color for the orange keys.
I'm so excited about this set, I bought all the kits main TKL, Numpad, Tsangan, ISO, Battle bridge 

[Mercury7]

I went for base, numpad, and 2x of each of the blanks. Was really hoping for teal/purple blanks as well

[norbauer]

Any progress news ?

Not much. We're working on tweaking a few final tiny details where small parts of the glyphs appeared blurry using a standard lower-quality test sublimation  (the exclamation point just looks like a line right now, for example). It would probably be fine, but just to be 100% sure everything looks OK when printed on the higher-quality process, we are fixing these issues anyway. Then the order will be sent off to the specialty screenprint paper provider, which is when the long wait starts. =\ As soon as the screenprint stuff is in, they'll have everything ready to proceed quickly to production at SP. No pics that I can post yet, but I'll post proofs when we have something that looks like what the final product will be—several weeks from now, no doubt.

[DanielT]

Cool Even if it will take some time to get my hands of this set it will be worth waiting
I the mean time I'm planning a custom board for this set, it will be the perfect one 

[norbauer]

I the mean time I'm planning a custom board for this set, it will be the perfect one 

Cool. What did you have in mind?

[LechnerDE]

Waiting for the perfect set is always worth it!

SP should take as much time as they need to solve all the little problems that might still exist.

Having said that I still can't wait to put these keys on one of my boards

[DanielT]

Indeed it is
@norbauer: My favorite board is HHKB, but there is no way I can put this set on it. So at first I planned a hand wired MX version, but in the meantime there is a small GB over on Deskthority for 60% fully programmable PCB's and I will be using that for my board instead. The layout will be HHKB but for the bottom row I'll be using the Tsangan kit (1.5u+1u+1.5u+7u Space+1.5u+1u+1.5u) , yes the expensive Tsangan I got that one
For the case I want to make an acrylic one, black shiny acrylic like the LCARS panels.
And because I'm a 60% keyboard user and I bought also the cool numpad kit I'll buy also Leopold 210 numpad next month to go with.

P.S: I'll have to save some money also for customs taxes, I'm expecting at least 24% VAT 
P.P.S: I hope we will receive the set also in the cool "Thank you" box 

[norbauer]

Indeed it is
@norbauer: My favorite board is HHKB, but there is no way I can put this set on it. So at first I planned a hand wired MX version, but in the meantime there is a small GB over on Deskthority for 60% fully programmable PCB's and I will be using that for my board instead. The layout will be HHKB but for the bottom row I'll be using the Tsangan kit (1.5u+1u+1.5u+7u Space+1.5u+1u+1.5u) , yes the expensive Tsangan I got that one
For the case I want to make an acrylic one, black shiny acrylic like the LCARS panels.
And because I'm a 60% keyboard user and I bought also the cool numpad kit I'll buy also Leopold 210 numpad next month to go with.

P.S: I'll have to save some money also for customs taxes, I'm expecting at least 24% VAT 
P.P.S: I hope we will receive the set also in the cool "Thank you" box 

Cool. I was thinking of painting a Filco Ninja tenkey board the sort beige/tan color that is used as the housings for computers on the 1701-D (like the material around the con and ops stations). If I do, I'll post pics with the Galaxy Class set fitted on it.

[animaliaparadoxa]

I'm excited to fit these on my shine 3 tuhaojin. If that doesn't look absolutely beautiful I'll probably strip the anodising and leave it grey. Or re-anodise to some other complimentary colour.

[Grendel]

Planning to put this set on a Deck Hassium Pro in "ripple explosion" mode. W/ that and the sparkly case this board is the best off-the-shelf fit for this set IMHO

[LechnerDE]

Indeed it is
@norbauer: My favorite board is HHKB, but there is no way I can put this set on it. So at first I planned a hand wired MX version, but in the meantime there is a small GB over on Deskthority for 60% fully programmable PCB's and I will be using that for my board instead. The layout will be HHKB but for the bottom row I'll be using the Tsangan kit (1.5u+1u+1.5u+7u Space+1.5u+1u+1.5u) , yes the expensive Tsangan I got that one
For the case I want to make an acrylic one, black shiny acrylic like the LCARS panels.
And because I'm a 60% keyboard user and I bought also the cool numpad kit I'll buy also Leopold 210 numpad next month to go with.

P.S: I'll have to save some money also for customs taxes, I'm expecting at least 24% VAT 
P.P.S: I hope we will receive the set also in the cool "Thank you" box 

Maybe you should check out Round 2 of this GB if you want the HHKB layout with MX switches

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=47126.0

[DanielT]

I saw that mini GB. What GON is creating is pure awesomeness, I was very close to join it but in the meantime there is a small GB over on DT for faceU 60% PCB's, really cheap, so I'm getting 2 of those 
Maybe some day I'll have the money for a GON creation, but for now I'm happy with a full programmable 60% PCB. I will use for starters the cases from my Poker X keyboards.

