[IC] Zambumon Verne: Custom TKL

[Zambumon]

I think it's nice to see you are putting so many 'unusual' features in this board that are new. It's not just some 10degree angle, few standard ano options, big brass weight and a cheesegrate plate with some ****ty logo on it.

It's got many unusual features which seem to reflect what you think of as important, such as having a fixed plate and slightly different gaps. Good stuff 

I don't think it has many unusual features if we compare it with other boards. The finishes are those that I want for sets that I like or use, and the layout has been used in the past by many other custom keyboards.

In any case, the idea was to make a board for myself that other people could enjoy too.

[lakeboredom]

When you say no per key leds, does that just mean for rgbs? Can still do solid color leds right?

[Zambumon]

When you say no per key leds, does that just mean for rgbs? Can still do solid color leds right?

RGBs. You can install single color LEDs on the PCB but I don't think it will be a feature that a lot of people are going to use.

[x9Memoriez]

So silver won't be an option I take?

[Puddsy]

So silver won't be an option I take?

No

[RamenTechMech]

That blue version tho 

So beautiful!

[Starston3]

That blue version tho 

So beautiful!

Sadly won't be offered. Too difficult to match.

[Techno Trousers]

Why is it still featured in the OP then?

[Starston3]

Why is it still featured in the OP then?

Zambu probably hasn't gotten around to updating it.

[RamenTechMech]

That blue version tho 

So beautiful!

Sadly won't be offered. Too difficult to match.

Awe 

Understandable though, thanks for letting me know! Still gonna pick one up

[Zambumon]

Why is it still featured in the OP then?

Zambu probably hasn't gotten around to updating it.

That's correct. I am looking for alternatives that could replace the blue with something fancier.

[Rumblehotep]

Well you could swing the other direction with Nautilus colorway and go gold/yellow/neon acid lemon?

[Zambumon]

Well you could swing the other direction with Nautilus colorway and go gold/yellow/neon acid lemon?

We'll see.

[olivia]

What about rose gold? 

[Caelestic]

We'll see.

Nautilus Nightmares green :3 (but I guess this one is hard to match, too).

[ReDsNoTDeAd]

In for this if I can't find a 2nd hand Korean board

[Zambumon]

In for this if I can't find a 2nd hand Korean board

That's a weird way of expressing your interest...

[Puddsy]

In for this if I can't find a 2nd hand Korean board

How to lose a raffle 101 right here

[Oblotzky]

I guess I'll have to settle for this one if I can't find a refurbished Ctrl board

[cijanzen]

I guess I'll have to settle for this one if I can't find a refurbished Ctrl board

Ouch

Edit: does that mean I can have your oblivion grey one?

[bthezebra]

Do we have an estimate for the GB start?

[Zambumon]

Do we have an estimate for the GB start?

No ETA yet. When everything is ready, you'll know.

[Zambumon]

RE:Group Buy

 I've juggling many things simulatenously so for now I can't give you an ETA of when I'll do a group buy, perhaps it could be a 2 weeks, or maybe a month or more. If there's going to be a delay, it will be this one.

So, if it wasn't obvious, I've already have the boards and PCBs with me. I fronted the production for all the keyboard parts many months ago and this is the reason why the group buy has limited quantities. While this is risky, I took this approach because this way I could assure people that they would be getting what they were paying for, and that I could make sure of that.

Since I have the boards, I've already inspected them all. Overall, they all the red and grey boards are good, and aside one or two none present any major issues.  However, I wasn't happy at all with the blue keyboards, as they don't have the anodization requested and many units present a very noticeable color mismatch. This is why earlier this month I announced that I wasn't going to offer initially Nautilus Blue Vernes.

My current plan for those boards is to strip the anodization and powder coat them. As I'm writing these lines there's a local factory working on a sample for me. Keep in mind that those boards are probably going to be more expensive.

Also, I made some boxes.

[Starston3]

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RE:Group Buy

 I've juggling many things simulatenously so for now I can't give you an ETA of when I'll do a group buy, perhaps it could be a 2 weeks, or maybe a month or more. If there's going to be a delay, it will be this one.

So, if it wasn't obvious, I've already have the boards and PCBs with me. I fronted the production for all the keyboard parts many months ago and this is the reason why the group buy has limited quantities. While this is risky, I took this approach because this way I could assure people that they would be getting what they were paying for, and that I could make sure of that.

