[GB] DCS Solarized Dark - Shipping Now!

[Aiwanei]

DCS Solarized Dark

As someone who was a programmer for many years the IDE theme Solarized Dark has always been a favorite of mine and I am also a big fan of the feel and sound of DCS profile, so I set out to combine these two into the keyset DCS Solarized Dark.  While I know that there have been Solarized Dark themed keysets in other profiles (GMK, XA, DSS) previously, I have felt that none of them quite captured the IDE themes spirit completely for me.

The Backstory
Solarized Dark is an IDE theme variant of Solarized both created by Ethan Schoonover originally for VIM.  It has been ported to many IDE's over the years and features a teal base with grey text and a multitude of colors for syntax highlighting.  I really wanted to create a set that when I looked down at my keyboard, made me think immediately of the IDE theme. The biggest question I had was do I use custom colors or stock colors.  Now SP has a wide range of custom colors, that can get you very far, but could it get me far enough?  After sitting down, comparing the IDE to the SP sample chips, tweaking, and compiling the options, and talking to Ethan about what he thought of the colors, tweaking some more, getting more feedback, I feel that using stock colors would give a pretty fair representation of the IDE theme, while also creating the parameters of the project as "Solarized Dark in DCS profile using the SP Stock Colors as the Color Palette"

To find out more about the solarized IDE theme and the concept behind it please visit this link.


Group Buy Date: 11/11 to 12/12



Manufacturer: Signature Plastics
Material: ABS
Profile: DCS

Estimated Shipping Date: Q2 2022

Early Bird Bonus:
At ThocKeys (and some of the other vendors), we will be offering a special early bird bonus.  Anyone who buys the base kit between November 11th and November 14th will get the VIM kit for free!  I feel VIM is a very important part of the identity of Solarized (Dark) since that is where it was born, so to celebrate this, and because 11/11 is my birthday, I figured I would give a gift to everyone who supports this set early.

Confirmed vendors taking part: ThocKeys(Nov 11 - Nov 14), Hand Engineering (Nov 11 - Nov 14), Rectangles (Nov 11 - Nov 14), BaseKeys (Nov 11 - Nov 14), Rebult (Nov 11 - Nov 14), AlphaKeys.ca (Nov 11 - Nov 14), Keygem (Nov 11 - Nov 14) please check with your regional vendor to see if they are taking part.

Kitting:
:Base Kit

:Whitespace (Spacebars)

:Relegendables

:VIM Arrows

:Monocolor Mods

:"Classic" Accents

:Kingsize Spacebar

:Ortho + Expanded40s

:International

Additional Items:
SolDark Tactile Switch Manufactured by Gateron

Glamour Shot
Force Graph



Force Graph Comparison

Typing Test by Katanakaji



Keybee Yin Yang Metal Keycap

Renders(by Pwade):
Iron 165 by Smith + Rune




Neue by Hand Engineering




W1-AT by Geon Works - Shown With 10u Space Bar and Relegendables




HBCP by Hiney - Shown with Accent Kit and Relegendables



Colors:
All Stock SP Colors(no color matching required):
BGK
BFN
GKH
BGM
BEY
RA
YG
OAV
RDX
VAV
REK
BBQ
Vendors:
US: ThocKeys.com - Live
UK: HandEngineering - Live
EU: Keygem - Live
CA: AlphaKeys - Live
OCE: SwitchKeys - Live
JP: Basekeys - Live
South America(Chile): Fancy Customs - Live
Mexico:Rheset.mx - Live
SEA(MY): Rebult Keyboards - Live
IN: Rectangles.store - Live
Other:
Thanks
First and foremost I wanted to say thank you first of all to Ethan Schoonover for creating the Solarized Dark theme and his feedback, time and support that he gave me on this endeavor.
Pwade, thank you for not killing me when I came to you asking you to match 11 colors for the renders and being patient with me as we tried to get them right.
Fooblitzky for the awesome DCS models that made these renders possible.
Lewis Flude for your support and enthusiasm when I shared this project as well as for the Neue model to render the set on.
The members(both current and former) of the Ratden discord for their support and energy while I threw various ideas at them.
James from AKB for doing absolutely nothing in regards to this project.
Thank you Capsy, for supporting the set and being a bro.
OCM, Langelandia, Urbantheiii, Jae, Quakemz, Noxygen and so many others, thanks for being positive people and for bending an ear when I want to discuss ideas or projects.
Thank you Dededecline and NoPunIn10Did for kitting assistance (especially 40s and International)
Many others that I am sure I have forgotten.

[Signature]

approved

[Darth_munkee]

Just scrolling through to look at the pics before reading anything I thought the force curve was a deskmat to go with the set. So if you need one, there you go.

Set looks great!

[Aiwanei]

Just scrolling through to look at the pics before reading anything I thought the force curve was a deskmat to go with the set. So if you need one, there you go.

Set looks great!

Haha I had tried to make a VIM cheatsheet Deskmat, but it was overly complicated and busy that it just didn't look good sadly

[Puddsy]

DCS renaissance too good. i will order as soon as it lets me

[justinhigley]

DCS renaissance too good. i will order as soon as it lets me

Does this qualify as a soware under your keyset classification system?

[Puddsy]

DCS renaissance too good. i will order as soon as it lets me

Does this qualify as a soware under your keyset classification system?

both solarized and solarized dark are sowares, yes

[Aiwanei]

All vendors are now live! Thank you everyone for your support so far ❤️

[white_rabbit]

Been waiting for this to go live

I'm in!

[tngpq]

This is the first ever unlimited GB I joined on the first day. Thanks for the freebie!

[roguesystem087]

wow i totally didn't read the free vim keys part!! that's super nice!!!
ordered from base keys!! they editted / added after i paid and ordered already!  

[IBMweMissU]

Dropping the 1.5u R2 Delete, apparently because one guy "hates it" was not great, some of us do use that key, or are "forced to".
Deletions from IC to GB should always be highlighted. Yeah, I know the Mono Mods still has it.
Still a nice set though, GLWGB.

