Author Topic: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments  (Read 160742 times)

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Offline Starius

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Well, if these corian boards turn out as well as I expect they will, perhaps we may see 65/75% or TKL Luminas in the future?
I know I’d like to see this material explored further in other form factors too.

Offline macclack

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More prototypes showed up today. These are not 100% polished, as I have a nice buffing wheel on the way, but here they are nevertheless: https://imgur.com/a/pXzHdi0


Concerning lead time, am in talks with Manu's, and working on timings, and will update the thread with a figure this week still.

These are looking spectacular. Is that KAT profile on the one with the white keycaps?

Offline GreenwaldDesigns

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More prototypes showed up today. These are not 100% polished, as I have a nice buffing wheel on the way, but here they are nevertheless: https://imgur.com/a/pXzHdi0


Concerning lead time, am in talks with Manu's, and working on timings, and will update the thread with a figure this week still.

These are looking spectacular. Is that KAT profile on the one with the white keycaps?


Yes, it's Kat Alpha.

Offline macclack

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    • Macclack
More prototypes showed up today. These are not 100% polished, as I have a nice buffing wheel on the way, but here they are nevertheless: https://imgur.com/a/pXzHdi0


Concerning lead time, am in talks with Manu's, and working on timings, and will update the thread with a figure this week still.

These are looking spectacular. Is that KAT profile on the one with the white keycaps?


Yes, it's Kat Alpha.

Thanks. Those will look dope on the white Corian.

Offline ArchDill

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More prototypes showed up today. These are not 100% polished, as I have a nice buffing wheel on the way, but here they are nevertheless: https://imgur.com/a/pXzHdi0


Concerning lead time, am in talks with Manu's, and working on timings, and will update the thread with a figure this week still.

Wow... I REALLY want to type on one of these.

Offline GreenwaldDesigns

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More prototypes showed up today. These are not 100% polished, as I have a nice buffing wheel on the way, but here they are nevertheless: https://imgur.com/a/pXzHdi0


Concerning lead time, am in talks with Manu's, and working on timings, and will update the thread with a figure this week still.

Wow... I REALLY want to type on one of these.

Per the request of some of the people on the discord, I will be making typing videos of these boards, so hopefully that will tide over until they start shipping out.

Offline GreenwaldDesigns

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Put together some typing videos here with various relevant/personal favorite switches:

Offline KingOfMemes

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Put together some typing videos here with various relevant/personal favorite switches:

Hmmm interesting. My plan was to put Creams in mine, but I wasn't digging their sound in that video :\ I was reeeeeally digging the sound of the Holy Zealios though. Might have to be a game time decision for me...

Offline Photoelectric

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Well, if these corian boards turn out as well as I expect they will, perhaps we may see 65/75% or TKL Luminas in the future?
I know I’d like to see this material explored further in other form factors too.

I hope so.  I was super interested in this board, but can't use 60% or smaller--I've tried, it's just not my thing, so I didn't join for this round. 

Looking forward to seeing how the white-black-rose gold combo featured in the OP turns out; it would have been the one I'd have ordered.  Unless the white material stains or yellows easily.
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Offline laserbeamspewpew

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Update on lead time?

Offline Ashardalon

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Well, if these corian boards turn out as well as I expect they will, perhaps we may see 65/75% or TKL Luminas in the future?
I know I’d like to see this material explored further in other form factors too.

I hope so.  I was super interested in this board, but can't use 60% or smaller--I've tried, it's just not my thing, so I didn't join for this round. 

Looking forward to seeing how the white-black-rose gold combo featured in the OP turns out; it would have been the one I'd have ordered.  Unless the white material stains or yellows easily.

Fortunately, liquids can't penetrate Corian, and unless you're putting Cheetoh dust and lots of other oily food particles on there and letting them sit, you should be totally fine. It's a relatively durable material, and if there is any minor scratching done to the material, you can generally use fine sandpaper and something like a ScotchBrite pad to clear them out.

Offline japanesehorrorwriter

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Put together some typing videos here with various relevant/personal favorite switches:
The Box Whites sound amazing. Guess you’d have to know what box whites sound like in other boards to know this sound is a great one. Well done.

