[IC] SWG Retroguardia

[raz]

Hey everyone! After a few years since GMK Avanguardia, I'm back with something that feels like its rebellious little sibling.

SWG Retroguardia keeps the geometric vibe and minimalist layout spirit of Avanguardia, but swaps the muted palette for something with more bite: a vivid green accent that feels both retro and electric. It's still clean, but this time it's louder and a little more fun.

The biggest upsides are better pricing and a better timeline, and the GB runs from 9 to 25 November 2026.

The kitting is final and all the vendors are confirmed, you can find them below.

Status

Manufacturer: SWG
Kitting: final
GB: 9 to 25 November 2026

Vendors

EU: Delta Key Co.
US: Divinikey
SEA: Qwertyqop
UK: Prototypist
CA: KeyBay.tech

Theme

The name Retroguardia (Italian for "rearguard") plays on Avanguardia ("avant-garde"): same design lineage, flipped energy.
Think early digital aesthetics, print grids, and sharp contrasting geometry, like something you'd find on an old-school synth interface.

Primary color: same deep blurpleish grey as GMK Avanguardia
Accent color: bright green
Extras: the same indigo GMK Avanguardia highlights, because I still love them.

Kitting

Base

Numpad

Overview

Renders

Studio

Lifestyle

Packaging

Some early render references below, from when Retroguardia was just a sketch in the Avanguardia days

Feedback welcome

Novelties: two of them are in the base kit, the Lissajous Esc and the scope Enter.
Mousepads: nothing yet, but I already picked an artwork.
Other merch like cables, artisans, and so on?

That's it for now, thanks for checking it out.
More updates soon.

Changelog

- 11-10-2026 Kitting final, vendors confirmed, GB set to 9 to 25 November 2026, new renders and kit sheets, added the numpad kit, the novelty close-ups and packaging
- 12-04-2026 Confirmed SWG as manufacturer, kitting revision in progress, vendors TBD, target GB Q4 2026
- 10-10-2025 Added latest kitting: splitting backspace for colored numrow, pgup/pgdn fixies
- 10-10-2025 Added R3 Pipe for ISO compatibility
- 12-10-2025 Moved most of the images out of imgur

[DirtyGingy]

Oh, this is nice

[Zahul]

This looks cool. GLWIC!

[zlobin356]

Nice set! I have question regarding kitting, why there is no alert-row color |\ for split backspace support? I see this key on renders, but not in the kit render.

[raz]

Nice set! I have question regarding kitting, why there is no alert-row color |\ for split backspace support? I see this key on renders, but not in the kit render.

Good catch!

Delete and |\ are missing because I uploaded the wrong file =)
I'm updating the post

[ZavaZ86]

Any specific reason why you aren't using standard black (cr)?

[zlobin356]

Any specific reason why you aren't using standard black (cr)?

Well as author said, and as i understand its sort of "remix" for Avanguardia, which uses same color. IRL it should be more grayish, rather than just black

[raz]

Any specific reason why you aren't using standard black (cr)?

I'm taking GMK Avanguardia base color, that's why =)

Here's a real life reference of the Accent + Base colors:

[mr_foggy]

this gets a big YES from me chief

[Bacms]

Imgur images no longer work for UK users. You may want to use a different host for the images https://help.imgur.com/hc/en-us/articles/41592665292443-Imgur-access-in-the-United-Kingdom

[Ape]

I like this! 

I personally prefer the non-alert R1.
Will Avanguardia have a rerun?

[raz]

I like this! 

I personally prefer the non-alert R1.
Will Avanguardia have a rerun?

I don't think so, at least not now. Candykeys should have some extras!

Imgur images no longer work for UK users. You may want to use a different host for the images https://help.imgur.com/hc/en-us/articles/41592665292443-Imgur-access-in-the-United-Kingdom

Thanks for the heads-up, going to upload images to github and update the post

[IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES]

I like it and I loved the avanguardia nov style

That base not run through novelkeys is probably 180$ or so and the masses unaware of inflation will howl. Split alert out? split numpad out? Cut purple? Two of those?

(Edit: then people would have to interact w candykeys)

[raz]

I like it and I loved the avanguardia nov style

That base not run through novelkeys is probably 180$ or so and the masses unaware of inflation will howl. Split alert out? split numpad out? Cut purple? Two of those?

(Edit: then people would have to interact w candykeys)

I see every of your point.

GMK Avanguardia had A LOT of kits and even if it was 2021, it was not easy to reach the MOQ for all the kits, and the 40s was canceled at the end. I would like to prevent fragmentation, but I'm sure no one will be bothered if the Numpad is sold separately, for example.

I'll update the thread with an IC Form so I can get more feedback.

Thanks for your inputs!

[IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES]

This numpad user notes split out numpad on Windbreaker didn’t raise the cost too much: maybe the quotes are different nowadays. Looking forward to novs.

[zlobin356]

This numpad user notes split out numpad on Windbreaker didn’t raise the cost too much: maybe the quotes are different nowadays. Looking forward to novs.

