MagicHead94
TKC1800 V2.0 w/ MT3 Serika (2020)
[Disclaimer – This board will likely be changing very drastically in the near future, I just wanted to bask in the glory of beige before I painted it up. Though having said that, I really dig the classic timeless aesthetic and will look to obtain another TKC1800 kit in to replace it]
Unpainted TKC1800 with
TKC1800 V2.0 PCB from TheKey.Company
C3 Equalz Screw-in Stabilisers Purple Housing with Black Wire (Lubed)
TKC1800 V2.0 Aluminium Plate from TheKey.Company; custom coloured with paint from Rainbow Paints
Gateron Black Inks - 90g (Flimed, Lubed with Krytox GPL 206g2, and Spring Swapped) from KBDFans (Switches) Daily Clack (Lube/Springs), Kebo (Switch Films)
Rubber Silencing layer from The Warehouse (repurposed Non-slip Drawer Liner)
MT3 Serika w/ Katakana sublegends by Zambumon from Massdrop
Alien II - Mutant by B'Gnu-Thun
IdleKey 2 – Dark Data by CozCaps
Shipwrecked - Gold by NZ Caps
[Miscellaneous]
Detachable Coiled Mini USB cable Norfolk (Purple/Grey) Paracord with Carbon Techflex and Yellow heatshrink from Zap Cables
________________________________________________
Also this is a long one, so sorry not sorry 😅
I bought one of these boards a couple of years ago as a pre pained kit, and fell in love. The “compact fullsize” footprint, and retro case design are classic; I had to get another one.
The case was made from moulds from come old Cherry G80-1800 by Cherry themselves, and retooled to support the new additions (custom plate, PCB, nameplates). I got one in “light grey/beige” with in intent of painting it up in a custom colour for another theme (but I really wanted to get the board built, as I could go back later and paint the case once I had settled on the colour/process (more deets to come...). The layout has everything one could want without having to access function layers, and do any additional programming, the only thing really different between this and the V1.0 boards, is the bottom row. The V2.0 allowed me to have the 6.25u space with 1.25u mods on the left and 1.5u on the right. Outside of that, I opted for the stepped Caps Lock just to further hit home the classic look, and it also serves the purpose of being more defined so I'm less likely to hit it BY ACCIDENT.
The switches were a bit of a tough choice for me. I really dig the feel of heavy linear switches, but my all time favourites are tactiles. I opted to try out some of the “new” Gateron Black Inks, which is a bit of a call back to the Cherry Blacks that were in the original G80-1800s. I had come really nice 90g springs kicking around along with some Krytox GPL 206g2 lube (super thick, some describe it like peanut butter), and got to work on the disassembly and lubing. I'd also bought some switch films to give a try as well, the idea being they help tighten up the housing fit, and reduce stem wobble, but they also change the sound profile a bit as well. Once all was said and done, I was left with some of the best linears that I have ever used; smooth as all heck, and (outside of the bottom-out) virtually no sound.
The plate was an interesting one for this as well. I originally got it in a purple anodized aluminium. But realised, that with the purple stabs, it might be a little too much. I tried to get the plate changed to a brass one (with no luck), so I figured why not paint it. I wanted to match the yellow seen in the Deep Space colourway (again more coming on that front at some point), so I took a same to a local paint shop, and they worked some magic. The end result was a kinda mustardy/yolky yellow which ties in with the rest of the board super nicely.
The stabs I got were the first run that I had seen of stabs that weren't black or clear; so I went hard and got some nice purple housings with the black wire. They were pre-clipped, so I just threw some silicone grease on to remove any rattle and further add to the smooth typing experience. I went with some yellow LEDs for the indicators, just to break up the colours a little more, and it'll add itself really nicely once the board get painted. I wanted to try out something a little different when it came to silencing the case noises. With it being moulded plastic case, the sound can just bounce around. So I did some research, and decided to try out some rubber non-slip mats. Cut to size, and shaped around the interiorr of the case, and I think that it adds a nice element to the sound profile. The bottom-outs and returns are slightly dampened, and combine that with the keycaps, gives it a really nice “thock”.
The keycaps here are a bold choice. I've said before that I'm not a huge fan of high profile keycap sets but I really wanted to give MT3 a try. It's a little taller that SA (my other experience with high profile), and has a much deeper spherical top with each keycap almost “cupping” your fingertips. I really dug the look of GMK Serika, and thought I'd give the MT3 a try. I think the Katakana sublegends are super evocative (and took inspiration from some “vintage” Apple keyboards), and the occasionally novelty add some more character to the board. One of my favourite features with this set is the “Super Homing” keys, basically the “home row” is all scooped, not just the “F” and “J”, sure it's probably more of a novelty, but it feels really nice. The artisans were a real happy accident. I never intended on pairing any artisans with Serika, but while I was cataloguing my artisan collection, I realised that there are a couple that lead themselves well, without detracting too much from the rest of the look; enter Alien II (one of my favourite sculpts and in a randomised colourway), Idlekey (the black hand resting on a skull is a little dark as far as imagery, but still super cool), and then lastly Shipwrecked (just a neat sculpt, and a cool colour combo). While I was writing this up, it's also worth noting that all of the artisans are from Kiwis (Alien II and Shipwrecked) and Aussies (Idlekey), so nice way to pay homage to our little corner of the world.
The USB cable is mounted inside the case itself, and will only really be a stand out once the case gets its fresh coat of paint... But as with my other cables from Zap Cables, you can't go wrong here at all; super cool grey/purple paracord, and and the carbon techflex with yellow heatshrink
As I've said a couple of times already, this is not this boards final form, but I just couldn't say no to that beige.