Offline 112227

  • Posts: 74
"full throttle"

Offline montydrei

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Tesletron has posted an update about this project on Reddit


Offline 112227

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Except it was not really an update at all. It's just the same "hopes" he's had since the group buy started. Nothing transparent about his expectations for the manufacturer or how that communication is going. I don't see how anyone can read that and feel better about the groupbuy, as the post condemning his behavior is true and representative of the information we are still getting. I need more than a "everything is finally on track, I promise." after all that ****.

Offline KingOfMemes

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So... I read through the update.

Quote
I fully intend to make it right with everyone I have wronged and have been working hard to achieve this.

Does this mean there is a plan to deliver the Lumina? A plan to refund the money to people who entered the GB?

Offline Arithmetics

  • Posts: 261
Doesn't sound like there is any real plan one way or another.

Offline schlep

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From what I've read, until he can get the money locked in his PayPal account out to be paid to his manufacturer, this GB is going to be stuck in a limbo.

Anyone remembered how much we paid for this?

Offline Hadi

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From what I've read, until he can get the money locked in his PayPal account out to be paid to his manufacturer, this GB is going to be stuck in a limbo.

Anyone remembered how much we paid for this?

With the $40 PCB, my elderberry and brass build was $437. Other color options were priced around $50 less, and the acrylic bottoms were cheaper than the brass.

Offline KingOfMemes

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From what I've read, until he can get the money locked in his PayPal account out to be paid to his manufacturer, this GB is going to be stuck in a limbo.

Anyone remembered how much we paid for this?

387$ for me, Cameo White + Brass + pcb

Offline le_wraith

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$497 here...ordered two plates and PCBs..

Filed PayPal claim. Buyer protection period is over but it seems like I might as well try to get some recourse--worst that can happen is I lose. Having been bitten by some bad GBs previously & perceiving the tenor of criticisms leveled against Greenwald and his woefully inadequate response on Reddit, I have the feeling this won't end up ever getting delivered.

Offline Arithmetics

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I don’t understand the PayPal situation at all. How come no other group buys have this problem? What is special about this one that led to this crazy locked money situation? I feel bad for Teslestron if everything is indeed out of his hands as he puts it but the whole post was written in a very woe is me attitude and doesn’t really give any details on exactly why this is such an issue. $400 let down is a lot to swallow.

Offline le_wraith

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220321-0

Here is my email exchange with Greenwald back in April. At that time he claimed "half the parts are done being machined" and "we have rushed ordered more material to a very reliable and high quality factory from one of our connections..." and indicated another update would happen in a week. His latest reddit post is completely devoid of any mention of these things. Something is not adding up.

Offline catamscott

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i'm in for $387 (with shipping) as well; cosmos prima with brass plate and weight. certainly a fairly hefty sum but it does seem like it could've been worse.

I don’t understand the PayPal situation at all. How come no other group buys have this problem? What is special about this one that led to this crazy locked money situation? I feel bad for Teslestron if everything is indeed out of his hands as he puts it but the whole post was written in a very woe is me attitude and doesn’t really give any details on exactly why this is such an issue. $400 let down is a lot to swallow.

yeah, i don't get this either. the part of tes's recent post where he mentioned that the funds were locked and that paypal expected him to get a loan or something just left me confused. i don't understand if paypal routinely does this and if other gb runners experience this, or if this only happened in this specific circumstance. he mentioned something about a board getting refunded when talking about this but without any context for what went wrong it just feels confusing and opaque. it would seem like either something specific happened to cause the funds to be locked, or this happens with any larger gb and tes just wasn't prepared for that.

either way, it doesn't seem like paypal is going to re-open the funds anytime soon so i'm not sure what the plan moving forward is, though tes has said he's working on another post where he'll explain what happens next. i hope the boards do actually get produced, but i'm not really holding my breath anymore.

Offline fireworm

  • Posts: 466
i'm in for $387 (with shipping) as well; cosmos prima with brass plate and weight. certainly a fairly hefty sum but it does seem like it could've been worse.

