Hey guys, there has been a lot of posting this morning, so I'll try to catch up with one mega-reply.
Hey,
I have been following this case project on the forums (silently) for a long time now and its awesome that it has gone on sale - the case looks fantastic! Just wondering what you think would look best with the stock black-on-black Realforce key caps?
I really cant decide between Aerospace Aluminum, Tactical Black or Space Station White..
At some point I may also get another Realforce keyboard with white keycaps (I quite like the look of Aerospace Aluminum with white keycaps shown in the photos).. however I will stick with the black keycaps for a long time, but I am not sure about the Aerospace Aluminum with black key caps?
Im starting to sway towards the tactical black.. but so hard to decide.. and so little time left, anything that could help make up my mind would be much appreciated!
We're having the same dilemma, I want to decide today really! Don't know if it helps seeing them all together? It didn't help me
My general default recommendation is tactical black. It's the one I intend to use as my daily driver. The hard ano makes it more durable than normal anodizing, and I feel that the black color can go with almost anything. I'm not overly fussy about fingerprints or dust, really, but the point someone made about Aerospace not showing fingerprints as clearly is surely technically true. However, I think the difference is pretty trivial due to the slightly matte finish created by the bead-blasted texture--which shows fingerprints much less than a glossy surface would. The difference is much more significant with the medium- and high-gloss powder coats. Those show fingerprints much more clearly, though again I personally don't mind it, and it's easily buffed away with a cloth if you're showing your boards off at a meet-up, etc. And, with perhaps the exception of gloss black, you really only notice fingerprints under bright light at certain angles (i.e., if you're really looking for it).
Problem for Norbauer is that he is so successful he is drowning in GB requests for numpads, plates, 660C, controllers, etc etc etc. I think there is also room for others in the community to innovate as well. Would love to see more Realforce collabs.
omg, yes this ˆˆˆ
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It's a good problem to have, I'll concede, but there are so keyboard many things that I want to do (and that you guys want me to do) that I couldn't keep up even if I just did keyboard stuff full-time. I always try to do fun projects that accommodate stuff that I and other folks want, but I'm also more than happy to support other community members who want to develop and produce things on their own as well, including if those are things made specifically for a product I designed. This isn't a zero-sum game, and it certainly shouldn't be competitive. The more cool stuff is out there and readily available, the more we all as a community benefit. I love nothing more than collaborating with efficient and productive people.
Anybody who wants to help me develop a programmable RF breakout board, incidentally, please do get in touch. I have all the prototyping, production, commerce, and logistics infrastructure. I just don't have the time to learn all about breakout boards and how to do them properly right now.
Generally, though, (after thinking about it) I prefer to keep this particular GB as advertised and not change up the PCB or anything, just to avoid introducing risk and uncertainty into the production timeline. In the meantime, we can look at arranging some "upgrades" like a brass back cover plate (PVD would be awesome!) and a custom die-cut foam insert. These might be things that I (or someone else) could make available around the time when the cases are actually shipping. I have done laser-cut and machined brass parts from sheet stock before, so I could totally make that happen, but I don't want to steal clappingcactus's thunder here. I would welcome the help and collaboration! I'm also quite happy to share the DXF for the plate profile.
The foam insert I used was from SilverStone, btw. It was recommended to me by PerniciousPony.
Thanks for your inputs, much appreciated!
The colour shown here is the Tactical Black isnt it? https://youtu.be/ZjrVajSvpPw?t=114
And the black case images on the product page are also Tactical Back right? Or are some of them the other black finish (enigma black)?
If it is indeed the Tactical Black in the video, I think its actually very nice - also with white keycaps as shown there.. my worry about the Tactical Black is if its a bit on the "boring" side? As in if you cant as much notice that its not just a plastic case (without touching it)? In the video it certainly looks nice because you can see how the light reacts to it, and it doesn't look completely matte.. which is a bit more difficult to see in the pictures..
so now I'm actually swaying towards the Tactical Black.. LOL )
Yes, the case shown at that timecode in the video is Tactical Black, as well as in the main product listing.
I don't suppose these cases support other internals than Realforce boards? Like sourcing your own plate+pcb?
You'd be much better off using another case; these are quite RealForce-specific due to the unusual (slightly bonkers) nature of the RF plate and PCB design.
Hey,
I have been following this case project on the forums (silently) for a long time now and its awesome that it has gone on sale - the case looks fantastic! Just wondering what you think would look best with the stock black-on-black Realforce key caps?
I really cant decide between Aerospace Aluminum, Tactical Black or Space Station White..
At some point I may also get another Realforce keyboard with white keycaps (I quite like the look of Aerospace Aluminum with white keycaps shown in the photos).. however I will stick with the black keycaps for a long time, but I am not sure about the Aerospace Aluminum with black key caps?
Im starting to sway towards the tactical black.. but so hard to decide.. and so little time left, anything that could help make up my mind would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
Tactical black FTW! Unless you have a very specific need/desire for one of the powder coat options, again my default advice is: save yourself some money and go with hard ano.