[insert classic “fake is more real than genuine article because it is deliberately trying to be real” argument]
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As with most of my posts about my boards, this is as much of a story as it is a showcase of the board itself.
A friend found me this board and I waited around until it arrived at my doorstep.
The end.
….
That’s it. That’s the whole story. I did basically nothing to get this keyboard and don’t deserve any of the credit in obtaining this rarity as the only contribution I made to the whole ordeal was pay for it, which is the only reason I can say that I it belongs to me…
…although, technically I guess that’s true for a lot of things in life – but even then you have to do some work to get that thing, like search online or go to a store or w/e – I actually did nothing.
Anyway… HUGE shoutout to /u/motorspychoo for making this possible for me. Thanks for being such a cool/transparent/trustworthy dude from beginning to end!
And now to show it off…
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
I consider myself VERY lucky to have this keyboard. To my knowledge this is the second NIB one that has been found within the community, the first one being this one: keyboards-f2/i-interesting-find-nib-ibm ... 18011.html. So this isn’t exactly a ground-breaking discovery as mine is essentially the exact same thing as that board – like even down to the manufacture date of June 11th 1986…. For a brief moment I considered that the board from the link and mine were one-and-the-same, but I know my board isn’t ACTUALLY the same board because of the lock light bank imperfection. Interesting that they are the same date, though..
There have been, however, many other non-NIB model M imposters documented over the years:
1) Orihalcon’s: photos-f62/another-blue-alps-model-m-t13077.html
2) Mr. Nobody’s: keyboards-f2/blue-alps-ibm-model-m-t15382.html
To name a couple few (the second link contains a few other members who have found them as well).
The board has many strengths, but also some glaring weaknesses – the biggest of which is probably it’s keycaps. They are pretty thin pad printed ABS caps, and although the legends LOOK nice, they will rub off pretty easily. Normally this isn't the worst thing ever because you can just replace the caps with a more robust doubleshot set, right? Well...not in this case.
Spoiler:
Another weakness is the boards build quality and even the plastic used for the chassis. Genuine model Ms use PVC (I think) for their plastic chassis, but this is certainly not PVC. I don't know what it is, but it feels super brittle and creaks a lot when being handled. It's not held together by the typical hex-bolt-like screws either, but instead typical phillips screws, wich don't look as elegent in my opinion.
So, okay then... Sure, it’s not built as well as a genuine model M and feels like it would completely shatter if you dropped it from waist-height; and sure, the keycaps are absolutely terrible – but that doesn't mean it's not amazing! It has some pretty awesome strengths as well!
For starters, it's got NOS blue alps. NOS blue alps are brilliant, and in this chassis (which is VERY hallow) they sound amazing. As an alps fanatic, I don't think you can really do any better than NOS blue alps for clicky switches. I know that some members will see blue alps as a downgrade to buckling springs, but for me it's quite the opposite!
Second, It also has NKRO in an ANSI layout, which means that for me it’s in the realm of the DC-3014 for “best blue alps board” contender. Although it definitely falls short of the DC-3014 because of the caps and build quality, and I think the DC-3014 still holds the title for me (which, BTW, I’m still looking for one!).
Overall this is one of my favorite keyboards in my collection – even though I didn’t go through any kind of “gauntlet” to get it, nor did I have to restore it to get it into the condition it’s in. In fact I almost feel guilty for getting a board like this without having to do anything – doesn’t feel right for a vintage board... Oh well!
Thanks for reading, and here’s a quick typing test of the board as well!
またね。
//gains.
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