Author Topic: [IC] KAM Little Pilot – Group Buy Starts December 6th  (Read 65496 times)

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Offline voight-kampff

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #50 on: Wed, 02 May 2018, 11:24:20 »
great   :cool:

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #51 on: Sun, 06 May 2018, 16:05:56 »
Great news!

Do you know what manufacturing process Zfrontier will use?
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #52 on: Mon, 07 May 2018, 13:21:24 »
Great news!

Do you know what manufacturing process Zfrontier will use?

Manufacturing will be done by Keyreative using their air dye-sub process! From what I've seen the legends are super sharp and detailed, should have samples for this set in a week or two.

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #53 on: Mon, 07 May 2018, 13:48:50 »

Manufacturing will be done by Keyreative using their air dye-sub process! From what I've seen the legends are super sharp and detailed, should have samples for this set in a week or two.

Nice. Guessing the mods will be reverse dye sub?
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #54 on: Mon, 07 May 2018, 17:08:54 »
Nice. Guessing the mods will be reverse dye sub?

I believe so, should be the same as DSA Drifter which was also manufactured by Keyreative.

Offline fombat

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #55 on: Thu, 17 May 2018, 00:04:30 »
This set is a definite yes from me. The only thing I'll say is there have to be some novelties even if they suck and are awkward novelties make the set
Look at sa Kobayashi. I understand the worry but it really is unwarranted especially if you don't just say ISLE OF DOGS everywhere.

The manufacturering technique being used has some of the most impressive novelty potential and I hate seeing it wasted

Offline tigerali

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #56 on: Thu, 17 May 2018, 15:41:48 »
What about the kanji for dog and island, per the movie title, for novelties or mods? There's likely a decent Japanese typeface that would match the English pretty well, and it would still be "text."

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #57 on: Thu, 17 May 2018, 17:12:48 »
Some novelties ideas: Enter key saying "Megasaki"

Partnership with RAMA for a color-matched red aluminum XO keycap, like RAMA XO Olivia
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #58 on: Fri, 18 May 2018, 17:31:05 »
I don't plan on adding a novelties kit, the design was always about the typography. I've explored some text based ones but ultimately scrapped them for clashing with the minimal, uniform aesthetic. I am working on a single dog face novelty that will be included in the mods though. 

Offline superhawk610

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #59 on: Fri, 25 May 2018, 13:52:01 »
I'm brand new to custom keysets but I LOVE this kit and want to make absolutely sure I get in when it goes up  :-*. How can I get notified via GH/Massdrop, and what's the time frame for this sort of thing usually like?

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #60 on: Fri, 25 May 2018, 14:40:08 »
I'm brand new to custom keysets but I LOVE this kit and want to make absolutely sure I get in when it goes up  :-*. How can I get notified via GH/Massdrop, and what's the time frame for this sort of thing usually like?

If you click Notify on top, you will get an email every time someone responds. I'm sure Kema will post something when the groupbuy opens up.

As for how long, group buys usually take 3+ months.
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline ojrask

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #61 on: Fri, 25 May 2018, 16:37:20 »
I'm brand new to custom keysets but I LOVE this kit and want to make absolutely sure I get in when it goes up  :-*. How can I get notified via GH/Massdrop, and what's the time frame for this sort of thing usually like?
Notify button sends you emails. And just as you replied the forum added this topic to a list that gets listed in the "Show new replies to your posts" view when there are new replies. It is in the header under the GH logo.

I often miss emails so I just reply to the threads I want to follow.

Depending on the custom colors and novelties of a keyset the timeframe could be 4-12 months after GB phase begins, sometimes even longer if the set is super customized and has loads of QA. Some keysets spend years in IC phase too.
Current:
    Ducky DK9008P [MX Blues] | WASD V2 TKL [MX Blues] | r63 (Satan 60% DIY) [Gateron Browns] | BananaSplit 60% [Gateron Greens] | UK78 [67g Zealios] | Infinity ErgoDox [MX Clears] | Pearl 40% [78g Zealios] | G81-3000
Coming up:
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Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #62 on: Thu, 31 May 2018, 10:56:51 »
Hey all, samples seem to be a bit delayed, really not sure if i'll get them this week or the next, will pester them again. What I do know is that the GB will run for 1 month and should ship out 4-5 months after GB ends, so EOY 2018 if things go super smooth and early 2019 if not!

