[IC] GMK Nordic Pine - Green Tea inspired, reasonable cost, high compatibility

[wilarseny]

Hi folks,

After a couple months of work and waiting for renders, I'm happy to present GMK Nordic Pine:



More accurate color swatches:



Older versions of the set:

More

Original KLE mockup:
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/738f3a8d409167a0f530
Version 1:

Version 2:

The original concept for GMK Nordic Pine was to make some combination of green tea and calm depths: a dark green/gray primary set, with bright green legends for contrast and visual "pop". The earlier versions of the set did not have enough contrast, however, so the current plan is to go forward with dark gray alpha legends and bright green mod legends, rather than a uniform legend color. One reason why we are posting this interest check now is to solicit feedback and suggestions for improving the alpha contrast. Our general feeling is that the contrast will be fine in person, but due to GMK's odd color presentation in the renders, the render doesn't accurately reflect the contrast that the set will have once produced. Still, any suggestions for improvement would be appreciated.

We also tentatively plan to add nordic layout compatibility with the next round of renders. This should not require any custom molds, and should add about $5-10 to the cost of the base set. We are about 90% on this, but will reevaluate and keep the thread updated as we learn more about this option. I am strongly of the opinion that, given GMK's relatively high MOQs compared to SP, breaking off compatibility keys into child kits is a poor option for this set. GMK Nordic Pine will thus consist of a single set, but with ample layout compatibility and a reasonable cost due to no custom legends, no custom colors, and the potential for a unique tax/shipping savings (details coming soon).

FAQ:

What layouts does GMK Nordic Pine support?

GMK Nordic Pine is designed to support the following layouts: standard (winkey)- 60%, TKL, and Fullsize; winkeyless, 65%, 75%, 1800, Whitefox (all), ISO, ISO-Nordic (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland), and FC660.

You'll note that some of these layouts do not currently have the proper keys in the render. We know that the FC660 extra left-shift and ISO-Nordic keys still need to be added. If there are any other additions that people want, please let us know in the thread.

We also do not plan to add support for other unique ISO layouts at this time, such as ISO-DE or ISO-FR. It's just too many keys and cost, and the unique "hook" of this GB is the nordic compatability to match the theming of the set. We are happy to support other group buys that include that compatability, but currently that will not be on the table for GMK Nordic Pine.

Why should we trust you to run this group buy?

You don't need to. I am working with LeandreN on the set, and he will be responsible for fulfillment and shipping. This arrangement may present some pricing advantages, especially for European buyers, due to tax and logistical reasons. We are still hammering out the details, so don't take this as set in stone. However, I am not planning to fulfill this set myself; I won't run it without a partnership with a vendor, both for trust reasons and for fulfillment speed reasons.

What will the set cost?

TBD, but we will announce this as soon as we know. Given the potential advantages involved in shipping within the EU, pricing should be competitive with the cheaper GMK sets produced recently for both EU and US buyers. Although the set is compatible with many layouts, there are not many extraneous keys or custom molds/colors increasing the price.

Is this set just for EU clackers?

No, it should be cheap for US buyers too. The shipping and tax advantage (**still to be confirmed**) refers to the shipment from GMK to Leandre. Fulfillment to US buyers will be of comparable cost to shipment from a US-based vendor. We are still discussing options, such as shipping untracked at a $7/set rough cost direct from EU, or shipping to a US-based proxy who will fulfill domestic orders, but our focus is cost, speed, and safety for the set. We will keep everyone updated as we know more.

Any other questions?

Please discuss below! I will add common/important questions to the OP.

Please also indicate if you would be interested in buying this set - a simple one-line comment is fine. Thanks GH!

[LeandreN]

I love it !

[romevi]

Looks amazing!

Will this fit my backlit Pok3r with ErgoDox and Planck compatibility?

[LeandreN]

Looks amazing!

Will this fit my backlit Pok3r with ErgoDox and Planck compatibility?

GMKs MOQ and price will make this set incompatible with the ErgoDox and Planck, but it will fit your Pok3r

[romevi]

Looks amazing!

Will this fit my backlit Pok3r with ErgoDox and Planck compatibility?

GMKs MOQ and price will make this set incompatible with the ErgoDox and Planck, but it will fit your Pok3r

 

[joey]

Why does LeandreN rent an AirBnB apartment in Germany for a month or two, while fulfilling the GB?

[Malenky]

I'd prefer it if the green alpha keys were a beige or something, with green legends. Hard to tell though, with GMK render colours being so off. I might light it more if there was a full render using accurate colours.

[PriusProblems]

ISO Green Tea has been on my "Wants" list for quite some time, super looking forward to this, especially the EU shipping. I would love to see some 3D renders on different size and colour (some sets clash with white boards pretty badly) keyboards.

[PriusProblems]

FYI, a 1u key to go to the bottom left of the ISO enter key is missing.

[Tobi45]

I'd have prefered brighter legends, but overall this set looks great and I'll be definitely in once it launches.
I always hated how nearly every single GMK set is X on white (at least for the alphas) and the only way to get some more colorfull keysets in Cherry(-like)-profile is to get something from SP, which are unreasonably expensive.

Is it possible to get a stylised pine (cone?) instead (or in addition) of the winkey? I feel like the tea-symbol (茶) made a huge difference in the appearance of the green-tea set and this set would profit from something similar as well.

Really looking forward to this, especially if there will be no customs for europeans! Thanks a lot for your efforts.

[geniekid]

1) Feels like HHKB support should be here, especially with LeandreN co-running this. )
2) Love the option for consistent F-keys colors.

You'll note that some of these layouts do not currently have the proper keys in the render. We know that the FC660 extra left-shift and ISO-Nordic keys still need to be added. If there are any other additions that people want, please let us know in the thread.

Not sure if you are requesting us to say a) which keys are missing from the supported layouts you've listed or b) additional layouts we would like to see.  If the former, there are several keys missing for 1800 and 75% support in the render.

[TalkingTree]

I like the mods better but I'd probably buy the set.

I also dare to say that the arrows cluster should use the mods scheme.

