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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: CPTBadAss on Fri, 17 October 2014, 06:17:47

Title: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: CPTBadAss on Fri, 17 October 2014, 06:17:47
I just realized there wasn't a thread dedicated to this so I thought I'd fix that. Perhaps some people have missed it. So Ducky came out with their 60% board called the Ducky Mini (http://www.duckychannel.com.tw/en/ducky-mini/). It has the most *adorable* little duckling as it's logo! I think the case is an aluminum - plastic - aluminum sandwich. And it's got the fun lighting modes.

Each year Ducky comes out with a Year of the XX board. Typically it's been a special edition Shine full size board. But this year, there's a change and they're going with the Year of the Horse being a Ducky Mini! It's got a full aluminum CNC case. Mechanicalkeyboards.com is taking preorders now.

It seems that much of the information about this board has been put into the MK.com requests thread (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=31221.msg1496655#msg1496655) and on the Ducky keyboard Facebook page.

Some links:

Picture of the box (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=31221.msg1495212#msg1495212)
Pre order page on MK.com (http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1047)
MK.com incoming page (http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/incoming.php)
A youtube review I found that shows off the lighting modes and other things pretty well (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1MGEMXuYBk)
Ducky's website for the Ducky Mini (http://www.duckychannel.com.tw/en/ducky-mini/)


I've been excited for this board for a little while. I love full aluminum cases. I love the lighting modes (that reactive mode?!). I like the form factor. I was seriously impressed with the Ducky build quality when I modded a Ducky board for a friend. All in all, I think I'm going to be very happy with this board. Hopefully some other people are going to be into it too :D.

Oh and it has the ability to have purple backlighting!!!!
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: Zeal on Fri, 17 October 2014, 06:23:19
You forgot the most important part...Each Ducky YOTH will come with a special CNC'ed aluminum Ducky keychain!

(https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10623777_713251252083305_373564990898560857_o.jpg)
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: CPTBadAss on Fri, 17 October 2014, 06:25:39
Damn, I did forget about that didn't I? And I was really excited for that when I saw it on Facebook :D.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: hwood34 on Fri, 17 October 2014, 07:53:18
Love the idea of a 60% shine, still hate that case. It just looks so bleh
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: CPTBadAss on Fri, 17 October 2014, 07:54:45
Don't like the bezel? It's footprint isn't that big in real life.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: hwood34 on Fri, 17 October 2014, 07:58:56
Quote from: CPTBadAss on Fri, 17 October 2014, 07:54:45
Don't like the bezel? It's footprint isn't that big in real life.
yeah, I suppose so. I just don't like that bezel look on a 60%
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: CPTBadAss on Fri, 17 October 2014, 08:04:20
I gotcha. You like that Poker X/Poker II look with the case hidden below the caps.

I'm into the YOTH case 'cause it's something different and I like some metal cases with some curves. :D
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: hwood34 on Fri, 17 October 2014, 08:08:02
Quote from: CPTBadAss on Fri, 17 October 2014, 08:04:20
I gotcha. You like that Poker X/Poker II look with the case hidden below the caps.

I'm into the YOTH case 'cause it's something different and I like some metal cases with some curves. :D
oh, trust me. I know , metal and curves :p
(http://i.imgur.com/7txYuju.jpg)
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: dante on Fri, 17 October 2014, 09:58:14
I'm pretty surprised Ducky can deliver this (metal case boards, multi color LED, internal programming) and also boards with really thick PBT sets but they still haven't come out with double shot backlit keycaps yet.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: FreeCopy on Fri, 17 October 2014, 10:11:04
I'm a horse and really want one of these. Damn!
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: itskuroi on Wed, 22 October 2014, 19:53:26
clears available only in china :(
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: CPTBadAss on Wed, 22 October 2014, 19:54:43
Do you have a source for that deleonhle
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: itskuroi on Wed, 22 October 2014, 19:57:51
Ducky facebook page stating that clears/whites/greys would be usually available in China, someone posted but Ducky did not respond that showed they were incorrect, as well as mk.com only posting up greens/blacks/browns/reds/blues.

http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/incoming.php Nov. 28

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.735535039854926.1073741842.117547488320354&type=1&comment_id=735558233185940&offset=0&total_comments=9

I mean if it were to be available in the US that'd be great, but Ducky hasn't posted rebuttals to availability of Clears/Greys/Whites to the people asking, and they're usually swift with their responses on their FB page.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: CPTBadAss on Wed, 22 October 2014, 20:02:55
Mk.com has been asking them about clears so I'm hopeful they get a better response. If not  I'll just mod my board but it'd be nice to just but a stock board for once lol
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: dante on Wed, 22 October 2014, 20:04:46
Quote from: CPTBadAss on Wed, 22 October 2014, 20:02:55
Mk.com has been asking them about clears so I'm hopeful they get a better response. If not  I'll just mod my board but it'd be nice to just but a stock board for once lol