I don’t understand the PayPal situation at all. How come no other group buys have this problem? What is special about this one that led to this crazy locked money situation? I feel bad for Teslestron if everything is indeed out of his hands as he puts it but the whole post was written in a very woe is me attitude and doesn’t really give any details on exactly why this is such an issue. $400 let down is a lot to swallow.

yeah, i don't get this either. the part of tes's recent post where he mentioned that the funds were locked and that paypal expected him to get a loan or something just left me confused. i don't understand if paypal routinely does this and if other gb runners experience this, or if this only happened in this specific circumstance. he mentioned something about a board getting refunded when talking about this but without any context for what went wrong it just feels confusing and opaque. it would seem like either something specific happened to cause the funds to be locked, or this happens with any larger gb and tes just wasn't prepared for that.

either way, it doesn't seem like paypal is going to re-open the funds anytime soon so i'm not sure what the plan moving forward is, though tes has said he's working on another post where he'll explain what happens next. i hope the boards do actually get produced, but i'm not really holding my breath anymore.
Iirc, it went something like : tes used his personal PayPal account, didn't let PayPal know, so they locked his money when they saw $40k come in, suspected laundering. Tes panicked and tried to get money in various other ways, some questionable. Manus kept delaying his order, for other reasons.

Now he's trying to get things back on track, but PayPal is likely still holding his money, making it awkward to deal with the (third) manu.

Offline dr_unconscionable

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Yeah that's what I've gleaned too. He made some account mistake and as all the funds poured in PayPal locked his account. He can neither pay the manufacturer, nor supply refunds, except out of his own personal funds (and maybe a very limited trickle from the PayPal account?), and was terrified to tell us for fear that we'd all bail and ask for our money back making him totally bankrupt. Meanwhile PayPal's position is that he should take out a loan from PayPal to refund people their money if they ask, and it's otherwise not their problem. The whole situation sounds super ****ty, and he's taken on extra projects to help with cash flow but is now just buried in unfinished promises.

That all said, despite him being disorganized and having made some bad decisions, I still trust we'll eventually get our boards, and I'm not in a hurry, and I'm still looking forward to mine. I've got plenty of things to type on in the meantime.

Offline puddingfarmer

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What makes me most suspicious is that because of the "manufacturing drama" and whatever he convincingly (and conveniently) pulled the wool over our eyes until we were past the 180 day PayPal protection mark.

Offline tex_live_utility

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I just got off the phone with a very helpful representative in Paypal's fraud department.

This is, in short, what they told me:

  • A first-time GB runner, with a GB as big as this (tens of thousands of dollars all at once with no previous Paypal history) is very likely to have their money locked up in reserve
  • Reserve funds can still be refunded, but not spent; the reserve is lifted when Paypal sees that products have been shipped or that refunds have been issued
  • The vendor will be notified that their funds are on reserve, and will be given a schedule describing when the funds will be released; the release could be "rolling" (i.e. each individual payment is released 30 days after it is sent), or in batches, or all at once
  • Typically the reserve period is something like 30 days; this agent had never seen it go longer than 6 months
  • The agent said it was "hard to believe" that more than a small percentage of GB money would still be held in reserve at this point; and even if it were still held, Ganesh ought to have been notified as to when it would be released

All in all... this doesn't look good. It pains me to say this, because I've vouched for Teslatron for some time now; I still don't believe he set out to scam people with any of his projects, and I was sure as **** looking forward to the Lumina. But if we don't get an update in the next few weeks, I'll be contacting my credit card company for a chargeback.

Edit: in the off chance that there is still in fact an ongoing problem with the LuminaKB Paypal account, is it possible to get at least some cases made, in order to get the reserve lifted after? Or at least ship me my damn plates, PCBs, and bottoms, so I can make an acrylic case.
« Last Edit: Wed, 05 June 2019, 14:01:39 by tex_live_utility »
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Offline KingOfMemes

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Update posted here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/by2mw0/tesletron_update_2/?
Thanks for the update, and thanks for ensuring timely updates going forward

Offline le_wraith

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #230 on: Wed, 12 June 2019, 10:31:19 »
Hi All,

I would like to share my experience in making a Paypal claim for the refund on the Lumina GB:

  • Made paypal claim June 7th, after the claims period had expired
  • Paypal responded with its traditional email saying seller has 10 days to respond
  • Paypal did not wait the 10 days for a seller response, and instead emailed me today that "We reviewed the information regarding the case below and have decided in your favor" without the seller having  provided a response