Since I have the boards, I've already inspected them all. Overall, they all the red and grey boards are good, and aside one or two none present any major issues.  However, I wasn't happy at all with the blue keyboards, as they don't have the anodization requested and many units present a very noticeable color mismatch. This is why earlier this month I announced that I wasn't going to offer initially Nautilus Blue Vernes.

My current plan for those boards is to strip the anodization and powder coat them. As I'm writing these lines there's a local factory working on a sample for me. Keep in mind that those boards are probably going to be more expensive.

I’m fine with waiting and a higher cost blue Verne.

[RamenTechMech]

I can't wait to see how it'll look like with powder coating  And willing to wait as well for this GB Is the PCB still blue? The color is very rich and pops out from the pictures you had.

[Zambumon]

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RE:Group Buy

 I've juggling many things simulatenously so for now I can't give you an ETA of when I'll do a group buy, perhaps it could be a 2 weeks, or maybe a month or more. If there's going to be a delay, it will be this one.

So, if it wasn't obvious, I've already have the boards and PCBs with me. I fronted the production for all the keyboard parts many months ago and this is the reason why the group buy has limited quantities. While this is risky, I took this approach because this way I could assure people that they would be getting what they were paying for, and that I could make sure of that.

Since I have the boards, I've already inspected them all. Overall, they all the red and grey boards are good, and aside one or two none present any major issues.  However, I wasn't happy at all with the blue keyboards, as they don't have the anodization requested and many units present a very noticeable color mismatch. This is why earlier this month I announced that I wasn't going to offer initially Nautilus Blue Vernes.

My current plan for those boards is to strip the anodization and powder coat them. As I'm writing these lines there's a local factory working on a sample for me. Keep in mind that those boards are probably going to be more expensive.

I’m fine with waiting and a higher cost blue Verne.

Just to point out, I won't start the GB for those until we have completed production of those too if it wasn't clear.

[Zambumon]

I can't wait to see how it'll look like with powder coating  And willing to wait as well for this GB Is the PCB still blue? The color is very rich and pops out from the pictures you had.

The PCB are all blue, in fact I'm not 100% sure but the PCB Jae used on his stream is most likely one from the main batch and not the prototype batch.

[RamenTechMech]

I can't wait to see how it'll look like with powder coating  And willing to wait as well for this GB Is the PCB still blue? The color is very rich and pops out from the pictures you had.

The PCB are all blue, in fact I'm not 100% sure but the PCB Jae used on his stream is most likely one from the main batch and not the prototype batch.

Awesome! Thank you for keeping us updated with this. Looking forward to all your keysets as well 

[cijanzen]

RE:Group Buy

 I've juggling many things simulatenously so for now I can't give you an ETA of when I'll do a group buy, perhaps it could be a 2 weeks, or maybe a month or more. If there's going to be a delay, it will be this one.

So, if it wasn't obvious, I've already have the boards and PCBs with me. I fronted the production for all the keyboard parts many months ago and this is the reason why the group buy has limited quantities. While this is risky, I took this approach because this way I could assure people that they would be getting what they were paying for, and that I could make sure of that.

Since I have the boards, I've already inspected them all. Overall, they all the red and grey boards are good, and aside one or two none present any major issues.  However, I wasn't happy at all with the blue keyboards, as they don't have the anodization requested and many units present a very noticeable color mismatch. This is why earlier this month I announced that I wasn't going to offer initially Nautilus Blue Vernes.

My current plan for those boards is to strip the anodization and powder coat them. As I'm writing these lines there's a local factory working on a sample for me. Keep in mind that those boards are probably going to be more expensive.

Also, I made some boxes.

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Packaging looks great! Can’t wait to see these out in the wild and hopefully one on my desk :fingers crossed:

[maximize]

RE:Group Buy

 I've juggling many things simulatenously so for now I can't give you an ETA of when I'll do a group buy, perhaps it could be a 2 weeks, or maybe a month or more. If there's going to be a delay, it will be this one.

So, if it wasn't obvious, I've already have the boards and PCBs with me. I fronted the production for all the keyboard parts many months ago and this is the reason why the group buy has limited quantities. While this is risky, I took this approach because this way I could assure people that they would be getting what they were paying for, and that I could make sure of that.

