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[IC] PBTFans Atomic Purple - In-stock and Pre-orders now live!
Bobatype:
PBTfans™
⚛️ LINKS ⚛️Inspo | Pics | Kits | Deskmats | Collabs| Specs | Logistics | Q&A | Misc
• INSPIRATION •
More than twenty years ago, you were button-mashing with glee… And we both know that still hasn’t changed. So why not relive those good old days by powering up your battle station with a vibrant Atomic Purple theme? Inject some 90s gaming nostalgia into your desk setup with these playful see-through purple plastic keycaps.
Evoking fond childhood memories of playing video games in the 1990s, this keycap set is inspired by the translucent purple colourway of some gaming systems of this iconic era. The keycaps feature a light purple, semi-transparent outer layer; alongside primary coloured accents and novelties that pay homage to some of the classic gaming consoles of yore.
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• GALLERY •PHOTOS
More photographs here: https://kbdfans.com/products/pbtfans-atomic-purple
RENDERSAtom by Pensa
Iron165 by Smith+Rune
Werk One by werk.technica
E8.5 by Exclusive
F1-8k Snow by Geon
Disclaimer: Renders shown are used for illustrative purposes only. Please refer to kits for the most updated keycap layout coverages(top)
• KITTING •
Base Kit
[Covers 60%, 65%, 75%, TKL, with terminal ISO, F13, Tsangan support, and minimal compatibility for some Alice, split space and HHKB layouts.
Novelties and Spacebars are included.]
Katakana Alpha Kit
Accent RGBY Kit
Numpad Kit
40s Kit
International Kit
[For UK, DE, SE/FI, NO, and DK]
⚛️
• DISCLAIMERS •
1. This should not be treated as 100% accurate reproduction of the original Atomic Purple colourway. There are several limitations, such as the original casing shells did not have any underlying white opaque layer below the translucent purple layer, which is unavoidable in this situation due to the double-shot legends. An OEM controller has been used as the primary reference.
2. The inner layer for the keycaps will have holes/gaps visible through the semi-transparent top layer. These are not defects but manufacturing constraints from the double shot injection molding process. Coincidentally this is an appropriate fit for the theme, as the original transparent shells of the source reference also expose the underlying molding structures (i.e. threaded holes for screws). Also consider 'atomic' as a tribute to humanity's curiosity into the inner structure of matter itself. Please refer to the PBTFans X-ray disclaimer for examples of variations possible.
3. The images shown are used for illustrative purposes only. There may be variations because of differences in display output due to lighting, angle of view, and screen calibration. Furthermore the semi-transparent nature of the keycap material adds another variable.
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• DESKPADS •
GBC (Pretendo Purple)
Game Motif - Black
Game Motif - Purple
Atomic Orbit
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• COLLABS • TBCArtisan keycap - Salvun x Maxvoltar x Bobatype
More
Specs: Top is aluminium, stone washed, and laser engraved. Bottom is hand-dyed polycarb.
Kindly DM me on Instagram/Discord to discuss.
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• SPECIFICATIONS •
Material: ABS Material
Profile: Cherry Profile
Manufacturing Method: Double shot injection molding
Manufacturer: PBTfans™
Packaging: ABS keycaps tray with designed tray cover
Compatibility: Cherry MX and MX clones switches
• SAMPLES •
Keycap colour samples confirmed (furthest right is final color approved):
More
Other colours were confirmed on prior rounds (note that R3 purple approval was later retracted and revised)
Deskmat prototypes:
More
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• LOGISTICS •
Estimated Production Completion Date - December 2024
Combination of in-stock and pre-order.
For the specific price, please refer to the local vendors site.
Prices may fluctuate according to local tariffs, shipping etc.
With the extensive novelties and number of colours incorporated into the base, the pricing might be slightly higher than the average PBTFans base kit.
• VENDORS •
Current List of VendorsList of Vendors
Global : KBDFans
US - Divinikey
US - Omnitype
CA - Minokeys
EU - Keygem
EU - MaxGaming - store page pending
UK - MechMods
KR - GEONWORKS - store page pending
CN - Mars.Universe - store page pending
TW - PNKeyboard
SG - ktechs
VN - Uniq Meck
AU - Soupkeys
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• Q&A •
Thoughts behind the design?
MoreI’ve always wanted a retro gaming themed keycap set that I not only had a personal connection with, but also had a bright and playful palette, not based around beige and greys. Atomic Purple hits that mark for me in terms of nostalgia and childhood fun, being the raddest versions of the GBC and N64 controllers. Although translucent tech casing was a fad of the 90s, as a child, the exposed inner electromechanical components of the devices was a visual delight. Being able to have a peek under the plastic increased one’s geeky appreciation/fascination for the underlying technology.
Furthermore, the way these caps hint at the inner molding, much like the source reference, makes me really happy at how it all lines up.
Essentially this is a nostalgic affection for the see-through casing of gaming devices and controllers of the past, particularly the ones that I personally played. I’ll always have a sweet spot for them, as they featured some of the most beloved games of its generation. I can’t say I miss blowing on cartridges though.
‘Atomic’ to me implies looking at the underlying structure, so I wanted to play upon the chemistry angle too. This is why some of the novelties simultaneously resemble atomic structures like nucleus/bonds and also the outlines/shapes of controller buttons. Chemistry is pretty cool too.
How will colour-matching be done?