[davewongillies]

Love it, I'm all in. All we need now is a nice deskpad to complete things.

[Aiwanei]

Dropping the 1.5u R2 Delete, apparently because one guy "hates it" was not great, some of us do use that key, or are "forced to".
Deletions from IC to GB should always be highlighted. Yeah, I know the Mono Mods still has it.
Still a nice set though, GLWGB.

I apologize this wasn't communicated clearly, I should have done a better job of doing so when the change was made.

[IBMweMissU]

Dropping the 1.5u R2 Delete, apparently because one guy "hates it" was not great, some of us do use that key, or are "forced to".
Deletions from IC to GB should always be highlighted. Yeah, I know the Mono Mods still has it.
Still a nice set though, GLWGB.

I apologize this wasn't communicated clearly, I should have done a better job of doing so when the change was made.

Thanks for answering, no worries. I'll still be putting this on my W1, with a 1.5u R2 Delete key 

[Rik.caffeinated]

Yes! Can't wait for this one Aiwanei

[Phractals]

Beautiful set, I just spent way too much money on fancy plastic. Hoping this will do well!

[danielucf]

10u spacebar, for me? Gee thanks

[SwitchKeys]

Hi all,
Apologies for the delays with this - We had a few team members in transit this week so are a little delayed on VIM stuff.

See below from team member CAZ

"We have had many enquiries regarding DCS Solarised Dark Early Bird Discount occuring at some international vendors. Due to this we have decided to offer it to you retroactively and with an extension.

From now until 12:00am AEDT on Wednesday the 17th the VIM kit will be automatically discounted at checkout if you also have a Base kit in your cart.

For those who have ordered already, we will be manually updating your orders so please be on the lookout for those being updated.

Apologies for any confusion."

[Aiwanei]

I'm going to have the legendary Dvorcal put up a graph but I'm very happy to announce that in just a handful of days the Base kit, as well as VIM, Whitespace, Relegendables, Classic Accents, Ortho+40s and Kingsize bar kits all have hit MOQ and I'm confident that the rest of kits will get there.

I want to thank everyone who has supported the set so far by buying a set, or even just discussing the set and spreading the word. I especially want to thank all of the vendors for their support of this, without them this wouldn't be possible.

[dvorcol]

Edit: No MOQ for switches

[Puddsy]

10u spacebar, for me? Gee thanks

there is a 10u renaissance happening right now, in good news for you

[nick779]

Watching, looks great.

[Phractals]

I desperately need this in my life with International kit. Really hoping for that (and switches, which seems unlikely at this point) to hit MOQ! Prayge

[Aiwanei]

I desperately need this in my life with International kit. Really hoping for that (and switches, which seems unlikely at this point) to hit MOQ! Prayge

My plan is to buy out the switches as long as it gets a bit closer to have in stock, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

[Phractals]

I desperately need this in my life with International kit. Really hoping for that (and switches, which seems unlikely at this point) to hit MOQ! Prayge

My plan is to buy out the switches as long as it gets a bit closer to have in stock, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Sounds good, International is more of my concern though 

[Aiwanei]

I desperately need this in my life with International kit. Really hoping for that (and switches, which seems unlikely at this point) to hit MOQ! Prayge

My plan is to buy out the switches as long as it gets a bit closer to have in stock, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Sounds good, International is more of my concern though 

International will get made, I'll make sure if it even if I buy it out.


Also Katanakaji has done a typing test of SolDark Switches, I'm adding a link to the OP.

[Phractals]

I desperately need this in my life with International kit. Really hoping for that (and switches, which seems unlikely at this point) to hit MOQ! Prayge

My plan is to buy out the switches as long as it gets a bit closer to have in stock, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Sounds good, International is more of my concern though 

International will get made, I'll make sure if it even if I buy it out.


Also Katanakaji has done a typing test of SolDark Switches, I'm adding a link to the OP.

Really good to hear and also nice to see a DCS set doing so well apparently!

[nick779]

Is the SolDark comparable in feel to anything else? I love the color, but am very picky about what I use.

[Puddsy]

Is the SolDark comparable in feel to anything else? I love the color, but am very picky about what I use.

it will feel the same as any other DCS ABS set, you can always buy one and try it if you're not sure. it is readily available on SP's website.

it's a much more effective test than any adjective or anecdote

[Aiwanei]

Is the SolDark comparable in feel to anything else? I love the color, but am very picky about what I use.

If you mean the switches, they have the same stem as the Gateron Silver Blizzard, so long poll(so early bottom out), somewhat rounder bump that is around the same size as a T1 but less sharp with little to no pretravel. They also have a lighter spring weight than the silver Blizzards by about 10g, and since they are long springs they have a bit snappier return.

If you mean the keyset, then yeah what puddsy said.

[nick779]

Is the SolDark comparable in feel to anything else? I love the color, but am very picky about what I use.

If you mean the switches, they have the same stem as the Gateron Silver Blizzard, so long poll(so early bottom out), somewhat rounder bump that is around the same size as a T1 but less sharp with little to no pretravel. They also have a lighter spring weight than the silver Blizzards by about 10g, and since they are long springs they have a bit snappier return.

If you mean the keyset, then yeah what puddsy said.

I meant the switch, but yeah that's all good to me. I typically run T1s and U4s with linear leaves, so the Soldark switches might be worth grabbing a set.

[Puddsy]

Is the SolDark comparable in feel to anything else? I love the color, but am very picky about what I use.

If you mean the switches, they have the same stem as the Gateron Silver Blizzard, so long poll(so early bottom out), somewhat rounder bump that is around the same size as a T1 but less sharp with little to no pretravel. They also have a lighter spring weight than the silver Blizzards by about 10g, and since they are long springs they have a bit snappier return.

If you mean the keyset, then yeah what puddsy said.