Now, I have no idea what this means, but I would say I have never seen or heard of Paypal deciding to give a refund before the seller's response period had finished. It is even more noteworthy because the paypal guarantee period has expired, but PayPal refunded me anyway. I don't know what it means--I don't know if it means Greenwald is more blameworthy than he's letting on, or less blameworthy and somehow Paypal feels it's at fault, or if PayPal talked to Greenwald and he decided not to dispute the claim--but I did think it is highly unusual and that the group-buy participants should learn of my experience so they can draw their own conclusions and make informed decisions. I will say I have no animosity toward Greenwald; everyone makes mistakes or gets in over their heads. But OTOH this GB appears far from guaranteed to be completed successfully and people should keep that in mind.


Offline KingOfMemes

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #231 on: Wed, 12 June 2019, 10:42:24 »
Hi All,

I would like to share my experience in making a Paypal claim for the refund on the Lumina GB:

  • Made paypal claim June 7th, after the claims period had expired
  • Paypal responded with its traditional email saying seller has 10 days to respond
  • Paypal did not wait the 10 days for a seller response, and instead emailed me today that "We reviewed the information regarding the case below and have decided in your favor" without the seller having  provided a response

Now, I have no idea what this means, but I would say I have never seen or heard of Paypal deciding to give a refund before the seller's response period had finished. It is even more noteworthy because the paypal guarantee period has expired, but PayPal refunded me anyway. I don't know what it means--I don't know if it means Greenwald is more blameworthy than he's letting on, or less blameworthy and somehow Paypal feels it's at fault, or if PayPal talked to Greenwald and he decided not to dispute the claim--but I did think it is highly unusual and that the group-buy participants should learn of my experience so they can draw their own conclusions and make informed decisions. I will say I have no animosity toward Greenwald; everyone makes mistakes or gets in over their heads. But OTOH this GB appears far from guaranteed to be completed successfully and people should keep that in mind.
Thanks for the update. I'm going to wait for one more update, which according to the reddit post is going to be this Friday, and then I might have to jump ship as well.

Offline GreenwaldDesigns

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #232 on: Wed, 12 June 2019, 16:43:50 »
Hi All,

I would like to share my experience in making a Paypal claim for the refund on the Lumina GB:

  • Made paypal claim June 7th, after the claims period had expired
  • Paypal responded with its traditional email saying seller has 10 days to respond
  • Paypal did not wait the 10 days for a seller response, and instead emailed me today that "We reviewed the information regarding the case below and have decided in your favor" without the seller having  provided a response

Now, I have no idea what this means, but I would say I have never seen or heard of Paypal deciding to give a refund before the seller's response period had finished. It is even more noteworthy because the paypal guarantee period has expired, but PayPal refunded me anyway. I don't know what it means--I don't know if it means Greenwald is more blameworthy than he's letting on, or less blameworthy and somehow Paypal feels it's at fault, or if PayPal talked to Greenwald and he decided not to dispute the claim--but I did think it is highly unusual and that the group-buy participants should learn of my experience so they can draw their own conclusions and make informed decisions. I will say I have no animosity toward Greenwald; everyone makes mistakes or gets in over their heads. But OTOH this GB appears far from guaranteed to be completed successfully and people should keep that in mind.

Just to clarify, I refunded the order. I am aware that people will want refunds, and while I am working on the next update, I have also been working on accommodating people who might want refunds. I have also been searching for people to take over spots for people who do not wish to be in the GB anymore. I have every plan to finish this group buy to the end, but I just wanted to clear up that information for you.

Offline Emir

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #233 on: Wed, 12 June 2019, 18:12:41 »
Welp I'm in - bought a spot this late into the game. This is too unique of a board to pass up!

