[IC] SA Spectra - May 25 GB and Pricing Update

[nasp]

Update 1 - March 22
Update 2 - March 24(Major)
Update 3 - March 24.5
Update 4 - March 25
Update 5 - April 1
Update 6 (Pricing) - May 21





TLDR:
What? Signature Plastics SA profile White on Black (WoB) with Space Cadet Legends
When? targeting May
Where? Worldwide
But Why? Quite simply - it doesn't exist and I want it. Yes, there have been other SA WoB sets from other manufacturers, but the kitting is quite basic.
What are the Colors? NN base with WA legends. Photos of chips soon.


Vendor List:

• Alpha Keys-Canada
• Daily Clack-AUS
• ILumKB-S.E. Asia
• Kono-US
• MKUltra-US
• MyKeyboard-EU
• ProtoTypist-UK
• Rheset - Mexico
• ZFrontier-China

Please, please fill out this form. It helps the vendors know how to price the kits - or if to cut some (looking at you Norde)
Interest Form



Kits:
click more to see all of the kits

More

Alphas:


TKL Mods:


40% Mods:


Ergo


Numpad


Symbols


Macro


Spacebars


Norde


CMYK

Board Renders:
(renders are an approximation only and may differ slightly from the final product)


Austin by Drift Mechanics

More

Brutal by Cannon Keys
with CMYK mods

More

Field Trip by Aeternus

More

Interest Form Thanks to those that fill this out. It helps tremendously.



Acknowledgments

• Austin (OCM) - not only as the true mastermind of this set, but his work on the graphics and legends. Thanks for letting me run this set!
• Xen Wildman - your videos helped me improve my render skills and save me some time
• NoPunIn10Did - thanks for spending your valuable time giving me kitting advice
• Matt and others in the 40's Discord for their kitting feedback

Show your support by adding this banner to your GH profile

Code: [Select]

[url=https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=111830.0][img width=640 height=159]https://i.imgur.com/BMTE2NP.jpg[/img][/url]

[nasp]

I knew I reserved this spot for a reason 


SP Stock Colors:


CMYK Colors (K is NN from SP):

[bigern302]

Just when I thought I couldn’t <3 Nasp any more.....

[HungHingDaiLo]

Yes chief!

[Chippy]

Looks interesting, I assume you have permission to run the sublegends?

[bisoromi]

i love SA

[Woovie]

I’d like an Alice second B instead of any key. Other Alice users speak up if you agree please.

[iwanoo]

That standalone 40% kit. Yes please.

[atlanticise]

I LIKE THIS SET! *smash IC on the floor* ANOTHER!

[ocm]

i love SA

i too love SA

[Fredington]

Cool.

[Kerasan]

i love SA

i too love SA

+3

[nasp]

i love SA

i too love SA

We all love SA.


In other news, is you'd like RGB or CMYK mods, speak now or forever be unheard.

[EightDiagram]

CMYK +1

[LXVRGS]

ideally it would be nice to have both rgbw and cmyw accents but i dont really have a preference between the two. either or would be a nice accent that would also be usable with other sets.

[splodeybaloney]

Aaahhh another SA space cadet set, man I'd die if this could get a Hyper7 kit but I'm sure the demand would be so low outside of myself.

May still be in for a 100% layout, depending when this goes to sale

[nasp]

Looks interesting, I assume you have permission to run the sublegends?

Asked SP and it turns out that SP, 7bit, and Kono each own Space Cadet legends. I'm not sure what the difference between them is, but the plan is to not have even more Space Cadet legend molds made. We will use SP's Space Cadet legends if they are not too far from what is seen in the renders here. This doesn't need to be more expensive than SP already is. We should be able to evaluate SP's Space Cadet legends soon.

[smshark]

Love the shambles-style 40s kit that should cover most major layouts, I may have undersold my interest because I didn't count 40s keys before answering...SP expensive but only having to buy alphas and 40s is a great potential fix for that!

[nasp]

Update 1


These are the SA Cadet Legends that SP has for use. They are a bit different than what we are going for so I'm going to ask permission from 7bit and/or Kono to use the ones they ran. If it comes to it, we'll use some of the legends SP has, and the rest will have to be "new" legend molds.

[Fredington]

Yeah, SP's legends are from the first Symbiosis run and are a bit lacking in size among other things. Kono's are actually of similar size with some legend fixes. 7bit's legend's look the best, as they are bigger and bolder, but I doubt you'll get a response from him.