I meant the switch, but yeah that's all good to me. I typically run T1s and U4s with linear leaves, so the Soldark switches might be worth grabbing a set.

oh lmao my fault, i famously post before reading what i'm replying to

[HungerMechanic]

Is the SolDark comparable in feel to anything else? I love the color, but am very picky about what I use.

The feel is potentially very good. Well-made DCS has a soft, mildly-velvety texture at first. It's slightly gripping, but mostly pretty smooth. (But not the kind of smooth that comes from shined, worn-in keycaps.)

The DCS Sleeper keycaps (I have the accents) felt pretty good, nicer than the worn-in DCS I have been using.

The only problem, for me, is that the materials may affect feel. I have a NIB Solarized Dark set, and I touched a keycap to test it yesterday, and it wasn't as velvety as GMK Honeywell. So materials may be a factor. Honeywell is made from stock GMK colours, and I doubt GMK Solarized Dark was. So DCS Solarized Dark may feel a little more plasticy than some other DCS sets, but that's speculation. If it's anything like DCS Sleeper, it will be good.

Anyway, good DCS feels and types similar to good GMK.

[dvorcol]

[lazergician]

Been rocking Solarized themes on my IDEs for ages now - can't wait to go full nerd with this. Very excited!

[Rafen]

Man, I wish this was Cherry profile. Good luck with the GB though.

[Aiwanei]

Incase anyone wanted to get ThereminGoat's take on the Gateron SolDark Switches, he put out a scorecard today:

https://github.com/ThereminGoat/switch-scores/blob/master/Gateron%20SolDark.pdf

[grezeh]

That is one good international kit! I was about to finish with GBs, but this looks really good, especially in DCS   

[dvorcol]

[konstantin]

Placed my order. Excited about finally getting to try out DCS (and in a colorway I love, too)!

[herfalerf]

So hyped for this.  This set sold me on a w1-at it looks so good in the renders.

[Aiwanei]

I want to thank everyone for the support the set has received so far, we are now in the last 48 hours (or less) and I wanted to say that between last few days of sales and extras that I'm confident all kits will be made.

Thank you again and I'm very excited for everyone to get this set in their hands.

[dvorcol]

[lazergician]

Congrats on the successful GB!

[Shorle]

Gratulations to make it past MOQ. I really enjoy the look of this set!

This is rather fitting for the IC thread but since that thread is closed:
Does International only support half DE because of missing molds or is there another reason?
Are the Whitespace keys actually concave? Does the majority actually like their split spacebars concave? I can't fathom this for normal split spacebars, or is this set meant for ergodox layouts?

[Puddsy]

Gratulations to make it past MOQ. I really enjoy the look of this set!

This is rather fitting for the IC thread but since that thread is closed:
Does International only support half DE because of missing molds or is there another reason?
Are the Whitespace keys actually concave? Does the majority actually like their split spacebars concave? I can't fathom this for normal split spacebars, or is this set meant for ergodox layouts?

SP doesn't have convex molds for split spacebars in DCS

[dvorcol]

More

<-- without extras

[Aiwanei]

Thank you everyone for the support. We couldn't have done this without all of you and the wonderful international partners.

I've submitted the totals to SP, so we are just waiting for invoices.

[Aiwanei]

Wanted to let everyone know that the Gateron SolDarks have started shipping to some of the vendors from Gateron so if you ordered just the switches you may see shipping for these soon.

[pntm2006]

Will there be any extras for the Gateron SolDarks?

[Aiwanei]

Will there be any extras for the Gateron SolDarks?

Yes there will be

[Phractals]

Will you be posting all updates regarding the GB here, or is there some other place to stay updated with the progress?

[Puddsy]

Will you be posting all updates regarding the GB here, or is there some other place to stay updated with the progress?

https://thockeys.com/updates/

thockeys has a section for this on their updates page.

[Aiwanei]

Will you be posting all updates regarding the GB here, or is there some other place to stay updated with the progress?

I will be posting updates here, as well as on the page that Puddsy graciously linked above me.  But per geekhack rules, all GB updates are supposed to be posted here, so I will be abiding by that.

[iSamurai]

Any news from SP about the Q2 timeline? DCS 9009 is trying to keep it even if SP is missing some materials, is sol dark affected too or it is a problem only for them?

Sent from my H8314 using Tapatalk

[Aiwanei]

Any news from SP about the Q2 timeline? DCS 9009 is trying to keep it even if SP is missing some materials, is sol dark affected too or it is a problem only for them?

Sent from my H8314 using Tapatalk

A few weeks ago I was given an estimated ship from SP date that was the third week of April, I'm going to check in first week of April to make sure that still is possible.

[Oni74]

Given all the mess associated with other keycaps mfgs, I'm pleasantly looking forward to April-ish!!

[roguesystem087]

Wow that's amazing if it can make it april/may/june tbh,
that's for keeping us posted Aiwanei

[norm]

Honestly my cynicism won't let me believe this. Please restore my hope SP.

[Oni74]

Any news from SP about the Q2 timeline? DCS 9009 is trying to keep it even if SP is missing some materials, is sol dark affected too or it is a problem only for them?

Sent from my H8314 using Tapatalk

A few weeks ago I was given an estimated ship from SP date that was the third week of April, I'm going to check in first week of April to make sure that still is possible.

Any news from SP? Just curious and want to update my own expectations. NP if no news/delays.

[Aiwanei]

Any news from SP about the Q2 timeline? DCS 9009 is trying to keep it even if SP is missing some materials, is sol dark affected too or it is a problem only for them?

Sent from my H8314 using Tapatalk

A few weeks ago I was given an estimated ship from SP date that was the third week of April, I'm going to check in first week of April to make sure that still is possible.

Any news from SP? Just curious and want to update my own expectations. NP if no news/delays.

Hello I did just receive an update about this.  They said that like some other sets there is a delay due to a material supply shortage, and they now expect this to ship to vendors closer to the end of May.

