Tolkien Keycaps first prototype (and a surprise)

Posted on 2021, February 19 in Updates

Very quick but very juicy update. I got the first batch of prototypes for the Tolkien sets and they are lovely!

There are still a few issues to solve and I had to update a few legends but all in all I’m very happy with this color scheme and the overall look of this set. Unfortunately the Dwarf set had a wrong color for the modifiers so I’m not going to show you that just yet but…

… I guess we need to address the elephant in the room.

I can’t make any promise but I’m trying to have a full set of Elven and Dwarven dice made (from d4 to d20). The above are 3D printed and painted prototypes. I used wax based paint (you may know it as “rub & buff”) that is extremely convincing but hopefully we can make them out of metal.

I do hope they will green-light them because they are gorgeous!

Comments

Posted by RamPandaPuss on 2021, February 19 @ 21:43

Wow! The dice look amazing. What a fun idea! 🤩

Also I saw the blanks next to the keyboard. They look so delicious! 🤤
Posted by Anonymous on 2021, February 19 @ 21:56

I am so excited for these! Can’t wait until they go live :)
Posted by Anonymous on 2021, February 20 @ 02:31

Is the green used on the mods the same as the green used in the elven kit of /dev/tty1? It appears darker in this picture. Either way, I’m definitely down for a couple of sets (always felt like the first elven kit needed some more greens).
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, February 20 @ 07:23
  
  no, it’s not the same green. This one is a very forest green :)
2. Posted by Missy on 2021, May 13 @ 08:11
  
  Are the dice sharp edged?
  
  Thank u Matt3o!
  1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, May 13 @ 10:53
    
    still too early to say, I still need to check what the manufacturer can do
Posted by Anonymous on 2021, February 20 @ 09:31

Every time I see an update to this page i get excited all over again!
Posted by James on 2021, February 21 @ 21:06

These look great. Any ideas where to get a wood case tkl, 65% whatever…
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, February 22 @ 12:53
  
  I believe we’ll have a 60% wooden keyboard on the work.
Posted by Anonymous on 2021, February 22 @ 19:59

Aaaahhh! Those dice!
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, February 22 @ 20:07
  
  IKR?!
Posted by K4edo on 2021, February 26 @ 18:17

If there isn’t a Sauron Eye novelkey imma gonna riot
Posted by Paul on 2021, February 27 @ 09:25

I’m definitely taking these with me to Isengard. Such harmonious colors.

And yes, chicks always dig metal dice. I pray to the gods they are a go.
1. Posted by Paul on 2021, February 27 @ 09:25
  
  Would these be sold on Drop? Please say no…
  1. Posted by Anonymous on 2021, February 27 @ 16:37
    
    I’m pretty sure MT3 is a Drop exclusive… Drop drama aside, I’ve had good experiences with Drop. They’re not ‘Amazon’, but they’re definitely as good as other main GB vendors.
  2. Posted by matt3o on 2021, February 28 @ 13:51
    
    …. yes… ?
Posted by drFaustroll on 2021, March 1 @ 00:17

is possible on the light caps to have the script in irish green rather than black?

except quality what is the difference between mt3 by matt3o on the rest.
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 1 @ 08:48
  
  I made a test and I feel there’s not enough contrast with green (the light caps are a lil darker than they seem in picture).
  
  MT3 is a high profile set with spherical cups.
  1. Posted by Alin Elena on 2021, March 2 @ 17:22
    
    on this you are the expert! Thanks!
  2. Posted by Alin Elena on 2021, March 2 @ 17:23
    
    I know what MT3 is my question was more related what is the difference between the sets designed by you, and the MT3 sets designed by others
    1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 3 @ 09:36
      
      oh okay. Well, the tooling is the same so technically not much difference. They just use the profile I designed.
      1. Posted by Alin Elena on 2021, March 5 @ 00:43
        
        thanks. so is only the eyes difference… which is a lot.
Posted by Anonymous on 2021, March 3 @ 10:30

omgggggg
Posted by le0010 on 2021, March 4 @ 03:55

Any target dates on when these keycap sets will be ready for order?
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 4 @ 08:14
  
  The Tolkien guys are reviewing my designs while we speak. As soon as they greenlight them we can start!
  