I also noticed that you included a 6u spacebar in the Spacebars kit, which SP does not have and will not make upon request for whatever reason. I've tried.

[nasp]

Update 2 (Major)


We have vendors!

List:

• Alpha Keys-Canada
• Daily Clack-AUS
• ILumKB-S.E. Asia
• Kono-US
• MyKeyboard-EU
• ProtoTypist-UK
• Rheset - Mexico
• ZFrontier-China

We chose Kono because we are trying to keep the cost down. Without them, we'd have to pay for new Space Cadet legends and also the symbols, which would significantly increase the cost of all the kits. Kono might not be most people's first choice, but it was the best one in this instance. Kono has set a tentative GB date of May.


Secondly, we have decided to add a CMYK kit. I'll be working on getting a render of that up pronto.


Lastly, I updated the board renders with better lighting. Going forward I don't forsee any major changes to the kitting. We will need to make sure that all of the legends are available - looking at you 40's and Ergo kits. [/list]

[Vibex]

Super excited to see those coloured mods! Will still probably just use the black ones, but  love having the option!

[nasp]

Update 3 - CMYK Mods



Please let me know any constructive criticism on the kit:





Either today or tomorrow I'll update you all about the colors used in this kit.

[Vibex]

Update 3 - CMYK Mods



Please let me know any constructive criticism on the kit:

Show Image

Either today or tomorrow I'll update you all about the colors used in this kit.

Really love the blue used here, but the yellow and magenta feel a little over-saturated.

[nasp]

Update 3 - CMYK Mods



Please let me know any constructive criticism on the kit:

Show Image

Either today or tomorrow I'll update you all about the colors used in this kit.

Really love the blue used here, but the yellow and magenta feel a little over-saturated.

Might just be my lighting in that scene. I'll put them on a board so that we can make a better judgement

[honorless]

...the 40% legend. c'est magnifique

I'm in, especially having missed Symbiosis.

[joedinkle]

Nasp with the great sets

Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

[dingusxmcgee]

I like this.

I like it even more on Field Trip.

Hope to be in on it!

[nasp]

Update 4 - Added Colors to Second Post and Added CYMK Board Render to OP


If you don't feel like scrolling up to the OP, here's the board render:

[nasp]

Another update.

All kit images have been updated with renders, which almost destroyed me.

Anyway, if you would like to seeing any modifications done to the kits, please speak now as we will be requesting quotes beginning next week.

[unholy.vlad]

Hey nasp, thanks for the good work! I have few suggestions based on the fact that this set of legends is not only beautiful, but also for some folks it has both practical and legacy (nostalgic) meaning. Adding (R3: 1.25, 1.50, 1.00) HYPER, SUPER, and META would greatly benefit this set. Also having a Vim Kit (that changes the arrows over GHJKL to Vim style navigation, similarly to VimKit from SA Symbiosis R2 would be a selling point for some programmers/coders). Molds/tooling for all the above are existent in Signature Plastics (because they have made SA Symbiosis R2 and I guess that these molds will be used as you have previously mentioned Kono.Store here).

You can consider adding HYPER, SUPER and META to the "Modifiers Kit" or adding them to VimKit if you think it is better. BTW it would also make a great composition with SA Symbiosis R2 keycaps for anyone who already owns these...

[splodeybaloney]

Ah I hadn't thought of it but super/hyper/meta modifier keys would be hot, to match with other cadet sets as mentioned

[nasp]

Absolutely. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. As soon as I get some time I'll change the render to reflect Hyper, Meta, and Super modifier.


As for a VIM kit, I think we have enough kits ATM. I don't want to overwhelm vendors AND buyers with too much.

[unholy.vlad]

Thanks for that! I just saw the updated kit renders, the new mods look absolutely awesome!  Having HYPER+SUPER+META at the bottom row not only looks cool but (for me) these are the actual modifiers that I use in my text editor. And the CONTROL key is obviously where it truly belongs -> on R3 replacing CAPS-LOCK, and luckily this (CTRL) keycap is also included in Spectra. I absolutely love it! Ideal for standalone BW keyboard setup and for mixing with any existing deployments of SA Symbiosis R2!

[pandaman97]

CMYK Mods is a MUST  hope it become a separate kit 

[Kajoler]

MMM looks gooddd

[ddrfraser1]

Shwing

[nasp]

CMYK Mods is a MUST  hope it become a separate kit 

It already is and I'm keeping the legends "Ctrl, Alt, Shift" as-is unless there's a majority consensus to change it. I figure that way people can use them in other sets if they want.