Update: Keyreative currently super backed up, no exact eta on when the samples will be finished, but theyre working on it!
« Last Edit: Fri, 01 June 2018, 14:08:03 by kema »

Offline goodman247

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #63 on: Thu, 31 May 2018, 23:18:56 »
Man, if I have this set in my office, it will make a lot of people jealous!! Great looking set!!

Offline Mekuno

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #64 on: Sun, 03 June 2018, 22:50:39 »
Will be on this set, /watched

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #65 on: Mon, 04 June 2018, 11:23:28 »
zFrontier will receive the samples from Keyreative by end of the week, then ship them out to me early next week!

Thanks for the interest, everyone!

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #66 on: Sat, 09 June 2018, 13:14:50 »
Sample shots are in!

Notes:
Alphas look perfect color/positioning wise
Yellow modifier text needs work, looks too dull here
Red keys need to be darker, more red. Almost looks orange-red here








« Last Edit: Sat, 09 June 2018, 13:24:01 by kema »

Offline Mekuno

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #67 on: Sat, 09 June 2018, 13:34:52 »
looks fantastic so far, loving the alphas, keep it the way it is. I agree with the yellows, it could be a bit brighter but maybe that's because how small the texts are? As for the red, yes, moar red!!!

I wonder how this set would look on champagne M65-A  ^-^
« Last Edit: Sat, 09 June 2018, 13:36:50 by mikenogo »

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #68 on: Sat, 09 June 2018, 14:10:42 »
looks fantastic so far, loving the alphas, keep it the way it is. I agree with the yellows, it could be a bit brighter but maybe that's because how small the texts are? As for the red, yes, moar red!!!

I wonder how this set would look on champagne M65-A  ^-^

Yeah it’s probably an optical effect from tiny yellow forms surrounded by black. I’ll take a closer look and figure something out when I get my hands on the samples!

Offline garbo

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #69 on: Mon, 11 June 2018, 17:49:17 »
It seems keyreative might be abandoning DSA in favour of the new KAM profile for their future projects, unless I'm misinterpreting the zfrontier post that was linked in the starry nights r2 update (http://zfrontier.com/post/detail/7214).

Does anyone know more about this and whether it would apply to this set?

Offline dr_derivative

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #70 on: Mon, 11 June 2018, 18:38:19 »
In the email they sent Starry Night GB participants they also said:

Quote
This will not affect DSA Mystery Group Buy and future Keyreative DSA products.
Keyreative will maintain it's DSA line along with the new KAM line.
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Offline garbo

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #71 on: Mon, 11 June 2018, 18:53:07 »
In the email they sent Starry Night GB participants they also said:

Quote
This will not affect DSA Mystery Group Buy and future Keyreative DSA products.
Keyreative will maintain it's DSA line along with the new KAM line.

Ah, thanks. I'd missed that, and was wondering about the line "as this profile will replace DSA profile in our lineups" from the zfrontier post.

Was sort of hoping it might, tbh. Looks like I'd find it to be an improvement to some of the aspects of DSA (texture, shape, thickness) that I'm not so fond of.

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #72 on: Mon, 11 June 2018, 22:34:22 »
Ooh very cool, thanks for sharing that. I did have smooth tops in mind when designing the Inu keyset, will see if KAM could be a possibility for this set or my next one!

Edit: So KAM profile for this set is a possibility, but will delay things by around 2 months. I'm going to wait to get the DSA samples before deciding anything. What are your thoughts on KAM vs DSA for the Inu keyset?
« Last Edit: Mon, 11 June 2018, 22:56:41 by kema »

Offline goodman247

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #73 on: Mon, 11 June 2018, 23:31:07 »
Very good simple and elegant design really, and love the name!!

Offline dr_unconscionable

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #74 on: Tue, 12 June 2018, 10:30:56 »
I'd be interested in trying the KAM profile and I'm in no hurry at all, personally, but it obviously isn't a deal breaker -- this set looks great as is.