[Bigpock]

great looking set for any fan on green on a black case

[wilarseny]

I like the mods better but I'd probably buy the set.

I also dare to say that the arrows cluster should use the mods scheme.

Yea, there are alternate arrow keys in the mod color scheme below the set.

Not sure if you are requesting us to say a) which keys are missing from the supported layouts you've listed or b) additional layouts we would like to see.  If the former, there are several keys missing for 1800 and 75% support in the render.

Thanks, both actually. Which are missing for 1800? I'm aware of the missing ones for 75% and they'll be added.

2) Love the option for consistent F-keys colors.

Dude, yea. That is a huge gripe I have with a lot of sets and any I design have the option for either color F5-F8.

I'd have prefered brighter legends, but overall this set looks great and I'll be definitely in once it launches.
I always hated how nearly every single GMK set is X on white (at least for the alphas) and the only way to get some more colorfull keysets in Cherry(-like)-profile is to get something from SP, which are unreasonably expensive.

Is it possible to get a stylised pine (cone?) instead (or in addition) of the winkey? I feel like the tea-symbol (茶) made a huge difference in the appearance of the green-tea set and this set would profit from something similar as well.

Really looking forward to this, especially if there will be no customs for europeans! Thanks a lot for your efforts.

I agree with the preference for brighter legends, but the only option to fix that would've been custom colors. The two greens that GMK have available as default colors are just a bit too close together, I think, and wouldn't contrast enough.

I'm not opposed to custom colors if there is enough interest for a set that looks more like the original KLE mockup - with a much darker green alpha background, lighter gray mod background, and brighter legends, but that would be a more expensive set, and I'm just not sure there's enough appetite to support that at a higher price. But please let me know if enough of y'all disagree!

Re: stylized pine cone - is this something others are interested in? We can do it, but it means a custom mold and thus more $$$. Not sure how much, but if there's enough interest I'll check with GMK.

I'd prefer it if the green alpha keys were a beige or something, with green legends. Hard to tell though, with GMK render colours being so off. I might light it more if there was a full render using accurate colours.

Yea, I have thought about doing that. If others feel the same we can request another render, but at this point I've gotten 3 from GMK, so I don't want to ask for a ton without knowing others' feelings on the set.

I have also thought about getting a 3rd party to do a full 3D render with more accurate colors, but wanted to see if there's some minimum of interest first before spending $ to do that. I do think a non-GMK render will show the color contrast a bit better. Not exactly sure why theirs are so off from their own swatches.

[iamtootallforthis]

Definitely interested.

[Tobi45]

I agree with the preference for brighter legends, but the only option to fix that would've been custom colors. The two greens that GMK have available as default colors are just a bit too close together, I think, and wouldn't contrast enough.

I didn't mean a brighter green, but rather a pure white or something like that, but that would make the set look a lot like green tea, so I understand if you're not up for it.

I'd prefer it if the green alpha keys were a beige or something,

That'd be a total dealbreaker for me.

[TalkingTree]

I like the mods better but I'd probably buy the set.

I also dare to say that the arrows cluster should use the mods scheme.

Yea, there are alternate arrow keys in the mod color scheme below the set.

I must be blind.

[soilheart]

I'd prefer it if the green alpha keys were a beige or something, with green legends. Hard to tell though, with GMK render colours being so off. I might light it more if there was a full render using accurate colours.

Yea, I have thought about doing that. If others feel the same we can request another render, but at this point I've gotten 3 from GMK, so I don't want to ask for a ton without knowing others' feelings on the set.

I have also thought about getting a 3rd party to do a full 3D render with more accurate colors, but wanted to see if there's some minimum of interest first before spending $ to do that. I do think a non-GMK render will show the color contrast a bit better. Not exactly sure why theirs are so off from their own swatches.

I'm also not a fan of colored alphas, so I'd also prefer green on white/beige personally. I understand if you want to make something different and go with colored alphas though.

Ps. I love the N9/AE mods though, totally my style =D Ds.

[wilarseny]

I'd prefer it if the green alpha keys were a beige or something, with green legends. Hard to tell though, with GMK render colours being so off. I might light it more if there was a full render using accurate colours.

Yea, I have thought about doing that. If others feel the same we can request another render, but at this point I've gotten 3 from GMK, so I don't want to ask for a ton without knowing others' feelings on the set.

I have also thought about getting a 3rd party to do a full 3D render with more accurate colors, but wanted to see if there's some minimum of interest first before spending $ to do that. I do think a non-GMK render will show the color contrast a bit better. Not exactly sure why theirs are so off from their own swatches.

I'm also not a fan of colored alphas, so I'd also prefer green on white/beige personally. I understand if you want to make something different and go with colored alphas though.

Ps. I love the N9/AE mods though, totally my style =D Ds.

Yea, I could honestly go either way on the alphas direction - might be worth seeing the green on white/beige, at least, though I do agree with the sentiment earlier in the thread that there are too few GMK sets with colored alphas. Any green on white/beige would need to be sufficiently different from royal alpha.

One option, if there aren't enough people on one side or the other w/r/t the alphas - we could run the mod set separately. It does seem like the reception for those is better overall, between here and reddit. And they could be paired with royal alpha alphas as another alternate mod set for that kit.

[geniekid]

[SNIP]

Not sure if you are requesting us to say a) which keys are missing from the supported layouts you've listed or b) additional layouts we would like to see.  If the former, there are several keys missing for 1800 and 75% support in the render.

Thanks, both actually. Which are missing for 1800? I'm aware of the missing ones for 75% and they'll be added.
[SNIP]

For full 1800 support you would need

• R2 1x Numpad minus
• R3 1x Numpad plus

[Rob27shred]

Just saw this on reddit & wanted to pop in & say I personally really like this set. The non uniform legends don't bother me, but I guess we'll have to wait & see what the community census is. Either way I would definitely be interested in picking up a set like this. I think it would look great on a KB with a black case like my Disco. 

