[IC] GMK Viper Squad

[Visual_MK]

GMK VIPER SQUAD
IC Form | Full Imgur Album

Hello Geekhack, I’m Visual! I’ve been lurking in the MK scene for a little while now.
I’m not used to forums, BBcode was thriving before I was even born, so I hope my post will render properly on everyone’s clients.
This project has been a work in progress for almost a year now (with a few long breaks), and I'm glad to finally share it with you all.

Enough about me, let’s talk about the keycaps!


INFORMATIONS

Inspiration

Can you guess?

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Colors

I decided to go with GMK’s default colors palette.
I hope to keep the cost of the set relatively low, and perhaps, make the production time a little shorter by skipping the whole color matching stage.

▾ Yellow CV | Black CR | Red RO2 ▾

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Vendors

TBD

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Pricing

TBD

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Collabs

TBD (Contact me if you are interested)




RENDERS

Kits

▾ Base Kit ▾



▾ Novelties Kit - "Death List Five" ▾



▾ Spacebars Kit ▾



▾ Extension Kit - "Yellower" ▾

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Boards

▾ Paragon by Artemis Studio ▾

More

▾ DZ60 Lite by KBDFans ▾

More

▾ U80 by Rama Works ▾

More

▾ Alice (H40.io's Amano Inspired) ▾

More

♡ Special thanks to Biip for all of his feedbacks ♡


SIGNATURE

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[url=https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=118223.0][img width=640 height=180]https://i.imgur.com/hIHb1cF.jpg[/img]

[Bub]

reserved

[of_sam]

 

[ankit]

 

[Full]

Without looking at the kitting, I love it! GJ!

[whirlwind]

 

[Puddsy]

only critique is that i think the extension should be in the base and then the black stripe should be the extension (since i think that this is the config most people will want)

otherwise, i see black and yellow i purchase

[guill3m]

Good start

- I'd expect an extra 2.25 Shift in base before a 2.00one
- Needs more red
- I'm not a fan of the black spacebars and would drop them completely, I think yellow would work much better. Together with the black R2 row the black spacebars make a weird box, while yellow would work much better as a representation of the outfit
- The "Bill" novelty feels out of place for me

To counter Puddsy's point, I'd say drop the extension and own the design choice of having the black R2 row. It's a kit that's very likely to not hit MOQ with GMK, so you don't want to move such an important part of the design out to a kit that will likely fail.

Edit: Maybe also the F-row shouldn't be black? it feels like there is too much black in general, and then you can do the slightly-more-conventional num-row in black instead of R2 being black (but then it doesn't work in a 60%, I guess that's why you went with R2).

[Kokaloo]

bill la bill

[dededecline]

Kitting suggestions:

* Please swap out the QWERTY rows, I echo others saying the alpha colored row is immensely preferable and would not want to pay for a child kit to get the usual look
* You're missing F13 in the base kit
* alpha tilde and alpha pipe in base along with the yellow QWERTY row please
* three key 40s in base would be nice (r2 1.75u backspace, r3 1.25u tab, r3 1.5u enter)
* what you may want to do instead is have a child kit of all black alphas, giving people the ability to mix and match the rows as they want. and if you added a second tab key to the black alphas someone could kit two boards.
* move the black bars in base to the bars kit if you do make a black alpha child kit, otherwise get rid of them, mod colored spacebars are not popular
* r3/r4 page up/pg dn in base
* 2u shift isn't really needed, a second 2.25u shift would be better to include
* your 1.5u r2 backspace is mislabeled as 2.25u
* you have two 1u bars in each color currently. This is only needed for ortholinear layouts, which you do not support. change it to 1x 1u and 1x 1.25u in each color (assuming you don't remove the black bars altogether)
* add a second 3u bar in each color (assuming you don't remove the black bars altogether)
* like I said above, that extension kit should be black if you stick with it, but the better route is probably black alt alphas

[clik_clak]

Why didn't you expand the R2 black to the numpad as well? Looks like it would be off on 1800 CP boards.

Also not a fan of the black R2 at all. Personally I'd much prefer the yellow R2 and the black as the expansion.

The combo of the GMK wait times as well as the black R2 as standard is going to make this one an easy pass.

[Arithmetics]

cool idea. think the stripe idea is better executed in GMK Toxic for example: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=103848.0

[Tyson]

cool idea. think the stripe idea is better executed in GMK Toxic for example: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=103848.0

This has me thinking that he should try moving the yellow row up one, just like how GMK Toxic does it. Either way I like the idea and the execution isn't too shabby! Looking forward to updates on this project!

