Midway60 | Bolsa Supply
The Midway60 is the first board designed in house by Bolsa Supply in collaboration with fellow community board designer and good friend N.Rdy. The goal Midway60 aims to achieve is extremely simple: to look, sound, and feel good. Midway60 is essentially a combination of features and aspects that we as keyboard enthusiasts like in keyboards. 60% layout, flex, and o-ring sandwich gasket because of the sound signature that it provides. N.Rdy took these features and effectively brought those ideas to reality with the Midway60.
The name is not anything special or related to keyboards, but holds meaning to us and Bolsa as a brand. Where Bolsa Supply is originated from, there is a city named Midway City in which Bolsa Avenue (where the brand name comes from) is the main street. Midway city; Midway60
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Design Highlights
- Exaggerated seam
- Front/rear slant on the top and bottom side of the case
- Enlarged o-ring channels on the interior to accommodate the usage of screw-in stabilizers
- Low front height due to slant at 13.75mm from tip of angle (17.75mm from highest point of slant)
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Board Details
- 60% Layout, available in both WK, WKL, and HHKB.
- 7 degree typing angle
- Materials: Anodized Aluminum (6063) chassis, brass weight
- Color options: Black, Gray, and Navy
- Plate Options: Aluminum default, Polycarbonate and Carbon Fiber as addons
- PCB: 60% Solder PCB using an Ai03 styled Daughterboard (center USB). Designed by FJLabs.
- Mounting Method: O-Ring Sandwich Mount utilizing a AS568-262 O-Ring.
- Roughly 1.5kg fully built
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Color Options-----
Limited Edition
- We are a sucker for limited edition things which is why we are making a limited edition variant for the Midway60
- Limited edition will feature an Obsidian colorway and a copper weight. The obsidian color is very unique with the color varying between gray to purple depending on the lighting situation.
- Limited to 20 units.
- Price TBD.
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Vendors, Pricing, and Sales Format
- This board will be sold FCFS via raffle
- Standard edition will be priced at $370, LE will be priced at $425.
- This will be a limited group buy, limited to 125 spots. We are keeping it limited not for the sake of exclusivity, but because this is our first board group buy. As with any first time project we want to make sure we are not biting more than we can chew and that this group buy goes as smoothly as it possibly can for a 2 man team.
- Group buy date is still TBD, but we are aiming to have the sale happen closer to the end of Q2.
- Group buy turn around time will be estimated at 4-6 months after the sale has ended. As with all group buys please take this timeline with a grain of salt as projects like these can be subjected to delays.
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Renders and Prototype PicturesProduction Obisidian LE - Manufacture had slightly altered the color to better match the pantone itself and it came out perfectly. It is slightly different from the prototype images above.
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To-do List
- Test 50 Duro O-Rings (currently using 70 Duro)
- Order samples for gray, black, and navy colorways
- Send sample units to streamers and content creators
- Packaging design (if anyone has expertise in this field, please reach out to me!)
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Special Thanks
- Big thank you to N.Rdy of course for making this project possible. He has been an absolute joy to work with so far and we have more boards that we plan on doing together!
- Thank you to my degen affiliates Kimchi, Nathan, and Tim for providing me with useful insight and criticisms to help get the board to where it is today
- And lastly, without trying to be being a complete cornball, everyone who has supported Bolsa Supply thus far, as if it were not for you guys we would not be where we are today!
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Edit Log4/21/2021 - First edit right off the bat, the large request for HHKB layout did not go unnoticed, and it was actually planned when Midway60 was being conceptualized; meaning we already have the file for the HHKB top. After speaking to my manufacture I am glad to announce that this will be available in HHKB as well. I will put up some renders of it when I get the opportunity and will also order an HHKB sample as well.
4/30/2021- We have released a form for FCFS or raffle.
Fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/dxjmXnViQATBCfqX6- Price point will be solidified at $370. LE will be $425. This is not including the cost of shipping (shipping from California).
- Finalized plate options: Aluminum full, Aluminum half, polycarbonate full, and carbon fiber full
- Heavily aiming for a June release.
5/10/2021- We have found that there is a slight tolerance issue with the plate sandwiching in between the top and bottom piece which causes the assembly to have some movement even when the case is fully put together. To alleviate this issue, all kits will receive thin poron strips that can be applied to the top case piece. These strips will help keep the assembly in place and will eliminate any movement while keeping typing sound and feel the same. Alternatively, you can also use electrical tape on the plate tabs if you do not wish to use the poron strips, or you can just leave the plate as is (the board is 100% usable without any of these modifications).
- We are on track for a end of June release! The sale is now being switched to a raffle style sale which we think will be a bit more fair. Additionally, this will allow users to select whichever plate they want versus having the board come standard with an aluminum plate. Users can also add in any extra's (PCB's and plates) they would like to include. Pricing is solidified at $370 before shipping.
- Linked below is @kimchijodyboi VOD of the prototype build stream as well as some clips of the typing test with and without the plate modified.
Unmodified Plate: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1017580348?filter=highlights&sort=timeModified Plate: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1017581917?filter=highlights&sort=timeTaped PCB Flex Cuts: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1017584581?filter=highlights&sort=timeFull VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1017438757 6/4/2021- Gymleadernathann did a stream build on our prototype and it was absolutely money. Check it out here:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1045213388- Tolerance issue has been 100% alleviated with the use of 1mm poron strips that will go on the top piece of the case only. Has been tested and we have found that it does not effect the sound or feel of the board whatsoever, it only acts as a guide to keep the plate in place and reduce movement (which is what we were aiming for).
- Obsidian anodization has been slightly changed to better match the pantone itself. Our manufacture sent us a picture of it and we are in love. Image of it will be posted above.
- Production PCB's are finalized and we have already received fully functioning samples. Board has been fully ported into VIA and is ready for usage.
- Raffle is unfortunately going to be pushed back until sometime mid July. We are waiting for production sample units to finish so we can send it out to all the respective streamers prior to the launch of the raffle.
- We have teamed up with a fantastic packaging designer and are currently in the works of finishing that up
