I like it! Though I expect you might get some complaints it looks similar to Honeywell. I do wonder if SA might be a better profile in terms of matching the original caps, but also understand CYL is more popular. GLWIC!Thank you. While there are similarities, I think it's quite different. Here we have Text-only mods, 2-Color Alpha with the new WS32, and Hiragana sub-legends with a little bit of ASCII.
apart from the similarities with Honeywell, Beta and more gray/white/red sets, here's my input:- add accented R2 Esc (achieving physical coverage for bot accented and de-accented configurations)edit: meaningless observation which shows my inherent idiosincrasy with 40s
- pick a single color for the minibars. I see what you're doing by making the 2.25u bar WS32, but most alice/arisu layouts today offer a flexible layout and allow swapping the bars (I personally use a 2.75u on the left). set would look kinda goofy in that configuration. I'd rather have mod colored bars (heresy, I know), such as the OG board in the first picture, than this.
- coming from a WS2 fetishist who owns a good deal of WS2 sets: I'm not sure WS2/WS32 is gonna work with this colorway. it is a very cold, bright shade of white with blue-ish undertones, it's likely going to contrast a tad too much with the rest of the set. I wouldn't dismiss the idea of using a custom white.
- maybe it's just my monitor or again my skewed opinion, but I just opened up Bleached to check and I feel like WS32 should contrast more against GR1 in the board renders.
- consider adding mod front prints like the OG.
You made me very curious... so I went online to look for photos of this keyboard to get a better idea of the original colors.
I totally agree with foggy: I also think that WS2/WS32 are really too cold shades of white, risking altering the final result.
(Attachment Link)
IMO the renderings shown fail to give a realistic idea about WS2/WS32.
That said, great set! GLWIC :thumb:
As an owner of both of the OG boards this set is inspired by, I am interested but IMO would be a hard sell in the current market.
It seems like you could go one of two ways with this. You could make a set with light inspiration from the ASCII board which would have broader appeal but seems like it'd be too much like Honeywell with Hiragana sublegends. Alternatively you could with what you have here. But if you go this direction I'm not sure if enough people would be interested. Split color alphas and forced mod ; ' aren't likely to be popular outside of people who know what board it's inspired by, which is a small population who are less likely to be GMK buyers in the first place. If you are to go this route I think it needs something a little extra to really push the ASCII inspiration. True thumb shift layout isn't possible, every key would need a new mold. But I think not including the Katakana and numpad front printing is a missed opportunity. Also, the colors are pretty off. WS32 is not a match at all for the left alphas, it's a light beige when unyellowed. WS1 would be a lot closer. GR1 seems like a decent match for the right alphas though. Also maybe consider a red alt? It's one of the most distinctive parts of the OG board.
All in all I think this is a cool idea. I've thought about what a set inspired by this board might look like before, so it's nice to see someone trying it out. GLWIC!
I went with GMK because it’s the only double-shot Cherry manufacturer afaik that already has almost all the mold designs that I used, I’m talking about Text only mods with specific legends like Page Up/Page Down instead of PgUp/PgDn, Return instead of Enter, Alt Gr/Graph instead of Alt. These little details matter to me. The only two new molds needed would be the BS and ESC sublegends on the colon and quote keys. The R3 pipe key for ISO with FS sublegend already has a mold. Also, I don’t think you got to know a certain board to appreciate a design.
While I agree that WS1 would be a better match theoretically (but It’s still too warm imho for the aesthetic that I’m trying to achieve), I want to be clear that my intent was not to make a perfect 1:1 representation of that board, but more of a modernized approach with slightly different colors. Of course, there’s the possibility of going with a custom white, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Similar thing with the front prints, I tried doing them, and the result was way too busy compared to what I’m trying to achieve which is a clean, colder, and more modern aesthetic.
QuoteI went with GMK because it’s the only double-shot Cherry manufacturer afaik that already has almost all the mold designs that I used, I’m talking about Text only mods with specific legends like Page Up/Page Down instead of PgUp/PgDn, Return instead of Enter, Alt Gr/Graph instead of Alt. These little details matter to me. The only two new molds needed would be the BS and ESC sublegends on the colon and quote keys. The R3 pipe key for ISO with FS sublegend already has a mold. Also, I don’t think you got to know a certain board to appreciate a design.
I'm referring to molds that would be needed for the original alpha legends of the board. It's a unique keyboard that uses the thumb-shift layout (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb-shift_keyboard) with dual-legends that are different from "standard" hiragana that you might find on similar keyboards from the era, and what GMK offers. That would be really cool to see in GMK, but mold costs would be prohibitive, so it's not really worth considering.Quote
While I agree that WS1 would be a better match theoretically (but It’s still too warm imho for the aesthetic that I’m trying to achieve), I want to be clear that my intent was not to make a perfect 1:1 representation of that board, but more of a modernized approach with slightly different colors. Of course, there’s the possibility of going with a custom white, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Similar thing with the front prints, I tried doing them, and the result was way too busy compared to what I’m trying to achieve which is a clean, colder, and more modern aesthetic.
Fair enough. Unfortunately that's not quite what I'm looking for, but I still wish you good luck with your set.
Of course. Now let's go to Japan and explain to them that they have to make keycaps in Latin otherwise they'll all be called «weeb».
Of course. Now let's go to Japan and explain to them that they have to make keycaps in Latin otherwise they'll all be called «weeb».
That’s a good one Lol. What can I say, I’m the first not to like Hiragana sub-legends being thrown randomly into keycap sets, but in this case they fit the theme and I don’t see them as ''weeb''.