[roguesystem087]

we still on track? i mean production must've finished by now if we expect to ship to venders closer to the end of may

[Aiwanei]

we still on track? i mean production must've finished by now if we expect to ship to venders closer to the end of may

I'm currently waiting on a reply from SP about the status, will update as soon as I hear back.

[Aiwanei]

Just received the following update from Melissa:

There are still a couple orders ahead of yours in the schedule and I have been trying to get a good feel for when this will be complete. I know I originally said end of May, but right now that won’t be possible. At this point I am hoping for the end of June.

[roguesystem087]

darn it, much appreciated for the updates/follow up 

[lazergician]

Got my blue Mode65 built, ready and waiting! I cannibalized caps from my Time 80 in the mean time and it looks nice, but can't wait for the blue on blue mood 

[Puddsy]

hello, any status update?

[Aiwanei]

hello, any status update?

On June 9th, Melissa told me that they are still trying to have it done for end of June, but it may slip a couple of weeks into July.

[Puddsy]

hello, any status update?

On June 9th, Melissa told me that they are still trying to have it done for end of June, but it may slip a couple of weeks into July.

thank you

[JP911]

Man these colors 

[roguesystem087]

July timeframe still pretty good, so I'm guessing production/packing should completely finish by end of june? and the rest of the time is just the keycaps getting to the vendors?

[Puddsy]

July timeframe still pretty good, so I'm guessing production/packing should completely finish by end of june? and the rest of the time is just the keycaps getting to the vendors?

some manus will split out packing time as separate from manufacturing time, but i would assume, with no further delays, we'll get our sets in the next 2-3 months

[CaesarAZealad]

Anyone know if there's gonna be extras? Need some of these for my Boston.

[Aiwanei]

Anyone know if there's gonna be extras? Need some of these for my Boston.

Yes there will be extras, how many and what kits depends on on the vendor.

[CaesarAZealad]

Anyone know if there's gonna be extras? Need some of these for my Boston.

Yes there will be extras, how many and what kits depends on on the vendor.

Grazie amico.

[Aiwanei]

Just got an update from Melissa, they are now estimated 3 weeks for production, so it will be finished sometime around the 21st of July.  I apologize for all these delays, I have asked for some photos of where production currently is (photos of some of the completed keys) which they are estimating sometime around the middle or end of next week.  Once I receive the photos I will share them here.

[GMK83]

Great, now make an ALPS version 😂

[robotictomato]

Great, now make an ALPS version 😂

Yes. I would absolutely be in for an Alps version of this set.

[Puddsy]

Just got an update from Melissa, they are now estimated 3 weeks for production, so it will be finished sometime around the 21st of July.  I apologize for all these delays, I have asked for some photos of where production currently is (photos of some of the completed keys) which they are estimating sometime around the middle or end of next week.  Once I receive the photos I will share them here.

thank you! glad to hear we're getting close to the goal line here

[Aiwanei]

I have received photos of some of the kits and I'm attaching them here. Keep in mind these are just some of the kits and progress is further along than this, but these are the photos I received.

[Puddsy]

I have received photos of some of the kits and I'm attaching them here. Keep in mind these are just some of the kits and progress is further along than this, but these are the photos I received.

thanks! looks good

[HungerMechanic]

I have received photos of some of the kits and I'm attaching them here.

Very interesting.

It looks as if it's coming out a different shade from GMK, as expected, but also maybe from the renders.

GMK was a kind of medium-dark electric blue or azure or something, this is like a more conventional navy blue?

Anyway, those lighting conditions are not ideal, really curious to see how this turns out. It's a good base kit and I'm in the queue.

[Puddsy]

I have received photos of some of the kits and I'm attaching them here.

Very interesting.

It looks as if it's coming out a different shade from GMK, as expected, but also maybe from the renders.

GMK was a kind of medium-dark electric blue or azure or something, this is like a more conventional navy blue?

Anyway, those lighting conditions are not ideal, really curious to see how this turns out. It's a good base kit and I'm in the queue.

SP has been taking really bad pictures for over a decade now, just wait until it shows up

[Phractals]

I have received photos of some of the kits and I'm attaching them here.

Very interesting.

It looks as if it's coming out a different shade from GMK, as expected, but also maybe from the renders.

GMK was a kind of medium-dark electric blue or azure or something, this is like a more conventional navy blue?

Anyway, those lighting conditions are not ideal, really curious to see how this turns out. It's a good base kit and I'm in the queue.

SP has been taking really bad pictures for over a decade now, just wait until it shows up

The alphas are SP BGM and the mods are BGK, right? I guess the color chips in this photo should be more accurate.

[Puddsy]

I have received photos of some of the kits and I'm attaching them here.

Very interesting.

It looks as if it's coming out a different shade from GMK, as expected, but also maybe from the renders.

GMK was a kind of medium-dark electric blue or azure or something, this is like a more conventional navy blue?

Anyway, those lighting conditions are not ideal, really curious to see how this turns out. It's a good base kit and I'm in the queue.

SP has been taking really bad pictures for over a decade now, just wait until it shows up

The alphas are SP BGM and the mods are BGK, right? I guess the color chips in this photo should be more accurate.

Show Image

if you really want to know just buy the color chips on SP's site, those photos aren't super accurate either

[Tyson]

I regret not joining this GB. Currently typing on DCS Paperwork and have fallen in love with the sound and feel of DCS. The only issue I have is that I have to flip the spacebar because it's too sharp on my thumb in it's normal orientation. I'll definitely be picking up extras!

[iSamurai]

I saw on reddit that in theory SP will start to ship to vendors next week, is it correct?

[Aiwanei]

I saw on reddit that in theory SP will start to ship to vendors next week, is it correct?

In theory, it should finish production/be ready to start shipping at the end of next week.  I am waiting for SP to confirm this again, since we are now a week out.  Once I hear back I will post an additional update here.