Offline le_wraith

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #234 on: Wed, 12 June 2019, 18:16:31 »
Hi All,

I would like to share my experience in making a Paypal claim for the refund on the Lumina GB:

  • Made paypal claim June 7th, after the claims period had expired
  • Paypal responded with its traditional email saying seller has 10 days to respond
  • Paypal did not wait the 10 days for a seller response, and instead emailed me today that "We reviewed the information regarding the case below and have decided in your favor" without the seller having  provided a response

Now, I have no idea what this means, but I would say I have never seen or heard of Paypal deciding to give a refund before the seller's response period had finished. It is even more noteworthy because the paypal guarantee period has expired, but PayPal refunded me anyway. I don't know what it means--I don't know if it means Greenwald is more blameworthy than he's letting on, or less blameworthy and somehow Paypal feels it's at fault, or if PayPal talked to Greenwald and he decided not to dispute the claim--but I did think it is highly unusual and that the group-buy participants should learn of my experience so they can draw their own conclusions and make informed decisions. I will say I have no animosity toward Greenwald; everyone makes mistakes or gets in over their heads. But OTOH this GB appears far from guaranteed to be completed successfully and people should keep that in mind.

Just to clarify, I refunded the order. I am aware that people will want refunds, and while I am working on the next update, I have also been working on accommodating people who might want refunds. I have also been searching for people to take over spots for people who do not wish to be in the GB anymore. I have every plan to finish this group buy to the end, but I just wanted to clear up that information for you.

Got it. That makes sense. Thank you.


Offline lukelex

  • Posts: 113
Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #236 on: Sun, 16 June 2019, 16:52:58 »
I'm looking for a spot. Hit me up if you wanna get rid of yours.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk


Offline schlep

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #237 on: Mon, 17 June 2019, 00:11:11 »
I can't go to the link Greenwald sent. Something about privacy error. What does the update say?

Offline nasp

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #238 on: Mon, 17 June 2019, 00:14:53 »
I can't go to the link Greenwald sent. Something about privacy error. What does the update say?

Quote
Hey All, update number 3 here, going to keep it short and simple.



For the last week, I have been working on logistics concerning refunds and spot transfers, which is why I have not shared the spreadsheet with everyone. I want to make sure that the names/people’s orders are settled so that I don’t share the document with people who do not wish to receive unnecessary emails or notifications if they are no longer involved in the buys.



Moving on to the important stuff: Lumina. As for the future of the Lumina GB production, I have a roadmap for how production will proceed. I have talked with the Manu doing the Corian, and have been able to convince them to split it into 3 batches of the entire order, which will allow me to effectively pay for each batch within my financial capabilities and the money I have secured for the production. A tentative roadmap to produce the parts is as follows: I estimate the first batch of shipping Luminas will be no shorter than one month from now, assuming there are no delays with production or shipments. The second and third batches will not be long after, as I have been and will be working earning more money to cover the rest of the parts. The next month will consist of me working and borrowing money to keep paying production invoices. My plan is to pay for the first batch invoice within the next 1 to 2 weeks. Of course, I will update information on this with the next update, one week from now.



Addressing the one off and private buys, in addition to the Lumina Manus, I will be using additional manufacturers to produce parts for those products. For most of the private buys and one offs, I already have purchased materials. Pretty much all that is left is to pay for manufacturing for the various parts, as well as various finishing, which includes but is not limited to cerakoting and anodizing.



As usual, if there are any concerns, reach out to me, and I will do my best to provide updates.


Offline Emir

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #239 on: Mon, 17 June 2019, 06:05:53 »
Recently posted a GMK Icon kit for WoB, using Lumina:





Renders courtesy of fellow swede MacSurfy




Offline Starius

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #242 on: Fri, 05 July 2019, 18:15:58 »
Thank you for the update, Greenwald!  :thumb:

Offline cemoon

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #243 on: Fri, 05 July 2019, 22:33:06 »
Thanks, Tes!!


Offline Emir

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Offline schlep

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #246 on: Wed, 17 July 2019, 09:05:35 »
Just to clarify. If say Batch #1 is already completed from the manufacturer, would it be ready to ship out or would there be any other steps that you need to do before it can be shipped out? I am asking so that I can anticipate other delays that may occur. I hope it is not a case where you do the manufacturing in batches but at the end of the day you still need to wait for every single batch before you proceed on to the next step.


Offline KingOfMemes

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Re: [GB] Lumina GB : Update posted in Comments
« Reply #248 on: Fri, 26 July 2019, 22:47:23 »

Offline Emir

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