Hey folks, Wanted to make a quick announcement on the J-02 GB - There is both good news, and meh news to share...
Lets start with the good news:All manufacturing has been finished and all vendors have the boards in transit to them! Some vendors already have them on hand (MyKeyboard have their allocation of Standard Editions on hand, and I have the Limited Edition ones I sold on hand. iLumKB and Upas have their boards on the way and should arrive within the next few weeks.
The 'Meh' news:All Black and LE boards have been manufactured to spec. The Grey boards have been produced in a lighter shade of grey than we requested. I worked with the manu to adapt a colour to the grey prototype shown in pictures and on streams etc (same grey as the Lodestone base, J-01 base, and the J-02 Prototype). The manufacturer is not willing to refinish these boards (This is due to the fact that re-finishing can have a significant and detrimental impact on quality of the final finish of the aluminium parts), and has sent them to the vendors despite Upas trying his best to get them to resolve prior to shipping. You can see a picture below comparing the prototype finish top compared to the production board.
What does this mean? Firstly - dont fear! We have some options and have taken some actions already.
All of the vendors have agreed to purchase additional units to be made in the correct Grey and Upas has arranged this with the manufacturer. This gives all grey J-02 buyers a choice. Either take the grey boards as they have been produced in the lighter grey shipping asap, OR, wait for the correct grey boards to be produced (targeting January as a manufacturing date). Each of the vendors will issue a form to their Grey J-02 customers so they can make an informed choice.
The boards that are left over of either the light grey or the correct grey will then be sold as extras at the vendors discretion.
I know this is not what people expected, and I am really sorry to have to share this news. The lighter grey actually looks spectacular, but its not the colour I envisioned and as such I offer my humblest apologies for any buyer affected. If anyone wants to discuss this with me - my DM's are open, although I cannot discuss Orders individually - these will need to be taken up with your vendor.
TL/DR:Grey boards made in too light of a Grey - Manufacturer won't replace/re-finish
Black and LE boards unaffected
Grey boards being re-manufactured in the correct colour
All Grey J-02 customers will have a choice - receive the lighter grey asap, or wait and get the darker grey
Edit:
Some albums of the colour differences:
Desk lighting -
https://imgur.com/gallery/tnU3OkLWarehouse Lighting -
https://imgur.com/gallery/bYkvSbR