That would be a great look. If only it had coverage for a 65% keyboard 
Oh sh you’re right. Never really looked at the kitting myself as it was out of budget for me. Time to build a 40 with a similar case then 
Gotcha. They printed a shipping label on the 6th but it hasn’t made it to the post office yet.good to know they aren’t closing down.
I’m sure lots of vendors are backed up with work from holiday orders. SP still hasn’t fulfilled my order from the end of November 
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I’ve got my eye on the Classic-TKL as well.
I ordered the new Tiger Lite, so couldn’t get the Classic. But maybe in time.
Seems like the Classic would be a good platform for light tactiles, although maybe a 1.2mm PCB option would be nice. The copper plate is a bonus for people who want that luxury Filco feel. [Filco isn’t copper, but Browns will sound similar.]
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This is the best $24 keyboard I have.
It’s the Xinmeng M87 Pro. Picked it up with a 20% coupon from Amazon US.
In stock form, it’s a crisp and bright-sounding keyboard. However, for the Macaron Orange switches I was using, I wanted something lower pitched.
Mods:
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silicone inner liner has been filled with little pieces of sorbothane, doubling the weight of the board.
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gaffers’ tape mod
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stock [plate-mount] stabilizers secured with fabric tape
Switches:
KTT Macaron Orange
The KTT Macaron Orange are relatively-clean, MX Brown-like tactiles. Being KTT, they are obviously smoother and more stable than Cherry. The bump is reminiscent of KTT Mallo, or maybe AKKO POM Brown.
I think that they are viable light tactiles. However, the stock spring is something like a 50mm long spring, and I think it is too abrupt. It’s stiff and punchy, which kind of mitigates against the MX Brown nature of it.
After testing, I chose the spring from the Durock White Lotus. It is light, but still poppy.
They are lubed with 3204, using lubed Durock White Lotus springs.
Using the board
Now, the switches are very reminiscent of MX Browns, but probably more consistent. I tried them in the Neo80, but they clanged and bottomed out harshly. The keycaps are Domikey Deep Sea (Hush) Tripleshot.
It gives a nice, creamy deep sound for the most part. The stabilizers are OK, except for the backspace key, which makes metallic noises once- in-a-while. Overall, the board has an excellent sound profile for $24. The weakness is the arrow-key cluster. It is not as dampened as the rest of the board. Consequently, the switches sound like their regular hollow mid-pitch, with chuffing sounds and the occasional ping.
This is actually the best-sounding board for my Macaron Orange. They are loud and empty-sounding, generally, but the sorbothane really helps here.
Ultimately, this is a very good budget board, once suitably-modified. It probably would have cost $50-80 back in 2021. But it will not replace your QK80, or likely even your Tiger Lite. The case material is basic plastic, and nothing about the board screams ‘premium.’ I do like the tasteful and reserved led strip under the nav. cluster. One potential aesthetic issue is that the thin groove bordering the top case may collect dust.
As reviews have indicated, the best use of this board is probably to allow a build using leftover custom switches. You can quickly make use of your switches for just $29. The plate is flexy and the M87 uses gaskets, so it’s probably a good idea to strip it down to the PCB when changing switches. You’ll want to use caution when hotswapping. I think the M87 Pro is an Attack Shark M87, but without the Bluetooth components.
It’s definitely worth buying this board, if you need something to pull together your extra custom switches, keycaps, and plate-mount stabilizers. I have a feeling that the improved Macaron Orange might also be good in the Transition Lite, with sufficient dampening.
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You don’t see a lot of DMK Hush pictures these days. It really is a nice color way. I’ll have to dig my set out and throw it on a board.
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Finally started building all the unbuilt boards I have laying about…
Midway60 x Deep Navy x HMX Xinhai
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I picked up the all-in-one-kit a couple years back during an AliExpress sale.
20% discount plus coupons.
Later, I realized that the free doubleshot alphas it came with allowed me to outfit a second board, as long as I picked up a mods kit on sale.
So, I ended up using it as a kind of ‘GMK for budget boards.’ They’re consistent keycaps, but the legending is a bit too rounded and I think you can feel some of the doubleshot legends. The only real shortcoming, though, is the lack of scooped or dotted homing keys. Bar only.
Some people say that the design reminds them of GMK Symbiote.
Interestingly, Domikey now produced a successor that uses semi-transparent keys like Symbiote. So you can now get Symbiote-style add-ons for DMK Hush. These kits routinely go on sale, as well.
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Put the POM plate + MX Orange build back into my Virgo & finally broke out some of the relegendable keys I got.
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Gorgeous 
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Fresh set of holiday-gifted keys for my workhorse board (a Yunzii AL71); NicePBT Galaxy
Comfy to type on, fun to look at, and appropriately durable for a crusty work environment. Perfect!
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Nice to see the Midway out in the wild still. There’s been an uptick in boards with a cherry-ish lip lately and it got me wanting to revisit my Midway with some HMX switches. Very nice pic/build!
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Thank y’all! Next up, will try to work my Lumberjack build into a Salvation 
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Noice. I had some custom shorter FR4 spring things made for mine to adjust for the ortho positioning, let me know if you want any info, pics, or measurements.
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I had wondered what the Salvation would feel like with just the 2 outer leaf springs attached? I never tried it though cause I got mine setup with a half plate & super flexy PCB so it doesn’t need any more give LOL! Let us know how it goes with your setup!
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Realforce 89u “Blue Badge”
JIS keycaps with some fun colorful accents/artisans and JDL F row caps
Variable domes
Silenced with #5 rings
Patina’d Brass Plate
Love this thing, usually doesn’t get much desk time unfortunately.
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You have one impressive Topre collection man!
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I appreciate that! It’s definitely taken some time to build up!
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