Hi-Profile PBT Dye-sub (the time has come)

[Techno Trousers]

It is possible that the "inspectors" in the New Jersey warehouse are not sufficiently educated on what to look for in terms of problems; what seems like an obvious font mismatch to us may not even register on a (largely) uninformed inspector's radar.

This seems very likely to me. I'll bet they were looking to make sure every set had the right letters/symbols in it, and the right modifier colors, not what the font was on each individual key, nor how well the legends were centered.

[Petch]

Honestly the bold international kits are more excusable than the off-centre and skewed legends. At least for the inconsistent font there's a plausible, albeit a bit silly, excuse (different font revisions). But how did legends all over the place happen? Just seems like blatant cheaping-out on the dye sub process and QA, which is a shame because the plastic itself seemed decent quality - even if the beige and teal were nothing like the renders.

It's going to be interesting to see how it's handled by MD.

On another note, does anyone else find the home row to feel a little too scooped? Like the default is more like what the homing F/J keys should be, and the rest should be slightly less scooped than they are?

[matt3o]

I have no NDA stopping me from telling my opinion So the rant is coming.

In the meantime it is my understanding that if you request a replacement you'd get a fixed kit.

[Laser]

[...] the rant is coming.

This asks for a meme. Where's @seebart?

[FSund]

Just received my set yesterday, and here is another example of what the bold international set looks like:

01305222 (Large).JPG (225.79 KiB) Viewed 6538 times

The "Ø" legend also pretty off-center. I haven't had a chance to inspect at all the other keys, but so far it seems like most of them are acceptable, even if some of them are a bit crooked.

[zslane]

Dye-sub alignment can be difficult with spherical keycaps with such pronounced dishing. Especially if the manufacturer is new at this. I can't say I'm surprised by the alignment issues. Even SP warns designers of the margin of error to expect from this process, and it isn't zero.

[Slom]

In the meantime it is my understanding that if you request a replacement you'd get a fixed kit.

They offered me a refund or a wait, so I would say this information is incorrect.

[Slom]

MassDrop is investigating what happened, but the current theory seems to be that keycaps from previous prototype stages got accidentally mixed in with final keycaps by the manufacturer.

Bad excuse is my guess. Note that NO correct int. kits have popped up by now.

[zslane]

Not an excuse, bad or otherwise, since it was only a theory.

[Slom]

Honestly the bold international kits are more excusable than the off-centre and skewed legends.

Says the British guy who doesn't actually need any of the bold keys

Also dye sub on spherical caps is difficult, so I am actually not surprised by tiny barely visible misalignment. And you shouldn't either if you had done some research before buying. But those bold font key caps, that's simply not acceptable.

[Laser]

I guess he meant "excusable" from the point of view of "how could that have happened", not as in "acceptable or not" (as a result, for the user).

[seaworthy]

Sorry for the trouble you all are having with the international font bolding and poor alignment.

My sets (no international) look great other than a dye-sub skew on a few keys. But the profile feels very comfortable, sounds fantastic and looks spectacular. Wish I would have bought additional sets.

[FSund]

https://matt3o.com/the-cost-of-perfection/

Thank you for sticking with me up to this point. I can tell you that we are already working on a second release and this time we are making sure that everything is in place… At least so I am told.

Will the new set also be produced via MassDrop?
Is this a new colorway, or just a "fixed" version of the previous one?

[Shihatsu]

Massdrop ain't the producer. The question is: will the next GB be done by MD or not. I hope it won't. MD just did too much shit. The last two megafails (Fox and Halo) where just too much. If you want to act like a megacon, you will be judged like a megacon, and i vote with my wallet.

[matt3o]

Will the new set also be produced via MassDrop?
Is this a new colorway, or just a "fixed" version of the previous one?

yes, massdrop. There will be a fixed version and a new colorway (I don't know which one first)

[Petch]

I guess he meant "excusable" from the point of view of "how could that have happened", not as in "acceptable or not" (as a result, for the user).

Yes, that's what I meant

Will the new set also be produced via MassDrop?
Is this a new colorway, or just a "fixed" version of the previous one?

yes, massdrop. There will be a fixed version and a new colorway (I don't know which one first)

Is this fixed version going to be a new group buy, or just for people who ordered back in April? I cancelled my huge order after seeing a set in person before my own shipped - I didn't know they would be producing replacements

[Wodan]

Massdrop ain't the producer. The question is: will the next GB be done by MD or not. I hope it won't. MD just did too much shit. The last two megafails (Fox and Halo) where just too much. If you want to act like a megacon, you will be judged like a megacon, and i vote with my wallet.

I understood that Massdrop actually financed these molds and "own" them or have exclusive access to them for a while. Don't expect this profile to pop up elsewhere in the near future ... Unless I:C finds a way to hakko out something VERY similair again

[Shihatsu]

I would be VERY glad if it came to be... but I fear the worst

[matt3o]

Is this fixed version going to be a new group buy, or just for people who ordered back in April?

new group buy

[andrewjoy]

ooo new group buy ..... do tell.

[sgtpopwell]

Does anyone know if there's going to be any kind of leftovers sale? I need a winkeyless kit that I did not order with the original drop.

TIA

[TastyNico]

Is this fixed version going to be a new group buy, or just for people who ordered back in April?

new group buy

Tell us more!
Is there already a scheduled drop date? Q1 (Probably not, lol), Q2, Q3, Q4 or even 2019?

[matt3o]

I'm pretty sure it's 2018, don't know when yet.

[Wodan]

I'm pretty sure it's 2018, don't know when yet.

- Ellipse

[Petch]

I'm pretty sure it's 2018, don't know when yet.

Any plans to change the moulds slightly? There are quite a few complains about the stems being tight and the home row feeling a bit too scooped

[matt3o]

the stems look pretty good to me, we may add a nippled homing key though

[arrowplum]

the stems look pretty good to me, we may add a nippled homing key though

I think you probably answered this somwhere but are you ever going to make that profile with alps stems?

[arrowplum]

[duplicate]

[caligo]

Finally recieved my set today. The profile itself feels great so far, as does the individual caps. I did not get anything too egregious on the alignment front, so I got lucky there I guess. I'm really digging the teal color – my keyboard now looks like som prop from a Wes Anderson movie, which is a good thing in my book. It's way to dark to take decent pictures here, but I might break out the DSLR sometime during the weekend if I find the time.

Comparing /dev/tty/ to my Round 5 SA keycaps, the difference is quite profound. Sure, they're booth sculptured – but that's where the similarities end. The M3 keycaps are way grippier, being more deep dished and lacking that smooth ABS texture. I haven't used it long enough to say whether its better than SA, but it has a very distinct and quite nice feel to it. I can, however, see how some people might feel them to be to sharp and angular – something that really sets them apart from SA.

I did, however, also get the bold international kit alphas, and boy do they look silly. Sure, it adds some character. But it also makes the whole thing look kind of like a frankenboard, like someone got an almost complete set and then found some ersatz keys that were kind of similar and used them to fill the remaining spots. Having seen the set IRL and actually typed on it, I'm leaning towards keeping the keycaps and just learn to live with the quirks. But it would be nice to see it remedied somehow, as it really detracts from an otherwise excellent set.

[Laser]

Cool! No misaligned fonts is still good news.

My set reached the local customs - I have to wait till Monday to get it (and pay the taxes ...). Can't wait to see how the profile feels.