Judging from MassDrop I think Vortex stole them all for their Poker 2.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: exitfire401 on Wed, 22 October 2014, 20:19:22
Quote from: CPTBadAss on Wed, 22 October 2014, 20:02:55
Mk.com has been asking them about clears so I'm hopeful they get a better response. If not  I'll just mod my board but it'd be nice to just but a stock board for once lol

If I get one, I'll be modding the LEDs regardless, so it wouldn't be too much of a hassle for me to swap the switches in that case.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: katushkin on Wed, 22 October 2014, 20:55:11
$190... Jesus Christ. That's expensive for a 60% board.

Yeah, it looks great, but that is too much for me.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: Zeal on Wed, 22 October 2014, 21:01:59
Quote from: katushkin on Wed, 22 October 2014, 20:55:11
$190... Jesus Christ. That's expensive for a 60% board.

Yeah, it looks great, but that is too much for me.

Well, MK has to make some profits too. There's a bit of mark up from the MSRP in Taiwan.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: katushkin on Wed, 22 October 2014, 21:29:41
OK. It's really nice. But I think I would go for the normal Mini if I could find an ISO one that doesn't have nordic lettering on it.

I think $190 is a bit steep but £95 for a regular Mini isn't too bad. And that mini carry case is cute.
Title: ...
Post by: FRD on Wed, 22 October 2014, 22:59:45
...
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: Oobly on Thu, 23 October 2014, 00:57:54
Nice, but not for me. They keychain appeals to me more than the actual board. Not a fan of the 2 colour lighting or the large rounded bezel on a 60%. Kind of goes against the whole purpose of 60% which is minimalism / small footprint.

Quote from: katushkin on Wed, 22 October 2014, 21:29:41
OK. It's really nice. But I think I would go for the normal Mini if I could find an ISO one that doesn't have nordic lettering on it.

I think $190 is a bit steep but £95 for a regular Mini isn't too bad. And that mini carry case is cute.

So buy a Nordic one and put new keycaps on? ISO is ISO.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: katushkin on Thu, 23 October 2014, 15:33:34
Quote from: Oobly on Thu, 23 October 2014, 00:57:54
Quote from: katushkin on Wed, 22 October 2014, 21:29:41
OK. It's really nice. But I think I would go for the normal Mini if I could find an ISO one that doesn't have nordic lettering on it.

I think $190 is a bit steep but £95 for a regular Mini isn't too bad. And that mini carry case is cute.

So buy a Nordic one and put new keycaps on? ISO is ISO.

I guess... Might get the missus one as well. We shall see.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: HendyZone on Wed, 05 November 2014, 10:45:54
Ducky Mini vs Ducky Mini YOTH (CNC)

(http://i.imgur.com/5coTYyp.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/3JwwFRw.jpg)

Weight on : kilogram (kg)
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: Premonition on Wed, 05 November 2014, 11:24:51
Anyone up for trade for a TKL Yellow edition? Man, this might be my MX relief from Topre..
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: rowdy on Wed, 05 November 2014, 15:26:50
Quote from: Premonition on Wed, 05 November 2014, 11:24:51
Anyone up for trade for a TKL Yellow edition? Man, this might be my MX relief from Topre..

Yellow edition?

;D
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: itskuroi on Fri, 07 November 2014, 16:10:44
wish i could find a proxy for mx clears/greys :(
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: SpAmRaY on Fri, 07 November 2014, 16:11:47
Quote from: Zeal on Fri, 17 October 2014, 06:23:19
You forgot the most important part...Each Ducky YOTH will come with a special CNC'ed aluminum Ducky keychain!

Show Image
(https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10623777_713251252083305_373564990898560857_o.jpg)


Whoa, I'm just  now seeing this...someone needs to sell me on of those keychains for my collection. :eek:
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: tribade on Fri, 07 November 2014, 16:46:39
I love the keychain, but I have to agree that I don't like the size of the bezel on it.  If the case was more like one the Tex cases for the Poker or something similar I would most likely get one, but I also have a Viper coming and I like the look of it quite a lot more.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: Jixr on Fri, 07 November 2014, 18:02:46
year of the horse?
(http://media.giphy.com/media/uDQ7IbKW9RKaQ/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: dante on Fri, 07 November 2014, 19:47:08
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: CPTBadAss on Fri, 07 November 2014, 20:20:32
Damn that was a cool video. I love machining porn. Favorite part? That passivate/anodizing tank. ****ing love machining porn.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: dante on Fri, 07 November 2014, 20:39:31
Quote from: CPTBadAss on Fri, 07 November 2014, 20:20:32
Damn that was a cool video. I love machining porn. Favorite part? That passivate/anodizing tank. ****ing love machining porn.

