Might be pick up a set of GMK Metropolis or SA Tatooine Friday
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Yeah Metropolis at $50 is a wild deal, I probably shouldn’t but it wouldn’t be a surprise if I end up grabbing one of the really cheap GMK sets on top of Phantom… 
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Sorry! I guess you missed the Brutal v2 deepest sale, but $150 is a very good price.
I would recommend them both, but they’re very different from each other and both a bit unique. It depends what sound profile you prefer and what you’re looking for.
I prefer the gasket and o-ring mount to the top mount on the Ellipse, though I’ve only tried it with the alu plate. It’s a firm board, but not too stiff. The shape is really well thought out and interesting in person. The blue ano is beautiful. The designer Funderburker is a real nice guy. It’s CK Bakeneko compatible, and the plate files are available (both full and half plate). The sound with the alu tends toward higher pitched and metallic, but I like it. It’s probably not for everyone. I haven’t tried it yet but think it will sound really focused with an FR4 plate.
My most used mounting style is the o-ring. There is a little extra hollowness near the jst cable area with that one, though I don’t really like that term, but it’s really poppy and fun. I like that an o-ring is less common in a two-piece case like this (similar to OTD Mini) than a tray mount. The top mount benefits from leaving off one or both center mounting points. It’s light-weight.
Overall nice to have in one’s collection and really unique, not for everyone but loveable and in regular rotation. I’ve never seen another one in person, which is kinda fun, and it’s rather slept on. Then a few people own multiple colors.
The Brutal v2 keeps coming back as my daily driver. I don’t think it’s very top-mountish, design goals aside, but it’s a really solid gasket mount. It has a dampened and controlled character, probably due the large gaskets. It’s firm, but the compression of the extra thick gaskets also makes it feel cushioned. The plate contributes to the sound, but there’s no hollowness at all.
With the Ellipse, depending on switch choice, you can get like a really chunky sounding backspace, for example, but it also feels sorta more raw given the thinner gaskets, while the feel and sound of the Brutal v2, despite the name, is subtler and softer. They haven’t released the plate files, but they have several available. You can build it with a half plate as well. I bet it will feel and sound really good but haven’t done mine yet. The shape is understated but really never gets old on the desk. I always liked it but find over time I appreciate it more.
Several months ago I went back to my Brutal v2 and have been really enjoying it. Long poles and the alu plate give nice feedback on the fingers that offsets the thick gasket softness…it can sound rather deep.
Fwiw I just helped my friend buy a green Brutal v2 1800 with Haimu Skies (and NicePBT Thai Tea) as his first high end board.
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Nice, your friend should love it! Got my V2 1800 in yesterday & was super happy with the quality of it! I ended up grabbing the green one too lol! Let us know how they like it.
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Will do. Nice pickup! Yah, I love the 65. I got it when it came out.
I’m excited for him. He loves all kinds of Asian food so it was a tough choice between Thai Tea and Nigiri, but the former seemed better as his sole keyset, at least for now.
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Was quick enough on the draw to get Phantom & all it’s child kits! This has been one of my grail sets, getting it on a great sale makes it that much better!
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KKB Retro Mixed Lights is a killer set. I picked up PBTF Emma from the DK sale. Only 10% off, but it’s better than nothing.
I also picked up some Mode Eighty parts (pom plate, hotswap PCB, foams, etc) as they were 30% off. It’s kind of crazy that I haven’t built it after two and a half years at this point. I probably should have bought the hotswap PCB from the get go as it’s hard to commit to a solder setup in a board without some experimentation first.
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For my ICED KARA. I’m going to make it a streetwear statement.
Has anyone ever tried to paint white stems red? 
Alternatively I’ll have to look for tactile red stems that fit white Gazzew U4 Silent housings.
Well, I said I was not going to order anything else this year and I lied.
I couldn’t pass up an NK87 for $50, although I’ve never used one. How does everyone feel about this board?
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It’s the heaviest TKL I think I own, clocking in at 2.6kg built. The case was a little hard to open the first couple of times, but other than that, I can’t think of any complaints. Some folks might not like the ANSI Tsangan-only layout.
Oh, it uses the same layout as the hineybush h88, so anything that matches that layout should be usable as a replacement PCB.
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Thanks for the input!
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Got all my Christmas shopping finally wrapped up yesterday so I decided to treat myself to a few things I needed. Grabbed another DCS WoB Left arrow (I dropped it, didn’t notice, & my cat got my original one…), B, 2.25u Shift, & 2.75u Shift from SP so I got Alice compatibility for that set. 4 packs of SW v2 Knight Stabs & a batch of HMX Hades v2s from Divinikey. Then 2 jars of 206g0 (I decided to just keep the 205g0 they sent on accident from my last order) & a pretty neat looking keycap puller with super thin sides Wuque Studio makes from Dangkeebs.
Edit: Also ordered a bunch more of CK’s black 2u stab wires cause I just realized I used most of my stash up on my Virgo & erGhost builds. I threw in another batch of Sea Salt Smoothies too since my first batch was so nice.
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Thinking about picking up the Pangea Mini.
I am thinking lilac bottom, ss weight, and poly top with silver accent (WK). I really like the lilac with the poly top but I am not sure how keycap matching will go cause it really doesn’t look like the bottom case color really peaks through the top see-through case. Which is good in some ways and bad in others. Some keycaps will look great with the neutral poly, but then if you view from the side with the lilac… I don’t know.
It might just be great board for beige, wob, or VoC keycap type colors.
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Damnit, I really want one too, and I was hoping to not buy anything else this year. Lord knows I have enough boards. The pink acrylic top calls to me. While then burgundy bottom pairs well, I think I may go black or cream with a matching top accent piece. I suppose I could even buy an additional top accent in a different color to have more pairing options.
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So, I broke down and ordered GMK Mitclan. This is problematic because I was only going to buy it to put on a Geist Klor.
That doesn’t sound too bad until I say that I do not own a Geist Klor and will now need to purchase parts to build a Geist Klor.
That doesn’t sound like the worst thing until I say, I want to do the acrylic sandwich case, but with carbon fiber instead of acrylic.
This, everyone, is what spiraling looks like.
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I would say “GET A HOLD OF YOURSELVES GUYS” to the both of you, but uhh the Pangea Mini is pretty sick as well as Mitclan sooooo. 
@TheNamesTy45 @fatalruin
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Regardless, someone should shake me violently on a daily basis, lol.
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Fair enough lolol.
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Going to an art supply store to buy a pantone fan.
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Not keyboard related, but decided to treat myself to a new pair of earbuds and ordered the Pixel Buds Pro 2.
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