  Also they approved the dice sets!
  1. Posted by le0010 on 2021, March 4 @ 08:19
    
    Awesome, I’m keen. Love your work
  2. Posted by Hailfire on 2021, March 29 @ 01:26
    
    That’s incredible! I honestly can’t wait.
    I really don’t want to forget about these and miss the drop :0
Posted by Anonymous on 2021, March 5 @ 02:04

Any update on the Dark Speech concept? Did that get dropped?
1. Posted by Anonymous on 2021, March 5 @ 03:20
  
  He mentioned in one of the other posts on here that there just wasn’t enough original material to do a full keyboard/alphabet in that language.
  1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 5 @ 19:39
    
    true
Posted by Joshua Poore on 2021, March 5 @ 17:50

Will these still have English letters also in the legends? (I hope)
1. Posted by Anonymous on 2021, March 5 @ 18:54
  
  I think in an older post he said that he would have english-elvish as well as just elvish keycaps
2. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 5 @ 19:39
  
  both versions will be available
Posted by Matthew on 2021, March 10 @ 16:21

Please tell me the inverse scoop on the up arrow is a new permanent thing for MT3! I love it. I only wish I could love drop. MT3 is the only thing that will ever get me to purchase from those evil people again.
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 11 @ 08:13
  
  I always add a reverse up arrow.
Posted by Keith on 2021, March 13 @ 11:49

This is another set that I must get my hands on. I touch type and so these are perfect. No one will touch my keeb and I am going to start building a green keeb. I have so many of your kepcals, from the tty and now this. Awesome work and thanks for the time you take to share information and let us know how much we will need to save. The dice, for sure. How can I just have the caps and no dice. All the best.
Posted by Michael on 2021, March 16 @ 18:56

Any chance we’ll see a release this month?
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 16 @ 20:57
  
  I really hope so!
Posted by Ben Neduva on 2021, March 16 @ 20:19

I’ve been on the hunt for elvish keycaps in a nice colorway, these are amazing!!! I’m so so so thrilled to see that you are getting closer to finishing them, I can’t wait to own a set :)
Posted by Christopher Peltz on 2021, March 18 @ 21:45

Ortho and Colevrak kits planned?
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 18 @ 23:59
  
  ortho yes. colevrak no
  1. Posted by Alin Elena on 2021, March 20 @ 08:15
    
    r5?
    1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 20 @ 17:41
      
      maybe not, but I need to see pricing. If it’s not too bad we can add more keys.
Posted by Patrick on 2021, March 19 @ 23:33

Typically I don’t buy “official” sets, because the prices for what amount to pieces of plastic are outrageous from most of the well known manufacturers. For me, a simple palette swap doesn’t justify a price 3-5x as high (I’m looking at you, GMK) as the cheap sets on banggood, amazon or aliexpress.

But for this set, I’ll make an exception. You’ve obviously put a lot of time and work into getting the legends and sublegends for these to look accurate, and you knocked it out of the park. Also, I can appreciate someone who picked LotR as their fictional language source material. Of all the constructed languages, Quenya/Sindarin is a pretty neat example. Philology is fun.

I look forward to seeing more about this set. I would tentatively (without knowing pricing) put myself in for basically every kit you’ve detailed save for spacebars and ortholinear.
1. Posted by Alin Elena on 2021, March 20 @ 08:18
  
  I totally agree with you on this one in this case I support the person who did the original design and work. i will not pay the same price for mt3 if done by someone else.
2. Posted by Anonymous on 2021, March 21 @ 08:41
  
  I came here to say almost exactly what you said lol
Posted by Joshua on 2021, March 21 @ 09:05

I could not imagine better sets for my first two builds. Thank you for such excellent work!
Posted by pärskis on 2021, March 24 @ 08:59

Waiting VERY eagerly for these! Gonna look amazing in my upcoming oaken ergodox!
Posted by Alin Elena on 2021, March 28 @ 12:28

any eta on live?
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 29 @ 15:38
  
  we sent all the design to the Tolkien guys, we are waiting for their blessing… it is taking more than I anticipated…
  1. Posted by Alin Elena on 2021, April 1 @ 23:05
    
    they may be pissed off they did not get 4.5 mln quid to buy the house… joke aside let us hope they answer quick.. so I can get my hands on a set before a certain date in june…
Posted by Evo on 2021, March 30 @ 05:25

Interesting comments about the Sauron/Orc scripts. Sauron used the Tengwar(Elvish) script for his inscription in the One ring. So why not a Sauron version with Tengwar script?
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, March 30 @ 07:59
  
  Thanks for you question, I feel I haven’t explained myself well enough about this.
  