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #75 on: Wed, 13 June 2018, 18:02:40 »
I think the hiragana looked great in the renders but turned out a little too thick in the samples. I think they need to be slightly thinner to not look like one mushy blob
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline heilstrahl

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #76 on: Fri, 15 June 2018, 10:16:06 »
I’m very interested in the KAM profile as well! As excited as I am for the set, I think KAM would be worth the wait.

Offline dimo

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #77 on: Fri, 15 June 2018, 15:16:10 »
kam kam kam kam

Offline switchnollie

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #78 on: Fri, 15 June 2018, 15:30:42 »
Those samples look great :cool:


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Offline StrangPrisoner

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #79 on: Fri, 15 June 2018, 16:56:03 »
Those samples look great. Definitely willing to wait for Kam.

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #80 on: Fri, 15 June 2018, 20:09:56 »


Just got the samples from zFrontier and overall things are looking great! The surface is actually very lightly textured and same as the sides (feels completely smooth to the touch), no complaints there.
Because I'm happy with the surface quality, I'll be sticking with DSA for this set to keep things moving, but will definitely look into KAM profile for future projects!


– I missed the apostrophe character when prepping my .ai file, fixed that already.

– Esc and Enter keys are basically bright orange-red... need those to match the hiragana legends' red and we're gucci, it'll really make a huge difference.

– The yellow is seeming dull in the modifiers is because the text is rendering too thinly, same goes for the esc and enter keys. Also need to push the color slightly warmer to match the design.

– Alpha black legends are slightly too thick, red legends are spot on though.

– Also oddly enough, the function keys and space bar are a different white than the alphas. Will get those matched up.

I think the hiragana looked great in the renders but turned out a little too thick in the samples. I think they need to be slightly thinner to not look like one mushy blob

I actually made them slightly thicker in my designs to match the stroke of the black letters, they look pretty good to me in person. Maybe the sample photos from zFrontier were a tad fuzzy.




For reference, here's my design in Illustrator, you can also see the cute shiba inu novelty that'll be included:



« Last Edit: Fri, 15 June 2018, 20:16:56 by kema »

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #81 on: Sat, 16 June 2018, 00:48:06 »
Love your attention to detail. Glad you're designing and running this set. Can't wait.
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline Mekuno

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #82 on: Sat, 16 June 2018, 02:20:35 »
very nice kema, I like the no-compromise attitude you have with this project. It will definitely pay off!

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #83 on: Sat, 16 June 2018, 13:38:44 »
Love your attention to detail. Glad you're designing and running this set. Can't wait.

very nice kema, I like the no-compromise attitude you have with this project. It will definitely pay off!

Thanks guys! Hopefully we can get these details ironed out and start the group buy soon!
« Last Edit: Sat, 16 June 2018, 13:41:08 by kema »

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #84 on: Sat, 07 July 2018, 14:41:48 »
Any updates on this set?
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #85 on: Sat, 07 July 2018, 17:49:30 »
Any updates on this set?

The kits are totally done, final design templates were sent over and to zFrontier. Packaging designs complete and sent over today as well. Seems like they're quite busy with other sets but i'll check to see the status of the color fixes!

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #86 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 12:36:46 »
ScrambledEggz of zFrontier has suggested going with KAM profile after trying out the new KAT profile for awhile and I'm up for that change. Better quality, smooth tops, and homing keys (which Keyreative DSA  lacks). Downside is GB will be pushed back by 1-2 months. But at this point it seems like Keyreative is backed up with other sets and we might have needed to wait that long anyways.

Offline slxdegrees

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #87 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 12:40:00 »
ScrambledEggz of zFrontier has suggested going with KAM profile after trying out the new KAT profile for awhile and I'm up for that change. Better quality, smooth tops, and homing keys (which Keyreative DSA  lacks). Downside is GB will be pushed back by 1-2 months. But at this point it seems like Keyreative is backed up with other sets and we might have needed to wait that long anyways.
What material will this keyset be made of then? ABS or PBT?