[Puddsy]

I regret not joining this GB. Currently typing on DCS Paperwork and have fallen in love with the sound and feel of DCS. The only issue I have is that I have to flip the spacebar because it's too sharp on my thumb in it's normal orientation. I'll definitely be picking up extras!

back in the genesis of the hobby, that's why flipped spacebar became a thing. DCS was the only profile we could really meet MOQ in

[Aiwanei]

I have received confirmation from Melissa that this is just about finished production, only a few keys left and was given an updated image showing what keys are completed for all the kits. When inspecting these I found that one of the keys is different than expected/shown on renders in terms of the legend used. I have let SP know this and I'm awaiting a response. Once I know more I'll update everyone.

[Phractals]

I have received confirmation from Melissa that this is just about finished production, only a few keys left and was given an updated image showing what keys are completed for all the kits. When inspecting these I found that one of the keys is different than expected/shown on renders in terms of the legend used. I have let SP know this and I'm awaiting a response. Once I know more I'll update everyone.

Would you mind showing what the key in question is and how it differs from renders? Thanks for keeping us updated!

[Aiwanei]

I have received confirmation from Melissa that this is just about finished production, only a few keys left and was given an updated image showing what keys are completed for all the kits. When inspecting these I found that one of the keys is different than expected/shown on renders in terms of the legend used. I have let SP know this and I'm awaiting a response. Once I know more I'll update everyone.

Would you mind showing what the key in question is and how it differs from renders? Thanks for keeping us updated!

It's the R2 1.5u Tab keys in the base and mono mods.  Instead of the arrows being left aligned like the text, they are center aligned (which is most common for DCS sets that are icon+text).  I am going to hold off sharing photos of it, until I can discuss with Signature Plastics about it and figure out what is going to happen in regards to it.

[Puddsy]

I have received confirmation from Melissa that this is just about finished production, only a few keys left and was given an updated image showing what keys are completed for all the kits. When inspecting these I found that one of the keys is different than expected/shown on renders in terms of the legend used. I have let SP know this and I'm awaiting a response. Once I know more I'll update everyone.

Would you mind showing what the key in question is and how it differs from renders? Thanks for keeping us updated!

It's the R2 1.5u Tab keys in the base and mono mods.  Instead of the arrows being left aligned like the text, they are center aligned (which is most common for DCS sets that are icon+text).  I am going to hold off sharing photos of it, until I can discuss with Signature Plastics about it and figure out what is going to happen in regards to it.

so they made offset tabs instead of hamburger tabs? just to make sure i'm interpreting this right

offset tabs suck so i'm super fine waiting an extra couple weeks

[Aiwanei]

I have received confirmation from Melissa that this is just about finished production, only a few keys left and was given an updated image showing what keys are completed for all the kits. When inspecting these I found that one of the keys is different than expected/shown on renders in terms of the legend used. I have let SP know this and I'm awaiting a response. Once I know more I'll update everyone.

Would you mind showing what the key in question is and how it differs from renders? Thanks for keeping us updated!

It's the R2 1.5u Tab keys in the base and mono mods.  Instead of the arrows being left aligned like the text, they are center aligned (which is most common for DCS sets that are icon+text).  I am going to hold off sharing photos of it, until I can discuss with Signature Plastics about it and figure out what is going to happen in regards to it.

so they made offset tabs instead of hamburger tabs? just to make sure i'm interpreting this right

offset tabs suck so i'm super fine waiting an extra couple weeks

Yes that is correct.

[Phractals]

I'm totally fine with waiting a little longer as well if they can make the tabs as shown in renders. I too hate the offset tabs.

[HungerMechanic]

Thanks for being meticulous about this. Wouldn't hurt to end up with both Tabs in the final package!

[CaesarAZealad]

Just saw that these are open for purchase again and snagged a set. Shame I couldn't get those relegendables tho :<

[HungerMechanic]

Open for purchase? Where? Curious about the prices, that's all.

[CaesarAZealad]

Open for purchase? Where? Curious about the prices, that's all.

On thockeys but they're sold out now
https://thockeys.com/pre-order/dcs-solarized-dark-preorder/

[CaesarAZealad]

Ngl I really want those damn relegendables tho. I don't think my alu boston is gonna look the same without them 

[Aiwanei]

So here is the update, the tab key as it was rendered did not exist as a mold, so they have to make a new mold in order to make the key correctly.  It does exist for the cherry font but not for the Gorton font this set uses. 

I discussed with the other vendors and we decided to wait for them to make the correct keys, instead of accepting them as is. It turns out they do not have enough material in order to remake the keys correctly, so we are looking at about 7 weeks for the new material to arrive in order for the correct key to be made.

One that I did notice when I was comparing renders to made keys, was the 1.25u R4 Control Keys (someone on Discord had also DM'd me about this), I had submitted them to be made as CTRL because on 1.25u I find Control to be a bit cramped looking when compared to other keys like Alt, FN, etc.  But on the renders for the set it has it as Control.  So please bear in mind that the set will actually have "CTRL" on the 1.25u Control keys and not Control as rendered.  I have verified all the other keys against the images I received from SP showing the completed keys, and they were made as expected.

Once I have a new timeline from SP, I will update here with the new expected ship date from them.  Hoping it will be sometime in September at the latest.

[Mecxs]

Is that 'CTRL' or 'Ctrl'? All caps would look super out of place imo.

[Aiwanei]

Is that 'CTRL' or 'Ctrl'? All caps would look super out of place imo.

It will be Ctrl, thank you for asking for Clarification.

[Fooblitzky]

So here is the update, the tab key as it was rendered did not exist as a mold, so they have to make a new mold in order to make the key correctly.  It does exist for the cherry font but not for the Gorton font this set uses. 

That is super strange, since they had it for the most recent DCS Red Alert in 2020. They must have broken the mold when they met you Aiwanei.