  The ring is written in Tengwar but the Black Speech is unknown. It’s like saying: I know Latin alphabet, why not write in French? Because you need to know French first :)
  
  You can write English or Italian in Tengwar if you want (the same way you can write any language in Katakana), but you need to know those languages to write anything meaningful.
  
  As far as I know the only words in Black Speech that we know are from the Ring, that is not enough to make a full keyboard.
  1. Posted by Evo on 2021, April 1 @ 01:09
    
    Thanks so much for responding! I love the sneak peek, does this mean Cirth for the Dwarf set?
    1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, April 1 @ 10:54
      
      yes! Waiting for prototypes any time now
2. Posted by Tim on 2021, August 21 @ 15:37
  
  This is so amazing. How do I know when these go live? I just subscribed to your newsletter, and I’m already saving up for these and/or the Dwarvish set.
  
  Thank you for being awesome
  1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, August 21 @ 15:59
    
    Production should start in just a few weeks!
Posted by le0010 on 2021, April 3 @ 23:30

This might be early but will the keycpas be made from ABS or PBT?
1. Posted by Alin Elena on 2021, April 4 @ 00:08
  
  pbt is written in one of the texts…
2. Posted by matt3o on 2021, April 4 @ 15:48
  
  PTB
Posted by Anonymous on 2021, April 5 @ 17:06

Does anyone know if the MT3 profile will cause interference on NK cream switches on a north-facing board?
Posted by Adrian on 2021, April 5 @ 22:58

I’m at the edge of my seat!!! I have your previous set on my full size board, and I’m going to be building my first custom in June/July. Thank you for working on this!
Posted by Josh on 2021, April 10 @ 00:26

Can’t wait for these to come out. Please post some pictures of the dwarven set as soon as you get a prototype with the correct colors!
Posted by Nic on 2021, April 14 @ 18:36

Is the Elven set going to be identical to the previous Elven set that was released? I think I’m going to have to buy all Tolkien related sets you produce. This is way too cool!
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, April 15 @ 08:01
  
  no, they are not the same.
Posted by Anonymous on 2021, April 15 @ 12:53

Are we there yet?

I’m smashing F5 on this blog every day to see if I could finally order these
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, April 15 @ 19:23
  
  I know! Sorry! They sent me the first prototypes very quickly so I thought this could be a fast delivery… but apparently it is taking some time
  1. Posted by Anonymous on 2021, April 16 @ 07:59
    
    Don’t say sorry! You’re doing an amazing job here!
    
    The smashing continues!!!
Posted by Terra on 2021, April 16 @ 01:03

Those caps look absolutely stunning, I’m really looking forward to their release, trust and believe that I’ll be one of the first in line to order. It may not be their intended aesthetic, but they’ll go great in my Leafeon theme
Posted by Anonymous on 2021, May 3 @ 16:11

I too would like to say how well these look and how badly I’ve been hoping someone would release such a well-researched version! Really looking forward to this drop, thanks for putting this together. Is your site the best place to keep an eye out for updates?
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, May 4 @ 12:59
  
  it is, I’m not much of a social cat
Posted by Alin Elena on 2021, May 9 @ 19:56

any news on going live?
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, May 10 @ 06:59
  
  reaaally soon! I got more prototypes. I’ll post them in a few moments
Posted by Missy on 2021, May 13 @ 08:22

Are the die sharp edged? Thank u!
Posted by Yana on 2021, May 28 @ 04:35

We’re all waiting so impatiently!! I have an older Tengwar set (XDA Milestone) and need something more colourful… the hardcore/all Tengwar set you have put together is the most beautiful one I have ever seen, and I am so excited for it!
Posted by Linh on 2021, August 22 @ 07:09

Will these sets support full layout?
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, August 22 @ 08:23
  
  of course!
Posted by Tim on 2021, October 30 @ 03:17

Any update on these? This is the set I’ve been waiting for, for a long long time.
1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, October 30 @ 13:17
  
  Almost there!
  1. Posted by Tim on 2021, November 10 @ 01:41
    
    Matt3o, are there going to be doubleshot?
    1. Posted by matt3o on 2021, November 10 @ 15:53
      
      dye-sub

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