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #88 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 12:43:59 »
ScrambledEggz of zFrontier has suggested going with KAM profile after trying out the new KAT profile for awhile and I'm up for that change. Better quality, smooth tops, and homing keys (which Keyreative DSA  lacks). Downside is GB will be pushed back by 1-2 months. But at this point it seems like Keyreative is backed up with other sets and we might have needed to wait that long anyways.
What material will this keyset be made of then? ABS or PBT?

Will still be PBT, KAM just happens to be the first PBT keycaps to have smooth surfaces!

Offline mrkantz

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #89 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 12:45:18 »
DSA was a big selling point for me, so I'll probably pass if it changes.

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Offline garbo

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Re: [IC] DSA Inu (Made by Kema x zFrontier)
« Reply #90 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 12:51:41 »
 :thumb: I'm happy about this - the set will be a good one to try the profile with. The people who've tried KAT seem to be impressed.

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #91 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 12:53:40 »
I'm on team DSA. The texture is very nice.
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #92 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 13:05:09 »
Changing from DSA definitely removes the option to customize/mix which sucks, but KAM is closer to the original vision and better quality overall - also homing keys are pretty huge for usability.

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #93 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 13:10:03 »
My main concern is that Zfrontier has been trying to push many GBs to use KAM because it is their own profile but they're claims of better quality as unsubstantiated. Especially with a keyset like this one with very intricate designs, who knows how it's going to turn out.

As someone who uses DSA extensively, lack of a honing key had never been an issue. Also, KAM is 1mm taller, making the keys look lanky.
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #94 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 13:12:08 »
Changing from DSA definitely removes the option to customize/mix which sucks, but KAM is closer to the original vision and better quality overall - also homing keys are pretty huge for usability.

KAM is uniform so mixing should be fine I thought. KAT, however, is not uniform
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #95 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 13:53:04 »
My main concern is that Zfrontier has been trying to push many GBs to use KAM because it is their own profile but they're claims of better quality as unsubstantiated. Especially with a keyset like this one with very intricate designs, who knows how it's going to turn out.

As someone who uses DSA extensively, lack of a honing key had never been an issue. Also, KAM is 1mm taller, making the keys look lanky.

I totally get that concern, I haven't handled any KAM samples but I'm hoping the claims are true and look forward to seeing how any new samples turn out. The larger top surface, thicker walls, and tighter spacing between keys are pretty attractive on paper. I don't see why the dyesub quality/detail would be any different since it's still the same manufacturer.


KAM is uniform so mixing should be fine I thought. KAT, however, is not uniform

Yeah KAM is uniform, I meant mixing alphas/modifiers with other DSA sets which would look a bit odd with the height difference.
« Last Edit: Wed, 11 July 2018, 14:10:16 by kema »

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #96 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 14:09:30 »
Also I hate to suddenly switch from DSA on you man, you've been active in the thread for a while and I really do appreciate that. I feel like KAM is worth a shot and I'm personally interested in trying it.

Offline StrangPrisoner

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #97 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 14:27:57 »
I'm looking forward to trying the KAM profile and appreciate a little more time to budget for the set. I've been very impressed and appreciative of your attention to detail and how communicative you have been. I am on board regardless of the profile and wish you the best in this endeavor.

Offline meniscus-

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #98 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 14:31:32 »
Also I hate to suddenly switch from DSA on you man, you've been active in the thread for a while and I really do appreciate that. I feel like KAM is worth a shot and I'm personally interested in trying it.

I'm looking forward to trying the KAM profile and appreciate a little more time to budget for the set. I've been very impressed and appreciative of your attention to detail and how communicative you have been. I am on board regardless of the profile and wish you the best in this endeavor.

LOOKING FORWARD TO THE KAM PROFILE BRING IT ON FEELIN THE LOVE
Anything larger than a 65% is extraneous!

Offline lucaslink

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Re: [IC] KAM Inu (MbK x zFrontier)
« Reply #99 on: Wed, 11 July 2018, 14:59:22 »
Ohh la la! This is beautiful! Nice use of LL Brown, one of my all time favourites. If I could stomach anything other than cherry profile, I'd be all over this.