[WNovizar]

Some suggestions:

1. Does AE to N7 F5 to F8 is necessary? usually it use the same colorway as modifier right?

2. For HHKB,  change 1u R1 Backspace to 1u R1 |\, add 1.5u Return or Delete keys and R1 1.75u shift with 1u Fn  for complete HHKB compatibility.

3. 75% compatibility (1u R2 PgUp, 1u R3 PgDn, and 1u R4 End)

4. Win98 logo, or at least, OS agnostic logo, like Code keys

Will buy at least 1 either way

[joey]

[SNIP]

Not sure if you are requesting us to say a) which keys are missing from the supported layouts you've listed or b) additional layouts we would like to see.  If the former, there are several keys missing for 1800 and 75% support in the render.

Thanks, both actually. Which are missing for 1800? I'm aware of the missing ones for 75% and they'll be added.
[SNIP]

For full 1800 support you would need

• R2 1x Numpad minus
• R3 1x Numpad plus

R4 1u Numpad 0

[kenmai9]

omg........ i want

[Poostar]

I would buy. Have a hyperfuse but i just think i will get them light colored caps dirty. I am a disgusting person

[zeltner]

I'd be in for a set

[usopia]

Definitely interested.

+1

[iamtootallforthis]

I like it as it is now, color wise that is. Going with green on beige mods is too much like the Royal TA buy for me and would make me not buy the set.

[nickheller]

Very interested.

I would love it if the "Ctrl" legends were changed to Control, and if the Ins and Del and Print legends were changed to Insert, Delete, and Print Sc. Would also love to see a r2 backspace, and r3 control added for HHKB like layout support, but its your set so choose whichever you prefer 

[xiaodian317]

Great Green.

[shower_king]

In +1
the N7 green matches well with AE green.

any chance to add 6U blank space? GMK have created the mould for 6U already.

[ctrlX]

Definitely into this! 😃😃😃

[MOZ]

Yea, I could honestly go either way on the alphas direction - might be worth seeing the green on white/beige, at least, though I do agree with the sentiment earlier in the thread that there are too few GMK sets with colored alphas. Any green on white/beige would need to be sufficiently different from royal alpha.

One option, if there aren't enough people on one side or the other w/r/t the alphas - we could run the mod set separately. It does seem like the reception for those is better overall, between here and reddit. And they could be paired with royal alpha alphas as another alternate mod set for that kit.

As the designer, of that set, I whole heartedly support the idea of a mod pack!

[tuco]

Very nice, I'm if it happens!

[Photekq]

Very interested.

I would love it if the "Ctrl" legends were changed to Control, and if the Ins and Del and Print legends were changed to Insert, Delete, and Print Sc. Would also love to see a r2 backspace, and r3 control added for HHKB like layout support, but its your set so choose whichever you prefer 

This ^ (although Prt Sc instead of Print Sc, as I don't think GMK has the latter)

I couldn't buy the set without those changes, but would certainly buy it with them. Also, further to the changes suggested, I would suggested that you add "Sys Rq" and "Break" side printed legends in green to Prt Sc and Pause respectively.

Would also love to see scooped f/j keys.

[xixihaha2008]

Please +1

[My_Thoughts]

Im very interested in this, depending on the ISO-UK support.  Will wait and see what's included

[TalkingTree]

Well, since we're suggesting, it doesn't hurt to ask for R5 bottom row.

[punkpc]

[SNIP]

Not sure if you are requesting us to say a) which keys are missing from the supported layouts you've listed or b) additional layouts we would like to see.  If the former, there are several keys missing for 1800 and 75% support in the render.

Thanks, both actually. Which are missing for 1800? I'm aware of the missing ones for 75% and they'll be added.
[SNIP]

For full 1800 support you would need

• R2 1x Numpad minus
• R3 1x Numpad plus

R4 1u Numpad 0

Yes I will need these caps also. 

[pomk]

Where are the Nordic keys? This feels like GMK American Pine. 

[soilheart]

Where are the Nordic keys? This feels like GMK American Pine. 

meet

We also tentatively plan to add nordic layout compatibility with the next round of renders. This should not require any custom molds, and should add about $5-10 to the cost of the base set. We are about 90% on this, but will reevaluate and keep the thread updated as we learn more about this option. I am strongly of the opinion that, given GMK's relatively high MOQs compared to SP, breaking off compatibility keys into child kits is a poor option for this set. GMK Nordic Pine will thus consist of a single set, but with ample layout compatibility and a reasonable cost due to no custom legends, no custom colors, and the potential for a unique tax/shipping savings (details coming soon).

(Yeah, I missed it too at first).

[billnye]

Very interested.

I would love it if the "Ctrl" legends were changed to Control, and if the Ins and Del and Print legends were changed to Insert, Delete, and Print Sc. Would also love to see a r2 backspace, and r3 control added for HHKB like layout support, but its your set so choose whichever you prefer 

This ^ (although Prt Sc instead of Print Sc, as I don't think GMK has the latter)

I couldn't buy the set without those changes, but would certainly buy it with them. Also, further to the changes suggested, I would suggested that you add "Sys Rq" and "Break" side printed legends in green to Prt Sc and Pause respectively.

Would also love to see scooped f/j keys.

What he said.

I like the set a lot, great color choices .

[pomk]

Where are the Nordic keys? This feels like GMK American Pine. 

meet

We also tentatively plan to add nordic layout compatibility with the next round of renders. This should not require any custom molds, and should add about $5-10 to the cost of the base set. We are about 90% on this, but will reevaluate and keep the thread updated as we learn more about this option. I am strongly of the opinion that, given GMK's relatively high MOQs compared to SP, breaking off compatibility keys into child kits is a poor option for this set. GMK Nordic Pine will thus consist of a single set, but with ample layout compatibility and a reasonable cost due to no custom legends, no custom colors, and the potential for a unique tax/shipping savings (details coming soon).

(Yeah, I missed it too at first).

Ooh!