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=105473.msg2943560#msg2943560

Personally I don't mind the offset Tab. And I wouldn't mind getting both Tabs whenever this set ships. So I hope they don't throw them away.

[Aiwanei]

So here is the update, the tab key as it was rendered did not exist as a mold, so they have to make a new mold in order to make the key correctly.  It does exist for the cherry font but not for the Gorton font this set uses. 

That is super strange, since they had it for the most recent DCS Red Alert in 2020. They must have broken the mold when they met you Aiwanei.

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=105473.msg2943560#msg2943560

Personally I don't mind the offset Tab. And I wouldn't mind getting both Tabs whenever this set ships. So I hope they don't throw them away.

I know, that confused me too, but it's what I was told. Not going to publicly share the Email, but was told the reason why it was made with the offset mold was because they thought we were only using existing molds and that mold didn't exist for Gorton only cherry. So not sure what happened to the one used with red alert r3 lol

[Fooblitzky]

They probably just misplaced it and forgot they made it already. *shrugs*

[Puddsy]

So here is the update, the tab key as it was rendered did not exist as a mold, so they have to make a new mold in order to make the key correctly.  It does exist for the cherry font but not for the Gorton font this set uses. 

That is super strange, since they had it for the most recent DCS Red Alert in 2020. They must have broken the mold when they met you Aiwanei.

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=105473.msg2943560#msg2943560

Personally I don't mind the offset Tab. And I wouldn't mind getting both Tabs whenever this set ships. So I hope they don't throw them away.

I know, that confused me too, but it's what I was told. Not going to publicly share the Email, but was told the reason why it was made with the offset mold was because they thought we were only using existing molds and that mold didn't exist for Gorton only cherry. So not sure what happened to the one used with red alert r3 lol

My guess is that the mold hit the end of its life cycle and had to be remade and they hadn't gotten around to it/decided not to do it for one reason or another.

[EVE]

 

[MagicElyas]

Hello hello,

Any updates on ETA?

Kind Regards,
Elias

[davewongillies]

Hello hello,

Any updates on ETA?

Kind Regards,
Elias

The last update on Thockeys website: https://thockeys.com/updates/

DCS Solarized Dark:

The R2 1.5u Tab Keys in the Base and Monomods kit were made with the incorrect legends, so they have to be remade.  Siganture Plastics does not have enough material left over so they have to order new material which may take up to 7 weeks.  Once we have a new date we will provide it.

[Aiwanei]

I have just received word that the set has completed production and will be shipping from SP to Vendors sometime within the next week (once shipping invoices are paid)

[Puddsy]

I have just received word that the set has completed production and will be shipping from SP to Vendors sometime within the next week (once shipping invoices are paid)

woooooo

[lazergician]

I have just received word that the set has completed production and will be shipping from SP to Vendors sometime within the next week (once shipping invoices are paid)

Hooray! Can't wait. Thanks for the communication.

[MagicElyas]

I have just received word that the set has completed production and will be shipping from SP to Vendors sometime within the next week (once shipping invoices are paid)

Hey hey happy days!!!!. Looking forward for hand engineering to run their QC and ship ASAP

[iSamurai]

Just received a tracking notification from Keygem  .

[ylothar]

Just received a tracking notification from Keygem  .

Me too

[Aiwanei]

A note about relegendables: they were supposed to be made in the BGK (mod color) but were made in the BGM color (alpha color), SP is remaking the bases in the correct color and will ship to vendors. This will not include extra clear tops, just the bases, but it will give you the option for using the relegendables with either colored base. Each vendor will handle how this effects shipment themselves so please give your vendor a few days to determine their plan of action.

For ThocKeys we will ship all orders that have relegendables as is and send a second shipment with the correct base color at no cost once we have received them. There may be a few orders at ThocKeys we have with international destinations that may be held due to the shipping cost, but you will be contacted directly via email once we determine that.

Here's an image of how the set turned out.

[Jefff]

When extras avail?

[Fraaaan]

When extras avail?

Ask your local vendor. The GB runner doesn't decide when vendors sell their extras.

[knbbl]

A note about relegendables: they were supposed to be made in the BGK (mod color) but were made in the BGM color (alpha color), SP is remaking the bases in the correct color and will ship to vendors. This will not include extra clear tops, just the bases, but it will give you the option for using the relegendables with either colored base. Each vendor will handle how this effects shipment themselves so please give your vendor a few days to determine their plan of action.

For ThocKeys we will ship all orders that have relegendables as is and send a second shipment with the correct base color at no cost once we have received them. There may be a few orders at ThocKeys we have with international destinations that may be held due to the shipping cost, but you will be contacted directly via email once we determine that.

Here's an image of how the set turned out.

Can we also have replacements for the Ä key within the international kit?

[Aiwanei]

A note about relegendables: they were supposed to be made in the BGK (mod color) but were made in the BGM color (alpha color), SP is remaking the bases in the correct color and will ship to vendors. This will not include extra clear tops, just the bases, but it will give you the option for using the relegendables with either colored base. Each vendor will handle how this effects shipment themselves so please give your vendor a few days to determine their plan of action.

For ThocKeys we will ship all orders that have relegendables as is and send a second shipment with the correct base color at no cost once we have received them. There may be a few orders at ThocKeys we have with international destinations that may be held due to the shipping cost, but you will be contacted directly via email once we determine that.

Here's an image of how the set turned out.

Can we also have replacements for the Ä key within the international kit?

Show Image

I am contacting SP about this and an issue with the 40s kit, where instead of an R2 1u Back Key was made, a R2 1u Enter let was provided.

[Aiwanei]

I have heard back from Melissa at SP, the Ä and the Å will both be remade to match the alignment of other keys.  For the issue with the 40s and Ortho Kit, the Back key will be remade, but so will two other keys because they were made as R1 instead of R2 (basically all 3 R2 keys will be remade).  The relegendable keys are being remade as we speak.  They expect all of these corrected keys to ship out to vendors by the end of next week.