NE Pu**yWagon novelties planned? Actually I think that would be sick as a deskmat, just having the tailgate be the entire deskmat would be hot.

[clik_clak]

cool idea. think the stripe idea is better executed in GMK Toxic for example: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=103848.0

This has me thinking that he should try moving the yellow row up one, just like how GMK Toxic does it. Either way I like the idea and the execution isn't too shabby! Looking forward to updates on this project!

100% agree that moving it up 1 row would definitely make it flow better and eliminates the issue with the num pad. That change alone would make the set more desirable to me.

[mariajose1197]

I would like more all the central keys in yellow, the novelties are beautiful.

[Necrolegion]

cool idea. think the stripe idea is better executed in GMK Toxic for example: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=103848.0

This has me thinking that he should try moving the yellow row up one, just like how GMK Toxic does it. Either way I like the idea and the execution isn't too shabby! Looking forward to updates on this project!

Agree with this as well. I would also like to add an all dark base kit.
100% agree that moving it up 1 row would definitely make it flow better and eliminates the issue with the num pad. That change alone would make the set more desirable to me.

[Visual_MK]

First of all, thank you for the feedbacks! I really appreciate it.

I will update my Base Kit asap with all the objectively missing keys. (Really interested about the 3 keys 40s by the way, does it cover enough 40s boards to make everyone happy?)

Regarding the uncommon alphas design : I understand that not everyone is into unconventional keysets, so I will consider switching the r2 to default alphas in the base kit.
From the feedbacks I've heard yet, the solution that comes to mind would be to have a Bushido style kit, with R1 and R2 with Yellow on Black and perhaps black Spacebars as well (since it doesn't seem liked a lot in the community)

A full alternative kit for alphas could be an option, with Yellow on Black. However I'm afraid that it could be hard to hit MOQ because of the higher price (compared to a Bushido style kit)

What are your thoughts?

Why didn't you expand the R2 black to the numpad as well? Looks like it would be off on 1800 CP boards.

This just ended up looking a bit weird, I am not a numpad user myself so I'll let you be the judge :

cool idea. think the stripe idea is better executed in GMK Toxic for example: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=103848.0

Now regarding the stripe. There were multiple options I considered before going with R2 black. The Toxic design is really good but doesn't fit the colors combo in my opinion (works very well on two colors sets)

It's not terrible, but I really prefer the stripe on R2 :

[P103]

A Tarantino movie-inspired set feels weird, he does not have a visually unique style, from the way he does blocking down to the costume choices. This does not look/feel like the jumpsuit from The Game of Death, even after removing the black spacebar. Maybe it's just hard to pinpoint a style from Kill Bill aside from the jumpsuit, but this just doesn't feel like it does the job.

Without considering the inspiration and in my opinion, it's just not a very good-looking set, the red accent just makes a visually busy set even busier, most set that does the odd row with the inverse of the alphas just looks bad in general.

[Kokaloo]

wiggly toes novelty???

[Botty212]

only critique is that i think the extension should be in the base and then the black stripe should be the extension (since i think that this is the config most people will want)

otherwise, i see black and yellow i purchase

+1
I agree with puddsy here

[HungHingDaiLo]

I love the novelties here!



Is it possible you make the キル＆ビル more thicker (please see attached) ?
I think it fits the theme more since the one you currently use is too subtle IMO.

Best of luck for your IC!

[Visual_MK]

wiggly toes novelty???

Hmmm... I am not doing that

[Visual_MK]

I love the novelties here!

Show Image

Is it possible you make the キル＆ビル more thicker (please see attached) ?
I think it fits the theme more since the one you currently use is too subtle IMO.

Best of luck for your IC!

Thank you!
For the キル - ビル Novelties, here you can see a comparison between the actual novelties and a bolder version.
I prefer the lighter version, but what do you think? (This bolder version should be CNC ready, but I should rearrange them a little in order to harmonize the design. Also, the " can be a bit of problem depending on its size, and I can't really make it much bolder unless I move it a bit too far from the left letter)

[Cylent]

Frankly, move extension into base and put base MOQ at 500 or nothing. Alt alphas will cost 50-60 USD at least.