Will buy 2 sets

[kenmai9]

i'd be interested in nordic legends

[wilarseny]

Where are the Nordic keys? This feels like GMK American Pine. 

meet

We also tentatively plan to add nordic layout compatibility with the next round of renders. This should not require any custom molds, and should add about $5-10 to the cost of the base set. We are about 90% on this, but will reevaluate and keep the thread updated as we learn more about this option. I am strongly of the opinion that, given GMK's relatively high MOQs compared to SP, breaking off compatibility keys into child kits is a poor option for this set. GMK Nordic Pine will thus consist of a single set, but with ample layout compatibility and a reasonable cost due to no custom legends, no custom colors, and the potential for a unique tax/shipping savings (details coming soon).

(Yeah, I missed it too at first).

Ooh!

Will buy 2 sets

Thanks soilheart - was about to post the same.


Thanks also all for the suggestions for additions. So far, the plans for the next set of renders include:

- Adding the missing 1800/75% keys

- Adding the missing extra shift for FC660

- Adding the missing nordic keys

- Adding the missing key next to iso enter

- Changing the ins/del/print/etc to their longer versions (Ctrl will likely stay the same - just personal preference, unless more folks would prefer the full Control)

- F/J will also definitely be scoops. I requested that originally, not sure why the render has bars.


The ones I'm not sure about are:

- Adding the HHKB compatability keys. Would users of that layout be ok w/ just the r1 pipe/backslash 1u and r2 backspace 1.5u keys, without the r3 control and r4 1.75u shift? I'm looking for places to pare down, and my general philosophy for layout compatibility is to prioritize profile/size compatibility over proper legends. I'd love to have HHKB compatibility in the set overall, but it might require some hard choices over full 1800 vs full hhkb to keep costs down. [Edit: the more I think about this this afternoon, the more I think I will look into adding all the requested HHKB-compatible keys. If anything I would guess there are more MX HHKB users than 1800, though of course if the costs are doable then we'd want to support both.]

- How would folks feel about losing the green-primary arrows, and shifting the dark-gray-primary arrows currently in the "extras" half of the render into the main set?

- Winkey - I also don't like the Win10 logo, but I think it is one of those things where a small percentage really object to it while most others are neutral or mildly in favor. Informal poll: would people prefer Win10, Win98, a custom logo (e.g. stylized pine tree - extra cost for custom mold), CODE, or blank?


Things I'm not planning to change for the next set of renders:

- Main color choices. On the one hand, I'm curious to see what the set would look like as kind of a "dolch-lite with bright green uniform legends" a la sky dolch, but most in the thread seem to support the colorscheme overall, so I think it will probably stand for now.

- R5 bottom row. Honestly I like it myself, have a BSP set with it and it feels great. But I'm wary of scaring people away with it, I'm not even sure GMK does R5 though of course cherry molds exist for it, and I'd like the mod keys especially to stay compatible with other GMK sets, none of which use R5.

[TalkingTree]

- R5 bottom row. Honestly I like it myself, have a BSP set with it and it feels great. But I'm wary of scaring people away with it, I'm not even sure GMK does R5 though of course cherry molds exist for it, and I'd like the mod keys especially to stay compatible with other GMK sets, none of which use R5.

Thanks for taking it into consideration. If it's not gonna be in the main set, which I totally expect, at least, please, try and gather the interest for a child set.

[geniekid]

More

Where are the Nordic keys? This feels like GMK American Pine. 

meet

We also tentatively plan to add nordic layout compatibility with the next round of renders. This should not require any custom molds, and should add about $5-10 to the cost of the base set. We are about 90% on this, but will reevaluate and keep the thread updated as we learn more about this option. I am strongly of the opinion that, given GMK's relatively high MOQs compared to SP, breaking off compatibility keys into child kits is a poor option for this set. GMK Nordic Pine will thus consist of a single set, but with ample layout compatibility and a reasonable cost due to no custom legends, no custom colors, and the potential for a unique tax/shipping savings (details coming soon).

(Yeah, I missed it too at first).

Ooh!

Will buy 2 sets

Thanks soilheart - was about to post the same.


Thanks also all for the suggestions for additions. So far, the plans for the next set of renders include:

- Adding the missing 1800/75% keys

- Adding the missing extra shift for FC660

- Adding the missing nordic keys

- Adding the missing key next to iso enter

- Changing the ins/del/print/etc to their longer versions (Ctrl will likely stay the same - just personal preference, unless more folks would prefer the full Control)

- F/J will also definitely be scoops. I requested that originally, not sure why the render has bars.


The ones I'm not sure about are:

- Adding the HHKB compatability keys. Would users of that layout be ok w/ just the r1 pipe/backslash 1u and r2 backspace 1.5u keys, without the r3 control and r4 1.75u shift? I'm looking for places to pare down, and my general philosophy for layout compatibility is to prioritize profile/size compatibility over proper legends. I'd love to have HHKB compatibility in the set overall, but it might require some hard choices over full 1800 vs full hhkb to keep costs down. [Edit: the more I think about this this afternoon, the more I think I will look into adding all the requested HHKB-compatible keys. If anything I would guess there are more MX HHKB users than 1800, though of course if the costs are doable then we'd want to support both.]

- How would folks feel about losing the green-primary arrows, and shifting the dark-gray-primary arrows currently in the "extras" half of the render into the main set?

- Winkey - I also don't like the Win10 logo, but I think it is one of those things where a small percentage really object to it while most others are neutral or mildly in favor. Informal poll: would people prefer Win10, Win98, a custom logo (e.g. stylized pine tree - extra cost for custom mold), CODE, or blank?


Things I'm not planning to change for the next set of renders:

- Main color choices. On the one hand, I'm curious to see what the set would look like as kind of a "dolch-lite with bright green uniform legends" a la sky dolch, but most in the thread seem to support the colorscheme overall, so I think it will probably stand for now.

- R5 bottom row. Honestly I like it myself, have a BSP set with it and it feels great. But I'm wary of scaring people away with it, I'm not even sure GMK does R5 though of course cherry molds exist for it, and I'd like the mod keys especially to stay compatible with other GMK sets, none of which use R5.