[Puddsy]

does anyone in NA have tracking from thockeys yet?

i think i ordered late so i might just be later in the line

[dingusxmcgee]

does anyone in NA have tracking from thockeys yet?

i think i ordered late so i might just be later in the line

Yep. Scheduled to arrive to Michigan on Wednesday.

[Puddsy]

does anyone in NA have tracking from thockeys yet?

i think i ordered late so i might just be later in the line

Yep. Scheduled to arrive to Michigan on Wednesday.

ok good this is reassuring

i imagine i'll get tracking in the next couple of days

[Aiwanei]

About half of the orders have shipped, the rest should hopefully go out by Wednesday at the latest(since we gave until Thursday of last week to update addresses, orders did not start shipping until Friday)

[Puddsy]

About half of the orders have shipped, the rest should hopefully go out by Wednesday at the latest(since we gave until Thursday of last week to update addresses, orders did not start shipping until Friday)

excellent news thank u

excited to receive my set

[Poesjuh]

Got my set as well, very nice colors irl!
Appears I have double F10 and no 1! but will settle that with vendor.

Two pictures here, one is not edited and makes the alpha’s look really blue (first picture), second one has been edited and looks close(r) to real life. Alpha’s definitely are in-between green and blue. Both just quick snaps.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[break]

Hell yes. Cannot wait for my kit.

[Puddsy]

About half of the orders have shipped, the rest should hopefully go out by Wednesday at the latest(since we gave until Thursday of last week to update addresses, orders did not start shipping until Friday)

excellent news thank u

excited to receive my set

just got tracking time to stare out the window longingly at the mailman

[pikku-allu]

Got my set last week from Keygem. The numpad enter legends don't match the renders either. Production keys are text-only and don't have the arrow icon. Pause is Pause Break unlike the renders too.

Also had a missing key, as well as a duplicate of another in the Classic Accent kit. The set looks great though!

[Poesjuh]

Numpad enter, numpad Pg up and Pg dn, “novelties” spacing, Pause.

As far as I could quickly check those are the keys that are different from the render. Personally don’t really mind though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Phractals]

I have found some more potential issues on top of Pause and numpad enter being different from renders. Not sure if these are specific to my set or if it is just what the DCS molds are.



1. On my R4 End, the "n" is a good bit shorter one one side. The other Ends are fine.
2. The spacing between letters on the 1u and 1.25u Fn is different. 1u looks a bit cramped, while 1.25u seems to be more in line with the rest of the set.
3. The "-" and "_" legends are noticeably crooked. I put "="/"+" there just for reference as those legends are totally fine.

Would it be possible to get replacements for these caps from SP as well or should i contact my vendor for any of them? Or is this just what the molds are like for DCS and we have to accept the caps for what they are?
My ANSI Enter has a very noticeable mark and I'm gonna be contacting Keygem to resolve that anyway so I just wanted to be sure if I should even be bothering them for any of these issues.

To be clear, I really like the set and think it turned out great otherwise. The only things really bothering me are "-"/"_" being crooked and also the legends on the quotes key having a different thickness than the rest of the set. But I know that last one is the case for a lot of DCS sets and that's just one of the quirks that come with DCS i guess.

Thanks for caring!

[finalarcadia]

Has anyone mentioned the bold "' quotes key yet

[Poesjuh]

Picture of the set Missing the 1 unfortunately (but double F10) so waiting for replacement.




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[vr21]

i'm not too familiar with dcs keycaps, but just about every single one of my keycaps has a very prominent "chip" along the bottom edge. I'm assuming it has something to do with the molding process but i didn't expect it to be so deep and harsh, am I nitpicking, or do your sets not have this

[RoyalOak88]

Yes, all my keys also have that.

[Puddsy]

i'm not too familiar with dcs keycaps, but just about every single one of my keycaps has a very prominent "chip" along the bottom edge. I'm assuming it has something to do with the molding process but i didn't expect it to be so deep and harsh, am I nitpicking, or do your sets not have this

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

your pictures don't work but sprue marks are normal

[vr21]

Reuploaded to imgur. I'm used to seeing sprue marks (didnt know what the term was - thanks) but these seemed worse than what I've seen from other keycap manufacturers. But looks like its typical, so I'm not too concerned

[firstworldproblems]

Reuploaded to imgur. I'm used to seeing sprue marks (didnt know what the term was - thanks) but these seemed worse than what I've seen from other keycap manufacturers. But looks like its typical, so I'm not too concerned

Show Image

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Show Image

Those sprue marks look a little bit more prominent than seen on previous sets.

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

[marcowhatever]

Has anyone noticed the texture being off on the backspace and enter key?

[CaesarAZealad]

( I hope this will work)



ALU Boston with SolDark and ZealPC clickiez

[HungerMechanic]

It definitely goes well with black keyboards, as did the GMK set.

[MagicElyas]

Has anyone from the UK / Hand Engineering group buy received their set? They were said to have it in place by october but no updates since then

[Hawksmoor]

in the same boat, have not received anything.
Lewis from Hand Engineering is not responding to pings or emails either

Pretty poor. Especially as the keysets were meant to have arrived in October

[HungerMechanic]

It's my understanding that DCS Solarized Dark is being held back by some retailers because they are waiting for a fix kit from Signature Plastics.

Some keys differed from expectations, so I think SP was maybe working on replacing them. So some retailers are choosing not to ship, until the entire corrected kit is ready to ship. I think this may be the case with Alphakeys in Canada, which has yet to ship Solarized Dark.

[MagicElyas]

It's my understanding that DCS Solarized Dark is being held back by some retailers because they are waiting for a fix kit from Signature Plastics.

Some keys differed from expectations, so I think SP was maybe working on replacing them. So some retailers are choosing not to ship, until the entire corrected kit is ready to ship. I think this may be the case with Alphakeys in Canada, which has yet to ship Solarized Dark.

