IBM Model M Replacement Badges - SELLING LEFTOVERS

[emdude]

If there is ever another run of these badges, would it be possible to have metal or foil versions of them made? That's something I've wanted for a while (I have one of wcass's old threads bookmarked, photo attachments are broken unfortunately) and I'd probably buy a bunch of those up for sure.

[micrex22]

If there is ever another run of these badges, would it be possible to have metal or foil versions of them made? That's something I've wanted for a while (I have one of wcass's old threads bookmarked, photo attachments are broken unfortunately) and I'd probably buy a bunch of those up for sure.

This was something on my mind: it should be possible to take a mold of the original plastic ones (much like what Maxx was doing for the SSK chassis) and then 'silver dip' them with the top coating. Or, create a metal imprint and then do an 'inverse' by painting the top black since the whole colour is already silver.

If you're aware, there actually do exist metal foil ThinkPad badges, here's a shot of my failed experiment of a painted T601p with the foil badge on top:


I don't know how the process for the silver dipping works exactly--and the black M13 and SSK badges have shinier silver coatings than any badge before or since. I can make a general assumption based on *later* badges, with some that have poor molding (flashing) you can see how the dip unevenly gets coated, implying they were submerged in the silver dip that bleeds to the edges.

(left badge has extreme cases of flashing whereas the right one does not)

This is probably going far off topic for the group buy and I apologize.

[wcass]

For the MF upgrade project, i think a PCB badge is most appropriate.

SSK_2016-12-10.jpg (50.88 KiB) Viewed 16934 times

[Techno Trousers]

That looks great wcass!

[webwit]

Lacks duck, but otherwise great.

Edit:

Spoiler:

[fohat]

That glossy silver on matte silver is pretty bad-ass.

[Wingpad]

Excellent, thank you so much for your updated design, wcass!

[emdude]

That Thinkpad badge definitely is pretty neat. I was thinking of something more along the lines of the silver labels of the old Model Ms (1390120, 1390131, etc.).

[Wingpad]

@micrex22, that Thinkpad badge definitely is pretty neat. I was thinking of something more along the lines of the silver labels of the old Model Ms (1390120, 1390131, etc.).

Hmm, well once this group buy wraps up, I can post an interest check for a round with this style of badges. It should be feasible to make SSK and Round-style Model M badges out of silver foil with black-on-silver printing. I got a request for replacement square-label black-on-silver badges at some point as well.

[emdude]

Ooh, that would be great!

[Mattr567]

Is there anyway I can squeeze in? PM'd Wingpad.

Otherwise if anyone has any extra full size black M badges let me know. I have a NIB blue logo industrial case that would be perfect for it.

[XMIT]

At some point I'll have some extras for sale. I need to get my act together and start selling things again.

[Wingpad]

Yeah, we may have some extras as well. I'll let you know after we start shipping out our orders.

[livingspeedbump]

Lacks duck, but otherwise great.

Edit:

Spoiler:

I'd sport this.

[wholypantalones]

Looked through the thread, I'm wondering what time frame there is for shipping these?

[Elrick]

That Thinkpad badge definitely is pretty neat. I was thinking of something more along the lines of the silver labels of the old Model Ms (1390120, 1390131, etc.).

Agreed.

Looks far more masculine and serious, compared to all the Glitter parade examples more suited for the Gay-Pride Mardi Gras.

With IBM, it's either significant or go home.

[micrex22]

Agreed.

Looks far more masculine and serious, compared to all the Glitter parade examples more suited for the Gay-Pride Mardi Gras.

With IBM, it's either significant or go home.

Be careful what you wish for: with a large multinational corporation, they're inevitably going to release alternative colour schemes--even if they're not well known anymore:

[Techno Trousers]

Wow! Let's do a run of metallic square badges that matches that mouse color.

[Elrick]

Wow! Let's do a run of metallic square badges that matches that mouse color.

How many different colours are available in the IBM Mouse range?

[micrex22]

How many different colours are available in the IBM Mouse range?

• Gun metal grey (glitter injected)
• Burgundy (glitter injected)
• Slate blue (glitter injected)
• Graphite black (glitter injected)
• Silver (glitter injected)
• Matte dark grey (no glitter)
• Matte grey (rubber coated!)
• Black (no glitter)

Not all mice types were available in all of those colours, the choices are really all over the place. Only the last wireless mouse was fully submerged in the 'ThinkPad' rubber, it's very soft but fragile; it sucks to use due to one critical flaw I won't get into. My guess is that David Hill couldn't convince IBM to open up to more colours--or they sold poorly. But I would chalk that up to crappy marketing. Worth adding Lenovo temporarily released some mice with 'yellow' wheels that could be transplanted into some of the other esoteric colour schemes instead of the black wheels.

I have been meaning to do an 'ultimate' thread about it at some point with some photos and dissection since this is a large topic. But there are some very rare ones I'm still trying to hunt, particularly the ergonomic burgundy navigator pros-- which you could use to transplant a glowing blue wheel from a slate blue navigator pro. This one here:


I did create a silver-black frankenmouse which I also wanted to include in the future thread (DAS FRANKENMAUS):


It's one-of-a-kind and unfortunately has some problems (need to troubleshoot the circuitry since it has some serious scrolling issues). Also, that silver top is from a rev 1 chassis, so the buttons are misaligned, unlike revision 2. Therefore leaving a very unpleasant feeling when using either left or right click-- but the thumb button is the crispest for some reason. Due to the lack of supply of frames I need to set aside some time to compare the revisions and hack the plastic so it aligns normally. These ergonomic mouse bodies suffer from some bad alignment issues.

I've been wanting to hack the sensor and firmware for some better flexibility and customization. Since my EE skills are limited (and I have no clue how to program a windows driver), it has been pretty slow. And I'm lazy... so most of this goes on languishing in parts boxes. It's a symptom of seeing something and thinking "oh hey, that's cool!", then you get it and are like "nahhh, I'll do this later".

Also, none of this was planned. I did random bidding and simply got some deals on like over 80+ mice that I couldn't refuse, and found some weird stuff. The only one I actively 'bought' was the sucky wireless rubber coated one. Heh.

[lot_lizard]

Nice post micrex... A lot of good info. Should go in the wiki

[Wingpad]

Just as an update, our order is still under review with PCBWay so we should be able to move forward with it soon.

[Techno Trousers]

Thanks for the update Wingpad!

[fohat]

I have one of those burgundy IBM mice that works but the scroll wheel is wonky and unreliable.

Anybody want to trade something for it?

[Wingpad]

As another update, the order was paid for and produced – it is now awaiting shipment to me.

[Techno Trousers]

Yuss!!

[Elrick]

As another update, the order was paid for and produced – it is now awaiting shipment to me.

Damn, you don't mess around .

[livingspeedbump]

As another update, the order was paid for and produced – it is now awaiting shipment to me.

most excellent, and speedy!

[Wingpad]

Bad news folks, PCBWay messed up the SSK-size badges. As you can see, they fabricated the badges on regular PCBs vs. those with a black surface.





I have sent them an email and will work to correct this. Thanks in advance for your patience while I deal with this issue.

[Elrick]

Bad news folks, PCBWay messed up the SSK-size badges. As you can see, they fabricated the badges on regular PCBs vs. those with a black surface.

Actually this badge could go perfectly with plain beige and white SSK's which are far numerous out there than Industrial's.