Sounds good.  Regarding HHKB compatibility, my personal opinion is R1 \| and R2 Del/Bksp is adequate.  One idea some other sets have done (notably Royal Alpha) was pad print additional legends either on the front or the side.  So R3 Caps Lock could have a front-printed Control, for example.  Some people like the aesthetic of the additional legends.  Some don't.

[soilheart]

Things I'm not planning to change for the next set of renders:

- Main color choices. On the one hand, I'm curious to see what the set would look like as kind of a "dolch-lite with bright green uniform legends" a la sky dolch, but most in the thread seem to support the colorscheme overall, so I think it will probably stand for now.

... oh no you didn't. Now I can't stop dreaming about lime dolch...

liiiimeeeeee dooooolch... mmmmm.

[Erysichthon]

I'd certainly be in for a set

[braidn]

I like the direction. The green alphas might be a little hard to make out in harsh light but count me interested overall.

[kenmai9]

I like the direction. The green alphas might be a little hard to make out in harsh light but count me interested overall.

harsh light? what're you, doing work in hell? or at a rave? at a solar power plant?

[Khers]

.

[My_Thoughts]

- Winkey - I also don't like the Win10 logo, but I think it is one of those things where a small percentage really object to it while most others are neutral or mildly in favor. Informal poll: would people prefer Win10, Win98, a custom logo (e.g. stylized pine tree - extra cost for custom mold), CODE, or blank?

I love blanks for those keys.  Custom logo or CODE would also be good

[kenmai9]

if you make it green on beige alphas im backing out. its been done already and this set is unique as it is.

- Winkey - I also don't like the Win10 logo, but I think it is one of those things where a small percentage really object to it while most others are neutral or mildly in favor. Informal poll: would people prefer Win10, Win98, a custom logo (e.g. stylized pine tree - extra cost for custom mold), CODE, or blank?

I love blanks for those keys.  Custom logo or CODE would also be good

win 98 is nice. win 10 is fine as well. idc really.

[Tobi45]

- Winkey - I also don't like the Win10 logo, but I think it is one of those things where a small percentage really object to it while most others are neutral or mildly in favor. Informal poll: would people prefer Win10, Win98, a custom logo (e.g. stylized pine tree - extra cost for custom mold), CODE, or blank?

Personally I have nothing against the win 10 logo, I'd just like a custom molded Pinecone (or something similar) as an eyecatcher, just like the "cha" character was for Green Tea. Pad printed would be okay too, as long as it (the pad-printing) has a different colour than the other mods, as the different states of decay on my OG skidata look horrible.

(Ctrl will likely stay the same - just personal preference, unless more folks would prefer the full Control)

I actually prefer Control as well, at least for cherry-profile. It is no big deal for me though.
I know it's a long shot, but maybe you could include both, the excess one can be used on (Sky) Dolch  .

- How would folks feel about losing the green-primary arrows

Do not care, as I'll use it on a 60% keyboard anyway

"dolch-lite with bright green uniform legends"

I feel like we need an own GB for that, as it sounds delicious, but very different to the current render (which looks great also)

[iamtootallforthis]

CODE or blank are my preference.

For the HHKB layout, split right shift is kinda necessary.

[shower_king]

i prefer to AE or other green "CODE" legend in black

[iamtootallforthis]

i prefer to AE or other green "CODE" legend in black

Why CODE in black it would just look off and out of place with the set?

[shower_king]

i prefer to AE or other green "CODE" legend in black

Why CODE in black it would just look off and out of place with the set?

just from my pointview.
AE or N7 green "code" or "pine" legend in U9 color  will conrresponding with other keys  in R4 ROW with AE green in U9
or
u9 "code" or "pine" legend in AE or N7 green will stand out in R4 row keys
both is ok ,just my opinion .

[swimmingbird]

Would like it if the alphas were the same colour as the mods

[WNovizar]

Still no 75% compatibility? Will the renders updated later?

[wilarseny]

Still no 75% compatibility? Will the renders updated later?

Yes, was waiting a couple days for reactions to the proposed changes from the last page before I sent a list to GMK.

Keep in mind that renders from GMK often take a while, even when there is an existing render to work from.

CODE or blank are my preference.

For the HHKB layout, split right shift is kinda necessary.

The split right shift is already in there - that's not changing. Lots of layouts need that key. The question on the last page was just whether to add the other HHKB-specific keys for which there's already an appropriate size/profile key - e.g. having a 1.5u r2 backspace when the pipe/backslash key exists. I will be adding a 1u R4 fn key, though.

- Winkey - I also don't like the Win10 logo, but I think it is one of those things where a small percentage really object to it while most others are neutral or mildly in favor. Informal poll: would people prefer Win10, Win98, a custom logo (e.g. stylized pine tree - extra cost for custom mold), CODE, or blank?

Personally I have nothing against the win 10 logo, I'd just like a custom molded Pinecone (or something similar) as an eyecatcher, just like the "cha" character was for Green Tea. Pad printed would be okay too, as long as it (the pad-printing) has a different colour than the other mods, as the different states of decay on my OG skidata look horrible.

(Ctrl will likely stay the same - just personal preference, unless more folks would prefer the full Control)

I actually prefer Control as well, at least for cherry-profile. It is no big deal for me though.
I know it's a long shot, but maybe you could include both, the excess one can be used on (Sky) Dolch  .

- How would folks feel about losing the green-primary arrows

Do not care, as I'll use it on a 60% keyboard anyway

"dolch-lite with bright green uniform legends"

I feel like we need an own GB for that, as it sounds delicious, but very different to the current render (which looks great also)

Thanks for this post, appreciate the feedback. I also like using winkey for custom set logos, it's just a cost question. It's something we'll investigate. I'm a little resistant to pad printing it for the decay reasons you state - I have a pad-printed GMK cyrillic set that is showing significant wear after not a ton of use - but if it's cheap enough, we could have a pad printed logo win key along with the normal doubleshot windows-logo one.

Sounds like most are in favor of Control with few agreeing w/ my Ctrl preference, so that'll change too.