I do believe that this is not the case anymore, Lewis did post something in his discord, but the standards that I was expecting from Hand Engineering in terms of customer facing abilities have dropped significantly with the handling of this group buy. I am just sad that people like me have been waiting for a long time for this caps and have 0 transparency about what is going on.

[typischt]

It's my understanding that DCS Solarized Dark is being held back by some retailers because they are waiting for a fix kit from Signature Plastics.

Some keys differed from expectations, so I think SP was maybe working on replacing them. So some retailers are choosing not to ship, until the entire corrected kit is ready to ship. I think this may be the case with Alphakeys in Canada, which has yet to ship Solarized Dark.

I do believe that this is not the case anymore, Lewis did post something in his discord, but the standards that I was expecting from Hand Engineering in terms of customer facing abilities have dropped significantly with the handling of this group buy. I am just sad that people like me have been waiting for a long time for this caps and have 0 transparency about what is going on.

Same here, haven‘t heard back from Hand Engineering on my many messages about the keyset and it‘s status. To be fair, he said he wanted to resolve it until the end of February in the Discord announcement, so there is some time left.

I just wonder, how many orders there are if it takes that long / if he isn‘t able to quickly answer an email..
Even a short „I saw your mail, I‘ll get back to you asap“ would have been a lot nicer than just hearing nothing at all..


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[typischt]

I‘m happy to report that I received shipping notification from Hand Engineering.

[Hawksmoor]

I‘m happy to report that I received shipping notification from Hand Engineering.

Same here but weeks later still on "Shipping Information Received"

[Curin Derwin]

I have not received my order from AlphaKeys yet.

[HubertThemad]

I have not received my order from AlphaKeys yet.

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but there may be something going on with AlphaKeys.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/196hreg/mykeyboard_thickthock_other_vendor_issues/

I'd try reaching out (if possible) to them. What was the last you heard from them?

[firstworldproblems]

I have not received my order from AlphaKeys yet.

Alphakeys has gone radio silent for months. I have 2 remaining orders from them.

I would reach out to Alphakeys, and when you don't receive a reply ( you won't), then open a case with you credit card to try and retrieve the funds.

[Curin Derwin]

I have not received my order from AlphaKeys yet.

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but there may be something going on with AlphaKeys.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/196hreg/mykeyboard_thickthock_other_vendor_issues/

I'd try reaching out (if possible) to them. What was the last you heard from them?

Fri, Dec 17, 2021

My order was for:

DCS Solarized Dark × 1 Kingsize Spacebar
$7.50
DCS Solarized Dark × 1 VIM
$5.50
DCS Solarized Dark × 1 MonoMods
$65.00
DCS Solarized Dark × 1 Base
$120.00

[HubertThemad]

I have not received my order from AlphaKeys yet.

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but there may be something going on with AlphaKeys.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/196hreg/mykeyboard_thickthock_other_vendor_issues/

I'd try reaching out (if possible) to them. What was the last you heard from them?

Fri, Dec 17, 2021

My order was for:

DCS Solarized Dark × 1 Kingsize Spacebar
$7.50
DCS Solarized Dark × 1 VIM
$5.50
DCS Solarized Dark × 1 MonoMods
$65.00
DCS Solarized Dark × 1 Base
$120.00

Yeah... Unfortunately, I think you won't get your sets or a response from AlphaKeys. I agree with what the other commentor above stated. Hopefully you are able to chargeback your order and can recoup the money.

[Curin Derwin]

I have not received my order from AlphaKeys yet.

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but there may be something going on with AlphaKeys.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/196hreg/mykeyboard_thickthock_other_vendor_issues/

I'd try reaching out (if possible) to them. What was the last you heard from them?

Fri, Dec 17, 2021

My order was for:

DCS Solarized Dark × 1 Kingsize Spacebar
$7.50
DCS Solarized Dark × 1 VIM
$5.50
DCS Solarized Dark × 1 MonoMods
$65.00
DCS Solarized Dark × 1 Base
$120.00

Yeah... Unfortunately, I think you won't get your sets or a response from AlphaKeys. I agree with what the other commentor above stated. Hopefully you are able to chargeback your order and can recoup the money.

Thank you for your honesty. Chargebacks, sadly, end after 18 months, at best. I have worked with many credit card issuers regarding Mechs and Co, MKUltra, and now it appears I may need to consider energy for Alphakeys. I understand it's something people say to offer good faith and express condolences and I do not want to discourage your kind words. The truth its that it's just not realistic for group buyers to chargeback these exit scams, given the policies of credit card companies.

[Curin Derwin]

Update: https://imgur.com/a/CsNRydk

Will circle back if I receive them.

[Curin Derwin]

2 weeks later and nothing shows as shipped yet. I am following up again...

[Curin Derwin]

Update: They arrived today https://imgur.com/a/EnuedNM

[Rob27shred]

Update: They arrived today https://imgur.com/a/EnuedNM

Awesome to hear, it really is a great set & I was feeling a little bad since I was able to snag a kit on the aftermarket before all GB participants got theirs.

[firstworldproblems]

Update: They arrived today https://imgur.com/a/EnuedNM

I'm so glad you got your set!

Does this mean the lights are ON at Alphakeys?!

[Curin Derwin]

Update: They arrived today https://imgur.com/a/EnuedNM

I'm so glad you got your set!

Does this mean the lights are ON at Alphakeys?!

Thank you, that means a lot to hear.

It's honestly hard to say. I want to say yes -- though winding down operations can still operate in piecemeal format. Part of how Exit Scams work is they trickle down operations before going dark entirely. See Mechs & Co and MKUltra with how they kept taking orders and shipping piecemeal until... nothing.

I will say I am thankful to have... received the item I paid $200 to purchase 3 years in advance? If that makes sense to say?

If anyone out there is trying to get their IN-STOCK order, please keep trying and emailing. All the best.