Just stumbled on an article mentioning an "IBM model M" whilst looking up something on completeplanet and it piqued my curiosity.Subsequently I came across numerous glowing acolades for old IBM's and spotted the very comprehensive wiki model m article.
Looking down the list of model Ms to find a British layout, full-size keyboard,there was the 1391406 which seemed to be suitable.
Whilst scouring meta search engines I saw geekhack references and reviews of the 102 key keyboard.It was only a matter of getting a few quotes from B2B computer surplus sites and a big cardboard box landed on my doormat a week ago.I immediately recognised the IBM from similar ones I used college in 1981-2.I still remember my tutors - one was an ex-ICL guy and the other one was an oxford graduate and former systems analyst.Programs in those days were crazy - assembly, cobol 80, Fortran and early BASIC - fond memories.
This keyboard is spot on for me - nice and big, with plenty of feedback and no superfluous buttons.
I probably will try other mechanical keyboards but with certain stipulations.I want a firm key >55 gm ,a spring to push my fingers up, audible key activaton, UK layout and full keypad.That narrows my choice down considerably to a model F and a few others.
Importing unicomp models would be prohibitively expensive and these two fantastic products should last me decades - if I live that long