[unholy.vlad]

Yup. Keeping the "classic" (CTRL, ALT, SHIFT) legends on CMY[K] mods seems very reasonable, I think that if this set is not overpriced then some people may get few units just to customize other sets that they already have...

[DrHigsby]

Set of the year right here folks! Great work Nasp!

[nasp]

Major Kit Update - April 1


The following kits have been modified (the kit images are updated in the OP):

• TKL
• UK ISO
• Alphas
• NorDe

The Details:
UK ISO has been dissolved into Alphas, TKL Mods, and NorDe. The ISO enter went to the TKL Mods and the remaining 1u keys went to the alphas (2, 1u's) and NorDe (3, 1u's). With ISO enter now in the TKL Mods, we could remove it from the NorDe kit.

Why?
It's all about MOQs and price essentially - what isn't? Since TKL and Alphas both have large MOQs, adding a few keys affects the price much less substantially then if we were to add them to a low MOQ kit. Essentially, having an ISO enter in a low MOQ kit (NorDe and UK ISO) significantly affects the price of those kits. Now we can offer those low MOQ kits at a much more competitive price or completely eliminate the need to purchase the kit altogether (UK ISO).


Price and Timeline

I should have at least prices from the USA and Canadian vendors soon. As for when, we are aiming for a GB Start of May 25.


Lastly, MKUltra is on board to help out the Ergo and 40's users! This will allow us to raise the MOQs on those kits so I'm hoping you'll be pleased with those prices. 

[steezkeebs]

I’d like an Alice second B instead of any key. Other Alice users speak up if you agree please.

Same! Also an R2 thumbs up in the Symbols kit for HHKB-layout arrows!

[nasp]

I’d like an Alice second B instead of any key. Other Alice users speak up if you agree please.

Same! Also an R2 thumbs up in the Symbols kit for HHKB-layout arrows!

You can flip over the r4 thumb and you'll have a r2 one.

Also, surprisingly most people prefer the "Any" key.
http://imgur.com/a/7VheJyL

[Finite]

I missed EVERY SINGLE Space Cadet themed keycap set before this one... BUT NOT TODAY. I will make sure I will not miss this one, even if it's WoB and doesn't come with all the keys I want for a battleship build, I need to finally get my hands on a Space Cadet themed kit. I don't even know kb I'd use it on, I just know I need to get this.

[VellFlamm]

I missed EVERY SINGLE Space Cadet themed keycap set before this one... BUT NOT TODAY. I will make sure I will not miss this one, even if it's WoB and doesn't come with all the keys I want for a battleship build, I need to finally get my hands on a Space Cadet themed kit. I don't even know kb I'd use it on, I just know I need to get this.

Mkultra is still selling their KAT Space Cadet extras now.
But I'd say Spectra has something of its own and it is a kit to get even if you manage to get the KAT one.

[BirgusLatro]

1 of each please

[Skeil]

Looks interesting! I like these sublegends, GLWIC!

[Finite]

Mkultra is still selling their KAT Space Cadet extras now.
But I'd say Spectra has something of its own and it is a kit to get even if you manage to get the KAT one.

I saw this RIGHT AFTER I wrote my original comment and flipped out and immediately put $200 into MKUltra's preorder for the extras. I'm so happy rn since this was this set I was most excited to get due to the Hyper 7 kit (even if I'll have to wait for an R4 of the Hyper 7 or another battleship that hopefully has enough 2u for the set).
Of course, I'm still extremely hyped for this kit and am looking forward to see what I can do with this kit, especially since it's the first WoB kit I've genuinely been interested in.

[azathoth69]

Are there no plans for a 1.75 spacebar in the 40s kit? is it not that common 40s layouts? I'm not too experienced with GBs ,but the last one I got in had one for 40s (vortex core layout).

I know there is one in the spacebars, but I jut wanted to ask to make sure I'll have to get the bars kit too. I'm def gonna get in on this one, still regretting missing SA SAIL.

[nasp]

Are there no plans for a 1.75 spacebar in the 40s kit? is it not that common 40s layouts? I'm not too experienced with GBs ,but the last one I got in had one for 40s (vortex core layout).

I know there is one in the spacebars, but I jut wanted to ask to make sure I'll have to get the bars kit too. I'm def gonna get in on this one, still regretting missing SA SAIL.

The only board that uses a single 1.75u is the Vortex core, which isn't very popular. There are a number of boards that use double 1.75u, but they were all done in very low quantities. However, if enough people request it, I could add a 1.75u bar into the 40's kit.