I am curious for more feedback on the arrow color question from those who'll be using the set w/ the arrow keys. Personally, I prefer the N7/AE arrows over the N7/N9 ones, but it feels odd having that few non-alpha keys in the alpha colorway.

Yea, that would be something to do in another IC. FWIW, I'd buy the crap out of that set.

[harlw]

I dig

[William_S_Jones]

I love this keycap set. Those green looks so nice. I'm in for this!

[dfrib]

I'm very interested of this one.

[ideus]

It is a shame it does not have HHKB layout support.

[kawasaki161]

"dolch-lite with bright green uniform legends" a la sky dolch,

I want something like that sooo much. Anyone please inform me when something like that happens

[mr.squishy]

I'd buy, but I wish Planck compatibility was possible. Other than that I love it.

[Bumbibear]

oooo very interesting! will definitely want the Nordic feel for my boards!

[Tobi45]

Is anything happening behind the scenes?

[SBeaver]

If this ISO-Nordic addon is really happening, I hope it's done right and not just as an afterthought with just a few keys.
The difference between ISO-UK and ISO-Nordic is very large. I did a quick comparision and on the alphanumeric keys alone the difference is 20 keys, and that is not including if you have UK-ISO with some accented third layer alphas. I don't know how common that is.

Also a suggestion, if all ISOs have this, add a third layer legend for µ on M key, that would be nice.

[ReverbSlush]

Watching this thread and IN for a set when it's ready!

[Acerk]

Cool concept. Is there any interest for something like the color pack in Ivan's Dolch group buy? I think it would be nice to spice it up a little, without adding tons of keys.

Please don't add ISO-Nordic support. Too few people to justify everyone paying more.

[kenmai9]

hey dude whats good with this set? been over a month since op last reply

[ctrlX]

Please don't add ISO-Nordic support. Too few people to justify everyone paying more.

I disagree. Adding Nordic keys would bring something different and an uniqueness to the set. It is not called Nordic Pine for nothing. Just like Cyrillic is considered in the Yuri SA set.

I am from Sweden so naturally I am a little bit biased. Still I stand behind my statement above and truly believe in it. Just as I want both Japanese and Korean sets.

[Acerk]

I disagree. Adding Nordic keys would bring something different and an uniqueness to the set. It is not called Nordic Pine for nothing. Just like Cyrillic is considered in the Yuri SA set.

I am from Sweden so naturally I am a little bit biased. Still I stand behind my statement above and truly believe in it. Just as I want both Japanese and Korean sets.

There's an easy way to test for that. Has there ever been a successful group buy with nordic keys? No. Imsto couldn't even reach an MOQ of 20 (if I remember the number correctly) buyers for his last group buy. Comparatively, there's always been a lot of interest in Cyrillic, Japanese and Korean sets and plenty of successful group buys. This makes sense, because all three are exotic, but also still have US legends.

[ctrlX]

I disagree. Adding Nordic keys would bring something different and an uniqueness to the set. It is not called Nordic Pine for nothing. Just like Cyrillic is considered in the Yuri SA set.

I am from Sweden so naturally I am a little bit biased. Still I stand behind my statement above and truly believe in it. Just as I want both Japanese and Korean sets.

There's an easy way to test for that. Has there ever been a successful group buy with nordic keys? No. Imsto couldn't even reach an MOQ of 20 (if I remember the number correctly) buyers for his last group buy. Comparatively, there's always been a lot of interest in Cyrillic, Japanese and Korean sets and plenty of successful group buys. This makes sense, because all three are exotic, but also still have US legends.

Sooner or later there must be a first

Given the theme of the set, a Nordic kit might pull through. If MOQ is not met for the kit, then so be it and it can be pulled back. I do not understand how this would  cost the other buyers more money. I might completely wrong on this of course.

[pomk]

I disagree. Adding Nordic keys would bring something different and an uniqueness to the set. It is not called Nordic Pine for nothing. Just like Cyrillic is considered in the Yuri SA set.

I am from Sweden so naturally I am a little bit biased. Still I stand behind my statement above and truly believe in it. Just as I want both Japanese and Korean sets.

There's an easy way to test for that. Has there ever been a successful group buy with nordic keys? No. Imsto couldn't even reach an MOQ of 20 (if I remember the number correctly) buyers for his last group buy. Comparatively, there's always been a lot of interest in Cyrillic, Japanese and Korean sets and plenty of successful group buys. This makes sense, because all three are exotic, but also still have US legends.

IMSTO is producing the swedish keys, making your point moot. Besides, adding the nordic keys adds the same amount to the set as ansi support 

Would be fun to see if nordic+german set could be made. By dropping ansi support completely and sticking to the basics the price would be around 90$.

[KyleZhuang]

I love the colorway. Will the GB run by MD?

[Acerk]

Sooner or later there must be a first

Given the theme of the set, a Nordic kit might pull through. If MOQ is not met for the kit, then so be it and it can be pulled back. I do not understand how this would  cost the other buyers more money. I might completely wrong on this of course.

People have been saying that for years now. If the plan is to add extra keys with nordic characters, that is an added cost. If the plan is to just not include all US characters, then alright.

IMSTO is producing the swedish keys, making your point moot. Besides, adding the nordic keys adds the same amount to the set as ansi support 

Would be fun to see if nordic+german set could be made. By dropping ansi support completely and sticking to the basics the price would be around 90$.

I didn't know the Swedish set made it through. That's interesting, but doesn't quite make my point moot. The interest was still pretty low, and it's been that way for European sets for a long time. I actually agree that I think it would be better to drop ANSI support entirely. That way, the set can be kept cheap by not trying to be everything to everyone, and it will have the best chance possible to succeed. I'm somewhat skeptical, because people tend to complain that a set doesn't match all their requirements.

[nicx]

This would look amazing on a wooden board.

[Edde]

I'll definitely be interested in getting this if there will be some way of getting nordic keys.

[My_Thoughts]

Would be fun to see if nordic+german set could be made. By dropping ansi support completely and sticking to the basics the price would be around 90$.

