With the recent success of Addon/Mod kits for popular Cherry Profile keycap sets, I'd like to introduce my idea for another one.
This mod kit is inspired by the line of vintage
Focus ALPS keyboards which, as few know and those in the know love, came
with
colored Control, Alt and Shift keys. Whether you're a vintage connoisseur, lover of modern minimalism or interested in
getting a splash of color for your classic keyset on the cheap, I'm positive that these caps - made in Germany with the original
Cherry tooling - would satisfy a lot of potential use cases.
The set is comprised entirely of stock colors (U9 Base, RO2, V4 and N7 Legends), as such, the MOQ is 150 (technically, addendum below).
Proposed Kit:
Rev 1:
More
IC Form:Please share your thoughts
in this Google form. Before posting this IC I've already had some rather controversial debates with folks
regarding the kitting, as such, some of the key points of those discussions are part of the form already, in the shape of multiple choice
questions which I'd like you to answer. My goal for this set is to keep it true to its inspiration and small enough to be affordable while
making sure everybody who likes it gets to use it on their layout. Your feedback is very much appreciated.
More Renders:TGR Jane V2 by yuktsi:
Pricing:TBD, depending on retailer margins, the COVID-19 situation, GMK's quote and the general timeline. Also,
MOQ might be upped from 150 and pricing reduced accordingly based on deduction of an attainable volume
of orders from how well this IC is received by the community.
Since I don't want to leave you hanging like this, based on the price point of recent similar sets, I'm hopeful
we'll be able to bring this to people at around $60ish USD.
Vendors:Mykeyboard.eu will be the EU and main vendor for the kit. Regional proxies are TBD.
Estimated Timeline:Please be aware that this depends on a lot of things and as such is a rather fuzzy estimate that will, most likely, be subject to change.
- May 2020: Gather feedback, decide on final kit
- June 2020: Get quote and official render from GMK, Discuss logistics and timeline with vendor(s)
- Fall 2020: Open GB
- Mid-Late 2021: Fulfillment
FAQ:Why not R5? - During the kitting process I've come to the conclusion that most people would use this either a) with 9009/Classic Retro/Dyesub sets (please no)
or b) put it on WKL boards. Therefore the ability to mix the bottom row keys with R4 caps from GMK sets on non-WKL boards takes precedence over making sure
the profile of the alpha block matches that of the arrows on a TKL. If there is enough interest in R5, the needed 150 Ctrl and Alt keys will be added.
After being informed about the fact that 9009R3 comes with an R5 bottom row, the decision to add R5 to the kit has been made.- Please add Windows and Menu keys! - No. It would be in contrast to the inspiration and my ideas for this set.
- I don't need Icon+Text shift keys. - Me neither, but in pre-IC discussions I got a lot of flack for not wanting to provide them. As such I'm convinced a large
number of people need them. Unless 90% of form submissions ask for their removal, they'll stay. - Can you add xyz cap? - If there's a case for something to be added, please convince me to do so by virtue of good reasoning.
- I'd like Alt Gr keys. - I intend to keep the kit well-balanced between compatibility and pricing, therefore adding these is not something I'd do.
- Will this work with 9009R3? It has the new centered icon mods. - Frankly, I'm not sure. It might, it might not. As I don't have access to render assets for
these I can't evaluate that at this point in time. Adding shift keys with the new mods would turn this into a shift kit, not a mod kit, so unless 500 owners of 9009R3
show up to buy this I don't see that happening.
Changelog:- 2020-05-03: Initial Commit
- 2020-05-03: Added R5
Thank you for any feedback, discussion or support. Stay safe and happy clacking!
