GMK CYL Kintsugi |set renamed - Shōgun will be another IC/GB

The Shogun novelty kit will be for a separate groupbuy, however the modifiers will be same colours as GMK Kintsugi, thus be usable with Kintsugi
Spacebars Accent Kit

Add-Ons Kit

Novelty Kit - Shōgun

Media Kit

GMK already has pre-existing doubleshot legend molds for the majority of the Japanese legends in the modifiers and alphas. GMK has also trialled and demonstrated samples with metallic ABS.

This set aims to use the exciting new metallic ABS material from GMK. A photo sample of metallic ABS was featured in GMK Kaiju R2 groupbuy - and there also exists other samples of GMK emulating the ‘metallic’ look in other colours to great effect.

As seen in the disclaimer for GMK Kaiju R2 and evident in other photos, metallic plastic has inherent variables which can lead to unpredictable flow variations and streaks on the final result.

However unlike Kaiju R2 Mechakaiju base kit, in GMK Kintsugi the metallic ABS is limited to primarily the legends (except for accent keys), so this effect should be limited to a great degree on the overall look. However it is impossible to predict whether it will or won't occur, and it may feature on some legends regardless. Please also keep in mind that the overall sentiment of this keycap set is about accepting and embracing flaws. As the great philosopher Bob Ross once said “There are no mistakes, only happy accidents”

Although I enjoy the aesthetic of complete katakana modifiers, with katakana only alphas, I understand this would really alienate those who need latin characters, and symbols present, which is why a standard base kit set with hiragana sublegends with icon modifiers is also available.
I know it’s a bit ambitious to offer 2 base kits in the current market climate, but it’s what I’d like to try to aim for, especially since no other set besides GMK Masterpiece has katakana modifiers (credit goes to Energieschleuder). Note that the Kintsugi Katakana base kit also has some differences in legends compared to GMK Masterpiece’s, listed in another answer below.

Many thanks goes to the energieschleuder who designed GMK Masterpiece where most of the modifiers are from. However there are some differences/updates from GMK Masterpiece’s legends that I’ve decided to implement:
> The F-row and Numpad are now Kanji only. There are no Arabic numerals, nor ‘エフ’ (F) prefix. From a consistency and aesthetic standpoint, it made more sense to adopt Pach’s approach in GMK White-on-Black Katakana in this regard, especially given these molds already exist.
> The Esc legend is now katakana (エスケ) to be consistent with the other modifiers, instead of the kanji 中止(stop)
> The R4 1u modifier keycaps are not icon legends, but also katakana as well for more consistency. i.e. コード for ‘code’, アルト for ‘alt’, メタ for ‘meta’.

It is called GMK Black & Gold. It is a separate interest check. The colours are the same but no Kana, with more standard modifier legends and alternative novelties that aren’t Japanese theme, such as Art Deco and Casino Royale.

Given the current market conditions, and the likely manufacturer pricing structure and MOQ (minimum order quantity) requirements, I’m unsure if additional kits beyond the Novelties would reach MOQ.
Hence why the Extension kit is a combination of spacebars, basic 40s, alongside the windowed keys and HHKB support. It’s not ideal, but it should hopefully make it more likely to hit MOQ.
I considered a Katakana sublegend alpha kit too but it’s omitted for now.
International kits for other regions will frankly not be viable, as the molds with those region-specific legends and hiragana sublegends do not yet exist.

I will be exploring combining GB purchases for the Gold accent spacebars kit and media kit, with the GB for GMK Black & Gold to make MOQ easier to reach.

> Energieschleuder of GMK Masterpiece, a great keycap set design which also echoes an appreciation of the Japanese aesthetic, whose modifier legends feature in the Katakana base kit.
> Pach of GMK WOB Katakana also gets a nod as another set that was referenced
> Kidviddy for his assistance with Japanese terminology for modifiers
> Cutie for the renders and encouraging feedback
> The designers of the respective keyboards in the renders depicted
> The people behind Blender, Inkscape, KLE, and KRK (Imperfectlink) which was used in the development of the visuals of this project.
> Nopunin10did and Konstantin also being the original kitting senseis whose advice on previous projects of mine (and others) have led to my foundational knowledge and decision making for kit composition (any mistakes or peculiarities are mine though haha)