If ansi is dropped could UK ISO be included?  That might increase sales with a small bump in costs

[Edde]

I'm wondering if it might be possible to only have ISO-uk and ISO-nordic and skip the alt gr layer in order to keep down the cost? Considering that there's already green tea for ANSI users. I'm guessing the GB won't happen though, would be nice with a nordic gmk set.

[Vigrith]

Not a big fan of green usually but the set looks beautiful + the fact that it'll actually be held within the EU and all the taxing (or lack thereof) that it entails is very captivating - very likely going to be picking it up once/when it becomes available for purchase.

[My_Thoughts]

After reading this thread, other threads and posts on reddit I wonder if it's time to do a UK/DE/Nordic GMK set.  Skip the ANSI unless there is great demand for it. 

[roostrc0gburn]

After reading this thread, other threads and posts on reddit I wonder if it's time to do a UK/DE/Nordic GMK set.  Skip the ANSI unless there is great demand for it. 

this. i'm a north american ansi user, and i would buy that set just for the novelty

[pomk]

After reading this thread, other threads and posts on reddit I wonder if it's time to do a UK/DE/Nordic GMK set.  Skip the ANSI unless there is great demand for it.

I don't think that keeping UK in the kit is really worth it. UK ISO has more keys in common with ANSI than with DE/Nordic combined. I haven't counted them, but I approximate it would be around 15 keys to add it. With 15 keys we could rather add maybe 2-3 other languages that do not have GMK kits coming in once in a month.

[Edde]

After reading this thread, other threads and posts on reddit I wonder if it's time to do a UK/DE/Nordic GMK set.  Skip the ANSI unless there is great demand for it.

I don't think that keeping UK in the kit is really worth it. UK ISO has more keys in common with ANSI than with DE/Nordic combined. I haven't counted them, but I approximate it would be around 15 keys to add it. With 15 keys we could rather add maybe 2-3 other languages that do not have GMK kits coming in once in a month.

Having only a DE/Nordic GMK set will probably make it very hard to reach MOQ, maybe it might be possible if multiple forums are reached out to. It will probably be better to add ANSI-us instead of removing ISO-uk.

Personally I'd have standard ANSI-us and ISO-uk and make a very simple support for FR/SP/IT/DE/Nordic by removing the shift layer for the number keys as well as adding the å/ä/ö/ü/ø/æ/y/z/w/m/ñ/a/q/</,/./- keys along with a few blanks for the other not as commonly used keys. That would mean support for 8 extra languages by adding around 30 or 17 keys, depending on whether or not blanks are added. You could possibly add enough blank keys to make support both for the other languages as well as something like planck, that way some ansi users won't have to pay for too many keys that are unnecessary for them.

[duynguyenle]

After reading this thread, other threads and posts on reddit I wonder if it's time to do a UK/DE/Nordic GMK set.  Skip the ANSI unless there is great demand for it.

I don't think that keeping UK in the kit is really worth it. UK ISO has more keys in common with ANSI than with DE/Nordic combined. I haven't counted them, but I approximate it would be around 15 keys to add it. With 15 keys we could rather add maybe 2-3 other languages that do not have GMK kits coming in once in a month.

Without ANSI and ISO-UK support, I would not participate, since those are the two layouts I use. IMO leaving out those two layouts will make this set appeal only to non-English speaking populations and will make it challenging to meet GMK's MOQ

[pomk]

After reading this thread, other threads and posts on reddit I wonder if it's time to do a UK/DE/Nordic GMK set.  Skip the ANSI unless there is great demand for it.

I don't think that keeping UK in the kit is really worth it. UK ISO has more keys in common with ANSI than with DE/Nordic combined. I haven't counted them, but I approximate it would be around 15 keys to add it. With 15 keys we could rather add maybe 2-3 other languages that do not have GMK kits coming in once in a month.

Having only a DE/Nordic GMK set will probably make it very hard to reach MOQ, maybe it might be possible if multiple forums are reached out to. It will probably be better to add ANSI-us instead of removing ISO-uk.

Personally I'd have standard ANSI-us and ISO-uk and make a very simple support for FR/SP/IT/DE/Nordic by removing the shift layer for the number keys as well as adding the å/ä/ö/ü/ø/æ/y/z/w/m/ñ/a/q/</,/./- keys along with a few blanks for the other not as commonly used keys. That would mean support for 8 extra languages by adding around 30 or 17 keys, depending on whether or not blanks are added. You could possibly add enough blank keys to make support both for the other languages as well as something like planck, that way some ansi users won't have to pay for too many keys that are unnecessary for them.

We'd have to poll this, but I find it more likely that we can sell 150 kits to Germany and the nordics with the correct glyphs at under 100$ than something half assed for the whole world at 150-200$. People are already hesitant on adding even basic ISO support to their sets for just one layout because of additional cost to ANSI users (carbon etc.). Also I'm not aware that GMK has monolegends available (could be wrong though!) and the cost of additional molds (around 25 for full mono legends) would probably take the set way over 150$. Regarding blanks, I'd rather use blanks exclusively than sprinkled midst proper looking keys.

One way to get over this problem would be to split the set to three. a basic set with common keys between ANSI/UK and NorDe and two separate sets one with the rest of ANSI/UK keys and the other one with just NorDe keys. That way The price would not be bloated for either party and the MoQ would stay the same anyway for the 'more likely to succeed' ANSI set. Then if we get enough ISO buyers we could hit better price tiers for the basic set making the set cheaper for all.

One could even bundle the more America -oriented additional keys, like those for the HHKB and FC660 layouts, to the ANSI/UK set only and thus keep the basic+NorDe as a very cheap set.

[Edde]

After reading this thread, other threads and posts on reddit I wonder if it's time to do a UK/DE/Nordic GMK set.  Skip the ANSI unless there is great demand for it.

I don't think that keeping UK in the kit is really worth it. UK ISO has more keys in common with ANSI than with DE/Nordic combined. I haven't counted them, but I approximate it would be around 15 keys to add it. With 15 keys we could rather add maybe 2-3 other languages that do not have GMK kits coming in once in a month.

