The latest update has been posted on the Brand New Model F project site.
https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/blog/I have excerpted some of the most salient sections below:
There are not many new updates in the past month – the main focus is on continuing to mail out the keyboards and key sets, which will continue over the coming months until everything has been mailed out. Please review the prior updates below for other recent updates.
I thank everyone for their patience as I become the final bottleneck of the project, QCing and mailing out each order. I expect to continue mailing out orders for the rest of this year into early next year, so please refrain from asking me when your keyboard or key set will ship as I cannot estimate where any one order is in the queue.
Split shipments of the keys started going out this month:
For approximately one year (2020 to early 2021) there was the split shipping option, where you could get your in stock keyboard early without the included printed keys and use existing Model F or Model M keys while waiting for the new production dye sublimated keys to be ready (the first batch started shipping earlier this year). This helped folks get their keyboards earlier to start using them, as well as helped me get keyboards out early while I had some downtime, so that there would be less of a backlog once the keys were ready. Of course many keyboards with unprinted key sets also went out at that time, when their spot in the queue came up.
After testing and mailing out a whole lot of keyboards in recent months, this month I switched gears to start mailing out the “all in stock” split shipping key sets. If you ordered a key set that is not yet in stock (example: international language sets, custom extra keys, front printed keys, Industrial SSK 12 key set, etc.) then you still have to wait for everything to be in stock before the remaining items in your orders can ship. First up in the priority is all of the “all in stock” low serial project supporters, and then the “all in stock” remaining sets after that.
Once again I will note that I am incredibly appreciative of the patient community of Model F fans who have been waiting for this last piece of the puzzle, a “key” part of the project (pun intended!), to finish and who support the project’s philosophy of high quality standards even at the expense of delays. Without such a patient community, this project could have easily gone in another direction. Brand New Model F Keyboards started shipping in December 2019 and will continue shipping throughout the rest of this year into early next year, so do not be alarmed if your keyboard has not yet shipped; I haven’t forgotten about anyone! Please do read the previous posts for more details about the challenges and scary parts (!) of the journey so you can see the reasons behind the past delays and bottlenecks that held things up.
Remaining key sets to be produced:
The factory is still working on the international sets and extra keys. This year Zed and I have been reviewing and approving the sets as photos of the sample sets have been sent to me by the factory. Most of the international sets have been approved as of this point in time but the factory still needs to work on the Front Printed key sets and all the various Extra Keys, which have always been the last priority, after the main sets, HHKB sets, and Mac sets are all completed.
"Split split" shipping update - a limited option:
The remaining key sets are expected to be completed in the next 1-2 months: international sets, front printed sets (including Industrial SSK 12 key set), and all the various Extra Keys. Details behind the delays and process are below and on the blog post. There have been some requests for "split split" shipping for those who want the new Model F key sets but whose orders are not yet "all in stock" (for example, if they ordered any of the above-mentioned sets). Previously everything had to be all in stock to ship but I am now opening up a limited window for those who prefer not to wait any longer and are fine with an additional shipping cost. Again I recommend that everyone waits if possible so that there is no additional cost. For the split split option please order 10 additional units of the store item $1 increments for US shipping addresses and 20 units for international addresses, and choose free/other shipping at checkout, right before clicking Place Order. This would be something to consider if you ordered a US key set (in pearl/pebble, blue, or dark gray), HHKB 6 key set, Mac 6 key set, DVORAK or COLEMAK 4 key set (different keys nubbed for the home row), or UK set.
Of course this option doesn't let you jump the queue and expedite me mailing your keyboard if it has not been mailed already - this limited option is only for those who want keys and maybe some in stock accessories shipped ahead of time (first aid kits, solenoids, extra USB cables, barrels, flippers, springs, etc.). This option is subject to stock availability.