Depending on what the final numbers look like for this GB, I may order some extras to get us up to the MOQ and those will be available later, but I don’t expect to run a second batch of the rear cover plates concurrent with the Mark II GB. Those will come with powder-coated rear cover plates, like the Heavy-6, and they won’t be stainless steel.
I generally prefer not to use proxies because I like to be able to manage the experience of someone who supports my group buys directly. If a package goes missing, arrives with some kind of defect that I missed, or any other problem, I like being able to take care of it directly with my shipping company and to work with the recipient personally, for example. The whole notion of proxy shipping is also probably legally questionable, especially if the objective is to minimize, or even avoid, taxes and duties.
Over time, I’m looking at ways of paying duties in advance and just rolling that into the international shipping cost, which I recently noticed is what the shoe company Koio is doing. I have found some software solutions that take care of this and integrate with my shopping cart, but they’re quite expensive. I’ll still probably do it for the Norbaforce Mark II, however. You still have to pay the legally-required amount, but at least it lets you know in advance what you’ll be paying, and it is often that uncertainty that gives people pause.
At any rate, I haven’t yet had a chance to set that up, so for the back-plates, it’ll just be the more traditional direct-shipping approach. However, this does have the advantage that in many countries small express shipments are just ignored by customs so there is often the chance of paying nothing at all, depending on bureaucratic whim. With customs pre-payment, you pay the full legally required amount no matter what.
Thanks for the in-depth reply and explanation. Hopefully it’ll go as you said - ignored by customs. Anyway, I’m excited to finally be able to “complete” my Norbaforce.
I’d love a heavier backplate for my Norbaforce but I’m not ready to drop $185+. Any plans to make a Heavy-6 style powder coated backplate which would hopefully be a little less expensive?
Stainless and PVD are definitely premium (expensive) manufacturing options, and this was the best I could do in terms of price at any acceptable quality level within those two requirements. Most factories quoted me much higher, and after quite a few samples, most were what I would consider unacceptable cosmetic quality. So, any rate, I sympathize about the costs; some people are just into stainless + PVD in particular and really want those features, in spite of the costs involved.
I’m currently invstigating making powder-coated (non-stainless) steel back-plates eventually, likely in connection with the Mark II project. They’ll weigh less, can’t be PVD coated, and will ship much later, but they would make for an acceptable budget option that is still an upgrade over the Mark I aluminum plates. I’m still working out the details on all this, however, so I can’t make any promises, as I’m still about a month off from even getting completed samples on those, but it’s an option I’m exploring.
Out of curiosity, did you decide on the final colorways for the mk2? I only ask because the color plate I get will depend on what mk2s will be available!
Hehe. Well, I can give you my tentative list, but it is subject to change. I won’t commit to a finish until I actually see it on a prototype keyboard and can take photos of it to share.
These are the powder finishes:
K2 White with a subtle texture. Aperture The most popular finish from the Heavy-6. Hammer tone silvery gray. VHS A new finish, textured white and gray that creates an overall light gray impression. This is specifically designed to pair with my forthcomig After-School 1992 keyset, but goes well with tons of sets, especially light-colored ones. See image below. I love, love, love this finish. Retro Refrigerator will be back! This may be matte or gloss, depending on test results, but I’m shooting to bring back the original glossy version. We’re using a special new process for treating the parts before powder-coating, which I hope will make the reject rate much lower on this tricky finish and therefore make it feasible again. Astrophysical This deep purple with silver flecks is also returning, by popular demand. Palm Desert This finish looks a lot like desert sand, textured light tan with medium-brown flecks in it. A great pairing with Chocolatier, or SA 1976, Galaxy Class, etc. I’m also currently working with @sour on an Arabic sublegend keyset that should pair well with this.
I’m also trying to offer Tactical Black, a black Type III (hard) anodized finish and/or Aerospace (clear Type II), but my current plan is to have the Mark IIs made entirely in the USA (for purposes of being able to do in-person quality control), and anodizing is hard here to source because environmental regulation has put most out of business in the past 10-20 years, or so it is said at least. Choice of vendors is therefore usually small, and finding one that can make something up to my cosmetic standards is therefore not assured. I’m getting samples from an anodizer that has been recommended to me highly, however, and will decide based on that.
I’m also thinking of offering a limited-edition solid brass version with a very unusual, experimental finish.
I just checked and production is supposed to be complete later this week. Give a few weeks for inspection and logistics and then they should be on their way to GB participants.
Just wanted to provide a quick update on these. Manufacturing is complete but I rejected several units due to cosmetic issues on the exterior face and remanufacturing is occurring on those now. I hope to be able to get all the completed and fixed units and, assuming that they are up to my standards, should be able to ship everything thereafter, likely in the next few weeks.
I won’t commit to a finish until I actually see it on a prototype keyboard and can take photos of it to share.