Since I have the boards, I've already inspected them all. Overall, they all the red and grey boards are good, and aside one or two none present any major issues.  However, I wasn't happy at all with the blue keyboards, as they don't have the anodization requested and many units present a very noticeable color mismatch. This is why earlier this month I announced that I wasn't going to offer initially Nautilus Blue Vernes.

My current plan for those boards is to strip the anodization and powder coat them. As I'm writing these lines there's a local factory working on a sample for me. Keep in mind that those boards are probably going to be more expensive.

Also, I made some boxes.

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This is an interesting approach to running a GB. No explicit feedback from the community, just provide a product and let people purchase it. Like any stocked product you can buy at the store or online. The turnaround time feels very quick since we had no idea what was going on behind the scenes (at least, I didn't follow closely enough to put the pieces together). Seems like it'll work out well for you since you have plenty of experience with the hobby, community, and customers. On the other hand, it could be disastrous for someone who didn't know what they were doing or produced a terrible product.

[Luciqueii]

No brass weight? I would like to a huge brass weight in the back.

[Zambumon]

No brass weight? I would like to a huge brass weight in the back.

no. At no point on during the development I considered adding one. More pieces, higher price, and increased complexity.

Verne won't have a weight, specially since all the boards have already been made.

[Puddsy]

No brass weight? I would like to a huge brass weight in the back.

ah yeah mate i'll just drill a hole in the finished cases

[cijanzen]

No brass weight? I would like to a huge brass weight in the back.

ah yeah mate i'll just drill a hole in the finished cases

But only after you give up finding that Korean board, right?

[RamenTechMech]

No brass weight? I would like to a huge brass weight in the back.

ah yeah mate i'll just drill a hole in the finished cases

But only after you give up finding that Korean board, right?

hehehehe

[click clack jack]

This is absolutely beautiful. Your style is top tier. With the absolute beauty of your kepcap sets I'm not surprised that this is wonderful as well. Will be attempting to get one too! I promised cijanzen that if I get it and he doesn't, I will send him flowers  )

[blizzara01]

Imma watch this closely  )

[Zambumon]

Apologies for the bad pics.



I've received a powder coat sample of Verne. This one was done locally, and both the color and finish are pretty good.

Unfortunately there's a downside of powder coating these boards. Since the powder caot addsa layer of paint to the pieces, the slots I've been using for alignment purposes are now heavily reduced and they basically increas the distance between the bottom and top piece. While this is not ideal, I'd rather prefer having on my boards this separation than a mismatched top and bottom or a color that doesn't look that well with Nautilus.

[keyhacker]

That color turned out great!

[maximize]

I think a darker blue would complement Nautilus better, but I agree that the gap doesn't look too great...

[RamenTechMech]

Saw the pictures of the keyboard on Instagram. It looks great but I am concerned about it being a fingerprint magnet as you mentioned on your story 

Idk how many would consider this but how about a matte finish instead of a glossy finish?

[Zambumon]

Saw the pictures of the keyboard on Instagram. It looks great but I am concerned about it being a fingerprint magnet as you mentioned on your story 

Idk how many would consider this but how about a matte finish instead of a glossy finish?

I'd want to go with this color and finish.

[RamenTechMech]

Saw the pictures of the keyboard on Instagram. It looks great but I am concerned about it being a fingerprint magnet as you mentioned on your story 

Idk how many would consider this but how about a matte finish instead of a glossy finish?

I'd want to go with this color and finish.

That is fine, I respect your decision.

Thinking about it more, it would look nice with the PCB since that has a nice gloss to it too. Still plan on picking up a blue one 

[keyhacker]

The other option is cerakoting. CeraKote can be color matched to just about anything and wouldn't have those gaps.

[ItsAllen]

Oh loooordddd. Let this be my first TKL.

[dapdunk]

Looks great with Chocolatier too.

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Chocolate covered cherry, I like it! Will this support split space?

[Zambumon]

Looks great with Chocolatier too.

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Chocolate covered cherry, I like it! Will this support split space?

No split space. Check the OP.

Boards and PCBs have already been made.

[Jkush463]

So are we edging close to the buy?

[Zambumon]

So are we edging close to the buy?

Hopefully yes.

[Maxusy]

would you consider selling some of the 'bad' blues anyway? Maybe some people like it?

Or you don't want to be associated with 'failed' boards and therefore are reluctant to put them out in the open? If it's really bad I guess no one wants them anyway but a little bit of different blue wouldn't deter me too much.