[Mercury7]

Ordered a white poker 2 with clears thats projected to take ~7 weeks to get to me, hopefully these keys end up coming out around the same time

[DanielT]

Last night I received an update The Galaxy Sets are still in production, but I got for the first time the complete invoice, so glad that all the cool stuff is there

[Mercury7]

Does that mean they got the paper in and are actually manufacturing? I really hope they create a test set to verify the sets are up to par. I'm currently waiting on some granite replacements due to misalignment.

[DanielT]

I don't know, the lead time for the paper is 4 weeks so I guess we have to wait.
As for QC I'm sure that what went on with Granite was a lesson learned and Galaxy will go smooth and will be the perfect set

[Mercury7]

Lets hope so my friend  . The colors and legends will be absolutely superb if they're on par with the renders. I bought a white board specifically for this set, as I think it will help the colors truly pop

[animaliaparadoxa]

Did I read a while back that someone bought a bunch of extra sets to sell later? Does that include tsangan kits? I didn't order one when I had the chance as I didn't realise my Lightsaver plate would be winkeyless. Will anybody be selling extras?

[LechnerDE]

Did I read a while back that someone bought a bunch of extra sets to sell later? Does that include tsangan kits? I didn't order one when I had the chance as I didn't realise my Lightsaver plate would be winkeyless. Will anybody be selling extras?

Well, Techkeys bought a bunge of kits for resale, but I don't know whether these included the Tsangan Kit.

[DanielT]

Also Tsangan  but it will be expensive, very. in the GB it was $50

[animaliaparadoxa]

I figured it would be pricey if I did find a kit. Well maybe I'll just use this set on my shine 3 as originally planned.

[i3oilermaker]

Techkeys will have Numpad and Tsangan in stock.

[Mercury7]

Any manufacturing updates?

[norbauer]

Any manufacturing updates?

I haven't heard anything yet since the screenprint artwork went out to the third-party printer. Presumably they're still waiting on that process to complete at this point.

[taylordcraig]

Any manufacturing updates?

I haven't heard anything yet since the screenprint artwork went out to the third-party printer. Presumably they're still waiting on that process to complete at this point.

I'm so f-ing hype for this set.

[DanielT]

Yep, this is THE SET for me but I have patience I want it to be perfect 
This will go on my future sprit 60%

[norbauer]

Yep, this is THE SET for me but I have patience I want it to be perfect 
This will go on my future sprit 60%

Any manufacturing updates?

I haven't heard anything yet since the screenprint artwork went out to the third-party printer. Presumably they're still waiting on that process to complete at this point.

I'm so f-ing hype for this set.

Thanks, guys. I'm glad I'm not the only one!

It looks like the CM Novatouch release got pushed back two weeks, so I guess I'll manage to wait longer for Galaxy Class. I still can't believe that I'll soon have an LCARS keyset, and on a Topre board no less.

[DanielT]

Nova Touch and LCARS that will be a match made in heaven Now I remembered that I have to get a numpad when you're a 60% guy like me you need one for the best Numpad kit ever
I think the hype will go up the day when Melissa will send the first photos with the set
I think we are lucky that SP learned a lot with the Granite GB and will not repeat the same mistakes with Galaxy Class

[D01]

Whats worse than waiting for this set is day dreaming over which keyboard I'm going to put this on.  Full size, TKL, TKL with separate number pad, one with back lighting, no back lighting, I can't frik'n decide.

[norbauer]

I think we are lucky that SP learned a lot with the Granite GB and will not repeat the same mistakes with Galaxy Class

Interesting. I'm not familiar with the details. What happened?

[Mercury7]

I think we are lucky that SP learned a lot with the Granite GB and will not repeat the same mistakes with Galaxy Class

Interesting. I'm not familiar with the details. What happened?

Quality control was hit or miss. One of their presses was off so some keys had legends misaligned, keys had uneven spacing due to slightly off stems, keys that had odd warps, etc. The galaxy group buy has a lot of pictures of the misalignment and odd spacings

[norbauer]

I think we are lucky that SP learned a lot with the Granite GB and will not repeat the same mistakes with Galaxy Class

Interesting. I'm not familiar with the details. What happened?

Quality control was hit or miss. One of their presses was off so some keys had legends misaligned, keys had uneven spacing due to slightly off stems, keys that had odd warps, etc. The galaxy group buy has a lot of pictures of the misalignment and odd spacings

Ah, interesting. Yes, I suspect that with dye sublimation getting the registration just right is the biggest challenge. Hopefully they've learned some QA lessons that will carry over into this buy.

My own main concern/hope is that the colors on the numpad nav-wheel thing end up looking good. Because we're mixing a dye with an underlying resin color, it's hard to predict what the end-result is going to look like. I specified that ideally the colors on the legends should match the color of the blue resin used elsewhere in the set for key faces to make things visually cohere. However, the ultimate color resulting the combination of pigments is hard to predict. Hopefully it ends up looking good at least, even if not a perfect match.