Also, I am quite surprised that no one has commented on the obvious IP concerns that stand out with this set. The sword and "bill" novelties really give the IP away, and the movie is one of the most recognizable movies from one of the most famous US directors in the last century. US production firms are notoriously tight with their IP. I'm not an IP lawyer, but I'd recommend you consult one.

[treeleaf64]

Needs better renders, the kitting render looks great and then the rest of them    Can be better   
Love the set
Will consider buying for YOR TKL !!!!!

[Darthbaggins]

Would love to see an option of an Y on B full set, maybe name it the "Black Mamba" set/option.

[Arithmetics]

go full yellow on black with yellow stripe

[Visual_MK]

Needs better renders, the kitting render looks great and then the rest of them    Can be better   
Love the set
Will consider buying for YOR TKL !!!!!

Hey! Thank you for the feedback on the renders, the keys do in fact appear very greyish on the boards renders. Here are alternative renders with the lighting that I used on the kits. Let me know what you think.

Tent Lighting   |   Kit Lighting   

[Puddsy]

Needs better renders, the kitting render looks great and then the rest of them    Can be better   
Love the set
Will consider buying for YOR TKL !!!!!

Hey! Thank you for the feedback on the renders, the keys do in fact appear very greyish on the boards renders. Here are alternative renders with the lighting that I used on the kits. Let me know what you think.

Tent Lighting   |   Kit Lighting   

Show Image

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black line on alice is an instant no for me, it didn't quite register for me until i saw this post

not making the alphas full yellow is a huge mistake imo

[Tyson]

Needs better renders, the kitting render looks great and then the rest of them    Can be better   
Love the set
Will consider buying for YOR TKL !!!!!

Hey! Thank you for the feedback on the renders, the keys do in fact appear very greyish on the boards renders. Here are alternative renders with the lighting that I used on the kits. Let me know what you think.

Tent Lighting   |   Kit Lighting   

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

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black line on alice is an instant no for me, it didn't quite register for me until i saw this post

not making the alphas full yellow is a huge mistake imo

oof yeah, after looking at it I agree too. Full yellow alphas work well, you could try to run the black qwerty row as a kit not too sure how well it will do, if you run the base with full yellow alphas I'll be sure to join in, I think it will look super clean!

[Visual_MK]

Alright guys, the majority of the community seems to agree that the black stripe is an issue for the base kit. I will rework my kits and update the IC whenever it's ready.

Any other kits you would like to see? (40's / Ortho / Etc...) I want to avoid having too many child kits, but if there is enough demand for them... Why not?

Thanks you all for the feedbacks!

[Cylent]

Alright guys, the majority of the community seems to agree that the black stripe is an issue for the base kit. I will rework my kits and update the IC whenever it's ready.

Any other kits you would like to see? (40's / Ortho / Etc...) I want to avoid having too many child kits, but if there is enough demand for them... Why not?

Thanks you all for the feedbacks!

If you are going to run 40s/ortho, add 3/4 key or nothing. Most GMK child kits are extremely expensive and have difficulty making MOQs. Less is more.

[nvh2092]

Alright guys, the majority of the community seems to agree that the black stripe is an issue for the base kit. I will rework my kits and update the IC whenever it's ready.

Any other kits you would like to see? (40's / Ortho / Etc...) I want to avoid having too many child kits, but if there is enough demand for them... Why not?

Thanks you all for the feedbacks!

Can you add novelties for ISO enter? It'll be enough if you just reposition the sword from the ansi enter to fit the iso one.

[HungHingDaiLo]

For the キル - ビル Novelties, here you can see a comparison between the actual novelties and a bolder version.
I prefer the lighter version, but what do you think? (This bolder version should be CNC ready, but I should rearrange them a little in order to harmonize the design. Also, the " can be a bit of problem depending on its size, and I can't really make it much bolder unless I move it a bit too far from the left letter)

I think the bolder version is better especially if you rearrange and/or adjusting the kerning. I do agree with the " on the Bi katakana. Hopefully you can work it out somehow.
It's ultimately your decision in the end, hopefully you can come up with the best possible choice!

[ABlazinBlueToe]

Alright, time to bust out the Vasalube

[vhaarr]

Have you considered an inverted kit? I'd love for the mods to be yellow

[breakfastatgrace]

GJ I'm in!
could it be possible to have two 3U short spacebars in one kit? for me 3Us are always used in pairs (and same color). otherwise I will have to buy two spacebar kits for the lovely yellow 3Us