Ok, I'll take pity and post some of the swag I got.
Focus FK-2001 with Clicky White Alps. This is probably going to be a donor board for my Wannabe Filco Zero Board: Ducky 1087XM
body pcb, clicky white Alps switches, and Dell AT101W caps/cut down case.
Orange on Black Alps GH cap. SmallFry really came through for me
If I can't have that Filco Zero right now, at least I got you baby.
CPTBadAss cuddles with Alps GH capi3oiler was giving out the new TechKeys keyboard brushes
And I got an Orange R3 Gamer Kit in a trade.
I'll load in more pics later.
Edit: Since I'm not sure we got a group picture, I'll load this little people review up. A mashby-esque play-by-play will come later as well as my thoughts on some of the boards I liked. Although I'm sure by now, everyone knows how bad I want a Filco Zero
If anyone I talked about is uncomfortable with this, I can take it down. Just let me know.
SmallFry: We literally were all waiting for him to come. If that’s not a serious bro status, I don't know what is. He was pretty cool in person and he has nice boards. That 122 is an aircraft carrier! Hilarious, he was there for 2 minutes and he was already trying to hustle to get trades going. Someone gift that boy some boxes though ‘cause he was wrapping boards in towels!
Dante: Softspoken guy and he was REALLY into the keyboards. Gave all the boards a once over and really put them through their paces. Definitely a true fan of boards, I’m really glad he liked the G84 that I gave him. I wasn’t really using it and now it’s going to a great home. For anyone who wanted to know, Dianoda lubed his G84 and it only slightly improved it. But he was really cool to talk to since he knows a lot about boards and I wish he came to the MK.com meet. Next time buddy!
Dianoda: Another cool guy who chatted with me about boards and showed me the delights of how good a macro lens could be. I’m now ultra ashamed that I’ve been posting potatoes when I know that I’ve been denying GH proper pictures.
Keymaster: I’m giving him the award for best dressed followed closely by SmallFry’s all red taylor swift outfit. I’m sorry bro, but how are you gonna beat nice pointed leather shoes, a peacoat, I think an American apparel hoodie, and a proper haircut. We all looked like bums compared to him. Myself the most XD. His Leopold has the putty mod and it was AMAZING. He was saying that the worst part was that the spacebar was off a bit on it? Don’t even worry about it, that thing is so cool.
i3oilermaker: This guy is a riot. Definitely not what I was expecting and I think he loved the litster/hapster caps and story more than anyone else there. We had a blast recounting the thread and I snapped up a ton of his caps. I also liked his business model a lot: F*ck it, we’re buying them and seeing if they sell. If they don’t? Then too bad.
Trent: Apparently this man knows where all the IBM BS boards are located within a 50 mile radius of Chicago because he and Tipo brought in SO many of those for show and for sale. If I didn’t play with Beast and Tipo’s SSKs, I would’ve insta-bought one. Trent and Tipo were really tight so it was fun to see the bromance unfold. Plus he showed me a rollermouse which was a little unnecessary and amazing at the same time.
Prdlm2009: I’m really glad someone else likes Alps as much as I do. He had some amazing Alps boards and we both super enjoyed the Zero. He was super stoked to try out Akimbo’s Dell AT101.
The_Beast: He looked a little tired but I would be too if I had his backpack full of amazing. The dude has prototype numpad plates, switch lube plate, a 60% plate, a TON of switch opening tools, and his IBM boards. I’m tired just thinking about it. He also had that amazing Tipro with all the Clacks and the purple boost superhero. And he was really chill. Cheers
Deepthawt: This guy had some super cool boards. Matias Quiet Pro and the G80-5000 were my favorites out of his collection. Had a lot of fun explaining to him my collection and talking about the switch wobble and novelty cap ideas. Plus, he brought Keypop’s coffee set which looks incredible.
Tipo: This guy is a riot; he was so cool, he convinced me not to lift his Zero! And he brought in sooo many boxes/boards. It was like he was running his own eBay shop. And we all had a good laugh with his self typing Full Metal Filco. He’s got stock browns in it so if you shake the board a little some of the caps will type on their own. Plus I managed to get K really excited about getting a mechanical keyboard so I was excited as well. Tipo, I’m apologize in advance if this hacks your wallet even more.
To the guys who run Cyber Arena: Thank you so much for having us. It was a cool space and you guys were so gracious and tolerant of us just invading your store for way too long
If you’re ever in the area, go check the place out. They’re really cool dudes.
I'll post more later. I'm tired. In case anyone was wondering, driving 1000 miles in 2 weekends can do that to you.