MoreAfter a significant amount of revisions, I’ve tried my very best at picking the closest physical color code from the RAL/Pantone systems whilst keeping an authentic reference from the OEM on hand for comparisons. This is to assist with consistency across manufacturer, render depictions, and collabs. Please note until I have a keycap sample in hand, it’s still too early to say anything, and anything I do say should be considered subjective as I do not own a spectrophotometer. Be reassured I’m not colour-blind and I will ask others for their opinion too when samples are created. I have discussed with the manufacturer about sending them a physical reference source from the OEM to assist with matching.
Will there be other kits /layout compatibility?
MoreNo. I am limited by the manufacturer constraints on the available doubleshot legend molds, and what kits the vendor also believes are financially viable for minimum order quantities.
Why semi-transparent RGBY accents/novelties instead of opaque?
MoreAlthough the RGBY keys were originally intended to be opaque with subtle RGBY legends to directly reference to the original controller buttons, semi-transparent keys were strongly preferred by the manufacturer due to the costs. Furthermore, renders revealed that the semi-transparent primary coloured keycaps still look fantastic and objectively more consistent; retaining the translucency and white legends adjacent to see-through purple caps. These accents are also meant to represent the portable gaming console’s self-titled introduction of ‘Color’ to its own handheld system.
Throughout this design project, it’s been a delicate task in balancing between interpreting the original theme faithfully, but also not becoming so hung up on an exact reproduction in a different medium; compromising overall design cohesiveness/aesthetic. Thus, please forgive me in advance for the artistic licence that I’ve had to employ at times in regards to the colours and novelties.
What’s next?
MoreConfirming GB/in-stock production timelines and vendors. Collabs. It’s mainly logistical at this point.
I’m currently developing other translucent keycap sets based on 90s early 00s technology/gaming (WIP). Depending on how this particular project goes, I may get an opportunity in the future to run GBs for the other colours in the Funtastic range too (i.e. Grape Purple and Fire Orange) as the novelty molds already exist.
What’s the best gaming console of all-time?
MoreThis is a contentious topic with lots of heated opinions, and it’s hard to compare GOATs across eras, but seriously, it’s the one you grew up with. They all stand on the shoulders of giants before. Personally, the ones that had the most impact on me were in fact the handhelds due to portability.
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• MISC •• FEEDBACK • Please fill in the Feedback/Interest Check form. Thanks!
• SOCIALS • INSTAGRAM | DISCORD
⚛️
• CHANGELOG •Changes will be summarised here as the thread is updated (if I remember)
More2023-04-09: Original Post 2024-03-16: Keycap artisan collab design with Salvun/MVKB 2024-11-20: Red and Yellow colour sample (Round 3) not approved 2024-12-12: Red and Yellow colour sample (Round 4) approved 2024-06-18: Samples with Novelty legends approved, however previous approval for prior Purple colour retracted and revision requested2024-09-27: Purple colour sample approved after 2 more rounds2024-10-17: Packaging Box Artwork finalised 2024-11-13: Production commencement
• THANKS •Thank you to those who provided help, support or design assistance for this project in some form or another. Special shoutouts in particular to:
MoreBob (KBDFans) and Pensa (renders).
Cheers to Its.Hymn for the F1-8K renders. Also to Am for correcting some of the legend tolerances.
To Aiglatson Studio, Cylent and KDD, for providing answers/feedback to some simple questions; your willingness to reply is appreciated.
A nod to Oli for being cool dude I can bounce ideas off.
Appreciation also goes out to developers of Blender, Inkscape, and KRK (Imperfectlink); including the designers of the respective keyboards in the renders depicted.
Acknowledgement goes to other game-themed keycap sets that served as inspiration, such as: GMK DMG, GMK Dualshot, and GMK Cubed.
I also copied Hali’s Horsey IC’s BBcode for hyperlinking sections.
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• Profile Signature Code •
If you’d like to show your support for this project here on Geekhack, you can add the following to your forum profile signature:
--- Code: ---[url=https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=120047.0][img width=360 height=120]https://i.imgur.com/6E87Kgr.jpeg[/img][/url]
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Bobatype:
Reserved ;D
Zanhana:
It's too bad Cherry profile is so painfully mediocre and boring (and to my knowledge PBTFans doesn't offer another profile) because this colorway really deserves better.
Now, as for potentially actionable feedback:
I'm not really sure what the constraints of PBTFans kitting are, but it would be nice to see either
1. a more robust 40s kit (WS Orchid Strings is a great example), because right now for 40s you have to buy a gigantic base kit + mid 40s kit to cover one board (and the alternatives have major shortcomings: katakana alphas + 40s kit + accent kit locks you into using accent colors, while base + 40s + katakana alphas only makes sense if for some reason you to want to cover both a normie board and a 40s board with the same caps), or
2. more modular kitting with
* alphas (Latin and katakana, or just Latin)
* normie mods
* full 40s mods
* bars
* novelties/accents (note that with modular kitting, this is where the grey caps belong)
* international
In the current kitting, it is also not clear to me why the accent kit duplicates the arrows available in the base kit.
Finally, please make sure all your bars and minibars have the lengths labeled.
keepoto:
this is very dank
kitting wise maybe split out the RGBY/grey keys from base, otherwise if it's PBTfans's fixed kitting then there's really not much to do
mcmcmc:
this is ****ing sick. :thumb:
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