Having only a DE/Nordic GMK set will probably make it very hard to reach MOQ, maybe it might be possible if multiple forums are reached out to. It will probably be better to add ANSI-us instead of removing ISO-uk.

Personally I'd have standard ANSI-us and ISO-uk and make a very simple support for FR/SP/IT/DE/Nordic by removing the shift layer for the number keys as well as adding the å/ä/ö/ü/ø/æ/y/z/w/m/ñ/a/q/</,/./- keys along with a few blanks for the other not as commonly used keys. That would mean support for 8 extra languages by adding around 30 or 17 keys, depending on whether or not blanks are added. You could possibly add enough blank keys to make support both for the other languages as well as something like planck, that way some ansi users won't have to pay for too many keys that are unnecessary for them.

We'd have to poll this, but I find it more likely that we can sell 150 kits to Germany and the nordics with the correct glyphs at under 100$ than something half assed for the whole world at 150-200$. People are already hesitant on adding even basic ISO support to their sets for just one layout because of additional cost to ANSI users (carbon etc.). Also I'm not aware that GMK has monolegends available (could be wrong though!) and the cost of additional molds (around 25 for full mono legends) would probably take the set way over 150$. Regarding blanks, I'd rather use blanks exclusively than sprinkled midst proper looking keys.

One way to get over this problem would be to split the set to three. a basic set with common keys between ANSI/UK and NorDe and two separate sets one with the rest of ANSI/UK keys and the other one with just NorDe keys. That way The price would not be bloated for either party and the MoQ would stay the same anyway for the 'more likely to succeed' ANSI set. Then if we get enough ISO buyers we could hit better price tiers for the basic set making the set cheaper for all.

One could even bundle the more America -oriented additional keys, like those for the HHKB and FC660 layouts, to the ANSI/UK set only and thus keep the basic+NorDe as a very cheap set.

That's true, mainly I tried to give some ideas on how it could be done. However, the keys should be kept to one set as I don't think the MOQ will be met otherwise.

[My_Thoughts]

After reading this thread, other threads and posts on reddit I wonder if it's time to do a UK/DE/Nordic GMK set.  Skip the ANSI unless there is great demand for it.

I don't think that keeping UK in the kit is really worth it. UK ISO has more keys in common with ANSI than with DE/Nordic combined. I haven't counted them, but I approximate it would be around 15 keys to add it. With 15 keys we could rather add maybe 2-3 other languages that do not have GMK kits coming in once in a month.

UK ISO also does not have GMK sets every month.  Yes there are sets with ISO enter and left shift but the other keys are often not included.  With the 150 MOQ, including UK ISO will increase sales. 

[Mansen]

Nordic layout AND shipping within the EU? I am definitely interested. Finally something that doesn't require Massdrop shipping from the US.

[Giorgio]

For ISO you need to add one 1u R3 key (on the right of the .).
Also, would be interesting to have g80-1800 compatibility, which comes in the form of seven 1u caps, and a 6.25 spacebar.

[KlarKuo]

Wonder how the green on grey will actually look in real life

[romevi]

Show Image

Ooh, pretty...

[Giorgio]

Show Image

Ooh, pretty...

Not my picture :-) but soon will be mine, beige and black

[Bumbibear]

Any news for this IC ?

Too low interest?

[bbmathlvr]

Beautiful set. I like it much more than the green tea!

[jal]

- Winkey - I also don't like the Win10 logo, but I think it is one of those things where a small percentage really object to it while most others are neutral or mildly in favor. Informal poll: would people prefer Win10, Win98, a custom logo (e.g. stylized pine tree - extra cost for custom mold), CODE, or blank?

I think you're right about how the community falls. I'm one of the noisy objectors, but I'm not otherwise that picky. I'm fine with any of the non-MSFT-advertising-keys options - code, blank, or custom. Or diamonds, or something else. Anything that isn't OS-specific. (I'm not, my machines aren't, why should my keys be?)

Otherwise, really like the set. I'm likely in, even though I'm in on way too many sets at the moment already...

[Giorgio]

I would like
Code, not CODE
because Alt and Ctrl aren't fully capitalised.

[Gosnat]

With nordic iso support i'm 100% in.

[My_Thoughts]

Lots of potential here   Hope it goes ahead

[wilarseny]

Hi folks,

Sorry for the lack of updates - cross-country move and new job meant not nearly as much time for keyboard stuff as I had before.

I am inclined to either a) give this up, b) put it on hold for the foreseeable future, or c) hand it off to someone else interested in running it. Mostly, I feel the need for a highly compatible gray/black + green keyset is a bit less given the launch of GMK Terminal: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/5j65sx/buyinggmk_terminal_gb_announcement/. There are a lot of similarities between the sets in terms of colors and included keys, and it's being run by a good group of folks, so if you were interested in this set I highly encourage you to check that one out.

If you'd still like to run this set despite the existence of Terminal, and are interested in taking point on revising the kits, please send me a PM, and I'll loop you into the email exchanges I had with GMK involving colors and included keys.

Thanks,
w

[GentlemanShark]

Hi folks,

Sorry for the lack of updates - cross-country move and new job meant not nearly as much time for keyboard stuff as I had before.

I am inclined to either a) give this up, b) put it on hold for the foreseeable future, or c) hand it off to someone else interested in running it. Mostly, I feel the need for a highly compatible gray/black + green keyset is a bit less given the launch of GMK Terminal: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/5j65sx/buyinggmk_terminal_gb_announcement/. There are a lot of similarities between the sets in terms of colors and included keys, and it's being run by a good group of folks, so if you were interested in this set I highly encourage you to check that one out.

If you'd still like to run this set despite the existence of Terminal, and are interested in taking point on revising the kits, please send me a PM, and I'll loop you into the email exchanges I had with GMK involving colors and included keys.

Thanks,
w

I don't know man, but I might be willing to do a 0 profit run on it for kicks.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[Myhr]

Created an account just to say that I'd buy this in an heartbeat!

[TheNamesTy45]

I think I'd be in for this. Been feeling nostalgic for the older Zelda games. Seems to tie in with my recent nostalgia kick.