Yep, as far as i know GMK reviews its pricing strategy, quotes should be better now.

[yuujira]

Came in this hobby late enough to have missed Avanguardia and was excited at first to see it return but was ultimately disappointed that it's predominantly green instead of purple. I don't mind if the colors were mixed, like maybe a purple alert row as an additional kit?

[Randomlosername]

Yo this is nice fr. Def would love novs for this.

[raz]

Yo this is nice fr. Def would love novs for this.

I'm not planning to design new novelties, I might re-use the same I had in Avanguardia. This should make the price a bit lower too if the original molds are still in GMK possession

This numpad user notes split out numpad on Windbreaker didn’t raise the cost too much: maybe the quotes are different nowadays. Looking forward to novs.

Came in this hobby late enough to have missed Avanguardia and was excited at first to see it return but was ultimately disappointed that it's predominantly green instead of purple. I don't mind if the colors were mixed, like maybe a purple alert row as an additional kit?

Not a fan of running R N(s) for the sets. Avanguardia didn't sell THAT much to require a round 2 tbh. Adding another alert row would be too much I think. I'll add the question to the IC form anyway, let's see how it goes =)

This numpad user notes split out numpad on Windbreaker didn’t raise the cost too much: maybe the quotes are different nowadays. Looking forward to novs.

Yep, as far as i know GMK reviews its pricing strategy, quotes should be better now.

I'm prepping up the IC Form, let's see what the people around here want. I'm not against having multiple kits, but I'd like to keep everything as much as compact as I can. True thing is that not a lot of people will need a numpad, and I'm worried the kit might not reach the MOQ for the production (like how it happened with the 40s kit for Avanguardia).

[mr_foggy]

This numpad user notes split out numpad on Windbreaker didn’t raise the cost too much: maybe the quotes are different nowadays. Looking forward to novs.

Yep, as far as i know GMK reviews its pricing strategy, quotes should be better now.

long overdue but good news nonetheless

[MoltenKhor]

I R R E A L E

[MartinThePolarBear]

I really really like this

[raz]

Working on some better renders, here's a spoiler:

[bluranerd]

super big fan of this colorway. GLWIC, i'd definitely cop a set of this 

[Meepergon]

oooh, i REALLY like this one, i'm in for a base kit + novs if you add any!

[raz]

Quick Retroguardia update:

I’ll be moving forward with SWG for this project instead of GMK.
The biggest advantages are better pricing and a better timeline, and the current plan is to aim for GB in Q4 2026.

Because of that, I’m also going to tweak the kitting a bit before GB. I don’t have all proxy/vendor info finalized yet, but I’ll share that as soon as everything is confirmed.
The overall direction of the set is staying the same. This is mostly a change that makes the project more practical to run.

I’ll update the first post as well, and kitting feedback is still very appreciated.

[Bokehhbob]

Will SWG have ICON mods by than or is that something you would need to change in the render?

[raz]

Will SWG have ICON mods by than or is that something you would need to change in the render?

Tbh I'm not planning to go with Novelties. I'll have the IC form ready when I have a bit more info from SWG and I'll have the Novelties interest check there. If the number of interested people is reasonable, I'll add it. I have the designs ready (same as avanguardia)

[anson42]

Looks nice! I appreciate the inclusion of a few 40s keys but us 40s users won't get any real benefit out of the alert row. If you were to move the 40s support out into a separate kit and add an R2 alert row, then the set will be much more 40s friendly. I offer up Keykobo Lilies of the Valley as a great example of this approach.

To enhance 40s support in general in the base or in add-on, please also offer up a R2 Esc key, R3 1.75u Enter and optionally R2 1u backspace. Other SWG sets like Beige and Nimbus have 5-key 40s support today, missing only the 1u backspace.

GLWIC!

[raz]

Looks nice! I appreciate the inclusion of a few 40s keys but us 40s users won't get any real benefit out of the alert row. If you were to move the 40s support out into a separate kit and add an R2 alert row, then the set will be much more 40s friendly. I offer up Keykobo Lilies of the Valley as a great example of this approach.

To enhance 40s support in general in the base or in add-on, please also offer up a R2 Esc key, R3 1.75u Enter and optionally R2 1u backspace. Other SWG sets like Beige and Nimbus have 5-key 40s support today, missing only the 1u backspace.

GLWIC!

My plan is to allign to the base kits they are already delivering with some of their kits (as you mentioned, Beige and Nimbus).

I would like to keep the alert row into the base kit though, so this would increase a bit the cost but it would give everyone "some more" keys to be used

[yuujira]

any plans to add novs to this set?
i couldn't read apparently. would be interested in novs tho

[raz]

any plans to add novs to this set?

Will see, I still have to create the IC form. The kit would be something like this with proper colors:

[SwitchKeys]

Beautiful work RAZ!

[nadhole69]

Nice green!

[raz]

Update!

- Final kitting;
- GB Date;
- Vendors;
- New renders;
- Novelties