Ducky's "Year of" videos really tug at the heart strings.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: quake4mhg on Sat, 08 November 2014, 00:07:42
I love the music :'( wanna cry when watching, didn't know all made by hand.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: Altis on Wed, 03 December 2014, 22:14:29
Has anyone around here gotten this board?

Curious how it sounds and feels. Pretty much all the reviews on YouTube focus entirely on the lights and they never once even try to type on it.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: clickclickclick on Wed, 03 December 2014, 22:24:19
Is it true the YOTH mini can control a mouse pointer with its keys?
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: clickclickclick on Mon, 08 December 2014, 18:18:13
Quote from: clickclickclick on Wed, 03 December 2014, 22:24:19
Is it true the YOTH mini can control a mouse pointer with its keys?

Yup, that's correct. You can use the WASD keys along with the function key to control the mouse pointer.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: SpicyLobotomy on Mon, 08 December 2014, 20:17:27
Seconding what Altis said. Curious to know someone who received it to see if it is worth the cash. Although I guess Duckys normally are.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: Flyersfan1 on Wed, 10 December 2014, 14:08:25
Just noticed on Mechanicalkeyboards.com that these are PCB mounted, that's an interesting move on Ducky's part.  I can't think of any of their other keyboards that don't have a plate.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: CPTBadAss on Wed, 10 December 2014, 14:57:08
Quote from: Flyersfan1 on Wed, 10 December 2014, 14:08:25
Just noticed on Mechanicalkeyboards.com that these are PCB mounted, that's an interesting move on Ducky's part.  I can't think of any of their other keyboards that don't have a plate.
Are you sure? It says the switches used are PCB mounted. You can have a plate with PCB mounted switches. The Ducky OMG board I modded has holes in the PCB so you could use PCB mounted switches and the board definitely had a plate.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: Flyersfan1 on Wed, 10 December 2014, 14:59:34
Quote from: CPTBadAss on Wed, 10 December 2014, 14:57:08
Quote from: Flyersfan1 on Wed, 10 December 2014, 14:08:25
Just noticed on Mechanicalkeyboards.com that these are PCB mounted, that's an interesting move on Ducky's part.  I can't think of any of their other keyboards that don't have a plate.
Are you sure? It says the switches used are PCB mounted. You can have a plate with PCB mounted switches. The Ducky OMG board I modded has holes in the PCB so you could use PCB mounted switches and the board definitely had a plate.
There's a good chance I could be mistaken, it's just on every other ducky product page, under "Switch Mount Type" it says "Plate" and under YoTH it says "PCB."  I'll ask Josh or Justin for some clarification, I'm very excited about picking one of these guys up nonetheless!  ;D
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: Flyersfan1 on Wed, 10 December 2014, 15:04:09
CPT: You're right, my apologies, I went back and looked at the awesome video Ducky released showing how each is handmade, and found this.
http://youtu.be/IHHBqqQJ2Zs?t=2m6s (http://youtu.be/IHHBqqQJ2Zs?t=2m6s) Thanks for the clarification there, sorry about my mistake.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: miroslav on Sat, 27 December 2014, 20:45:39
I recently got my hands on one of these yesterday with red switches. It sounds amazing (I think the CNC Aluminum housing helps dampen the sound). The sound is almost similar to the Poker II with a MKC Aluminum case. The case itself does not have a riser so sad face for this. But you can def make it higher but changing the feet at the bottom with higher feet. It's pretty neat to type on but the screws are hex screws as opposed to normal screws so I haven't taken the board apart yet. The switches are plate mounted. Still getting used to some of the function layer cause I came from a poker II. I'll take pictures and write a full review on it after the new year or something.
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: tribade on Mon, 05 January 2015, 20:12:47
I feel like I should get this simply because it's my Chinese Zodiac board (It looks pretty nice, too).  I haven't noticed any yet, but have they cut any corners in order to keep an aluminum case on a reasonably priced board?
Title: Re: Ducky Year of the Horse Keyboard - Ducky Mini with a CNC Aluminum Case!
Post by: SpAmRaY on Mon, 05 January 2015, 21:11:45
Someone sell me that keychain.