TKC1800 V2.0 w/ MT3 Serika (2020)
[Disclaimer – This board will likely be changing very drastically in the near future, I just wanted to bask in the glory of beige before I painted it up. Though having said that, I really dig the classic timeless aesthetic and will look to obtain another TKC1800 kit in to replace it]
Unpainted TKC1800 with
TKC1800 V2.0 PCB from TheKey.Company
C3 Equalz Screw-in Stabilisers Purple Housing with Black Wire (Lubed)
TKC1800 V2.0 Aluminium Plate from TheKey.Company; custom coloured with paint from Rainbow Paints
Gateron Black Inks - 90g (Flimed, Lubed with Krytox GPL 206g2, and Spring Swapped) from KBDFans (Switches) Daily Clack (Lube/Springs), Kebo (Switch Films)
Rubber Silencing layer from The Warehouse (repurposed Non-slip Drawer Liner)
MT3 Serika w/ Katakana sublegends by Zambumon from Massdrop
Alien II - Mutant by B'Gnu-Thun
IdleKey 2 – Dark Data by CozCaps
Shipwrecked - Gold by NZ Caps
[Miscellaneous]
Detachable Coiled Mini USB cable Norfolk (Purple/Grey) Paracord with Carbon Techflex and Yellow heatshrink from Zap Cables
________________________________________________
Also this is a long one, so sorry not sorry 😅
I bought one of these boards a couple of years ago as a pre pained kit, and fell in love. The “compact fullsize” footprint, and retro case design are classic; I had to get another one.
The case was made from moulds from come old Cherry G80-1800 by Cherry themselves, and retooled to support the new additions (custom plate, PCB, nameplates). I got one in “light grey/beige” with in intent of painting it up in a custom colour for another theme (but I really wanted to get the board built, as I could go back later and paint the case once I had settled on the colour/process (more deets to come...). The layout has everything one could want without having to access function layers, and do any additional programming, the only thing really different between this and the V1.0 boards, is the bottom row. The V2.0 allowed me to have the 6.25u space with 1.25u mods on the left and 1.5u on the right. Outside of that, I opted for the stepped Caps Lock just to further hit home the classic look, and it also serves the purpose of being more defined so I'm less likely to hit it BY ACCIDENT.
The switches were a bit of a tough choice for me. I really dig the feel of heavy linear switches, but my all time favourites are tactiles. I opted to try out some of the “new” Gateron Black Inks, which is a bit of a call back to the Cherry Blacks that were in the original G80-1800s. I had come really nice 90g springs kicking around along with some Krytox GPL 206g2 lube (super thick, some describe it like peanut butter), and got to work on the disassembly and lubing. I'd also bought some switch films to give a try as well, the idea being they help tighten up the housing fit, and reduce stem wobble, but they also change the sound profile a bit as well. Once all was said and done, I was left with some of the best linears that I have ever used; smooth as all heck, and (outside of the bottom-out) virtually no sound.
The plate was an interesting one for this as well. I originally got it in a purple anodized aluminium. But realised, that with the purple stabs, it might be a little too much. I tried to get the plate changed to a brass one (with no luck), so I figured why not paint it. I wanted to match the yellow seen in the Deep Space colourway (again more coming on that front at some point), so I took a same to a local paint shop, and they worked some magic. The end result was a kinda mustardy/yolky yellow which ties in with the rest of the board super nicely.
The stabs I got were the first run that I had seen of stabs that weren't black or clear; so I went hard and got some nice purple housings with the black wire. They were pre-clipped, so I just threw some silicone grease on to remove any rattle and further add to the smooth typing experience. I went with some yellow LEDs for the indicators, just to break up the colours a little more, and it'll add itself really nicely once the board get painted. I wanted to try out something a little different when it came to silencing the case noises. With it being moulded plastic case, the sound can just bounce around. So I did some research, and decided to try out some rubber non-slip mats. Cut to size, and shaped around the interiorr of the case, and I think that it adds a nice element to the sound profile. The bottom-outs and returns are slightly dampened, and combine that with the keycaps, gives it a really nice “thock”.
The keycaps here are a bold choice. I've said before that I'm not a huge fan of high profile keycap sets but I really wanted to give MT3 a try. It's a little taller that SA (my other experience with high profile), and has a much deeper spherical top with each keycap almost “cupping” your fingertips. I really dug the look of GMK Serika, and thought I'd give the MT3 a try. I think the Katakana sublegends are super evocative (and took inspiration from some “vintage” Apple keyboards), and the occasionally novelty add some more character to the board. One of my favourite features with this set is the “Super Homing” keys, basically the “home row” is all scooped, not just the “F” and “J”, sure it's probably more of a novelty, but it feels really nice. The artisans were a real happy accident. I never intended on pairing any artisans with Serika, but while I was cataloguing my artisan collection, I realised that there are a couple that lead themselves well, without detracting too much from the rest of the look; enter Alien II (one of my favourite sculpts and in a randomised colourway), Idlekey (the black hand resting on a skull is a little dark as far as imagery, but still super cool), and then lastly Shipwrecked (just a neat sculpt, and a cool colour combo). While I was writing this up, it's also worth noting that all of the artisans are from Kiwis (Alien II and Shipwrecked) and Aussies (Idlekey), so nice way to pay homage to our little corner of the world.
The USB cable is mounted inside the case itself, and will only really be a stand out once the case gets its fresh coat of paint... But as with my other cables from Zap Cables, you can't go wrong here at all; super cool grey/purple paracord, and and the carbon techflex with yellow heatshrink
As I've said a couple of times already, this is not this boards final form, but I just couldn't say no to that beige.