Also, registration is going to be a concern on the numpad set, since we're bringing the printing right to the edge of the key face. Being off by even a tiny bit will be very obvious there.

[taylordcraig]

Very excited to see the results!

[DanielT]

Just received some news, it is looking good

Just wanted to give a quick update on the Galaxy Group Buy! We received sublimation paper for the full core set but are still waiting on the others as they involve custom colors (my supplier indicated this will take a bit longer than normal as they had to source the correct colors). I hope to be able to test the core set next week (production schedule willing) and will send a sample image to the Key Collective and pending his approval will hopefully be able to send this picture out to the rest of you. We are still a few weeks away yet and we thank you for your patience on this one!!!
As a side note, to all of you concerned about the issues we had with the Granite set, we have those worked out and this set should hopefully be close to perfect!
 
Melissa Petersen

[Mercury7]

Good to hear Perhaps we'll see sets shipping near the end of august

[DanielT]

I guess by the end of September I will get mine, for this ine there is no way to ditch the customs, I'm going to pay a kings ransom but it will be worth 

[DanielT]

Any updates ? At least a picture would be so nice

[norbauer]

Any updates ? At least a picture would be so nice

As it happens, a copy of the core set is on its way to me right now to photograph and share here, hopefully next week. I'll have some more updates soon. I have seen preliminary results that are very promising/exciting, and I look forward to being able to share them in the coming few days.

[DanielT]

Can't wait to see the first photos, and I'm glad that you will be making those
This is good news

[norbauer]

So I got the first sample of the Core Set, and I have to say, things are looking amazing. The color-matching has truly exceeded my wildest hopes, and I'm incredibly pleased with the overall color scheme (both the individual matches, and how the colors look together).




Sorry that the pics I have were hastily taken on my dining room table. I figured everyone would want to see them sooner rather than wait for my light tent to arrive next week.

The legends using this screen-print process are like nothing I've seen in PBT before. Here is a capture from an image with my 58mm lens at 100% zoom (i.e., ultra close-up)



Here is a high-res of the full set. I tried to massage this one a bit in Photoshop to give the best possible sense of what the colors look like in person (the camera tends to over-saturate them compared to how they look IRL).



The numpad is causing a bit of a hold-up, unfortunately. The color-matching looks good based on a rough sample they sent me, but I don't want to post it because the registration is off and the sublimation quality not consistent with the rest of the set. Melissa is working hard on improving this before moving to final production. This is going to cause a slight hold-up as they thus have to go back to their sublimation paper supplier's ink supplier (in Europe) to see if a better formulation will be possible. She'll be sending out an update to all buyers to this effect shortly. However, I have reassured to her (and I hope this is OK with the majority of buyers) that we'd prefer to wait to get things right rather than rush to production. This GB has been many months in the making, so we want to make sure everything comes out perfectly (especially given the importance of the numpad to the overall uniqueness of the set's graphic elements). We should have more updates on this subject this coming week.

In short, though, I am stunned at how well this set has come out so far. The Pantone matching was perfect, and I think gets just the right yellow we struggled so long to obtain. And these screenprint legends are crazy awesome; they do a great job of capturing the characteristic details of the tiny Swiss 911 font. Also, FWIW, I can vouch that the PBT DSA caps feel amazing to the touch when typing on an MX Red board (the one you saw in the photos).

I'm feeling very good at this point about all the creative choices we made up to this point. I hope you guys all agree.

[DanielT]

I'm speechless
It looks so good, even better I have ever imagined.
The numpad has yo be perfect too, so it's OK to take all the time they need.
Great job 

[animaliaparadoxa]

Looks awesome. The yellow is more vibrant than I was expecting but I'm still really pleased.

[norbauer]

Looks awesome. The yellow is more vibrant than I was expecting but I'm still really pleased.

It is actually less vibrant than it looks in the photos, especially now that I look at them on my phone here. The camera creates a slight over-saturation, for some reason. I tried to correct for this a little in the third image, but you'll mostly just have to take my word for it. monitors vary considerably.

[animaliaparadoxa]

That's good news. My nexus 5 over saturates too. Now I'm even more anxious to find a tsangan kit to use this on my lightsaver.

[DanielT]

techkeys will have the tsangan kit on stock, I think around 20 sets, but expect to pay a kings randsom for this one. The kit was $50 in the GB and I doubt anyone will part from it for less. But it's worth every penny 
This is as from now my end game set, and I'm glad I didn't miss this GB

[chrisq]

Better than I dared to hope for, amazing job!

[LechnerDE]

Looking really good!

I am glad I ordered this very unique set 

[DanielT]

Unique is the the perfect description for this set. Never seen such crisp legends on a dye sub key set 

[MOZ]

Looking very good from the colors to the crisp legends.