It looks as if the custom Filco FR4 plates are starting to materialize in the real world.
They are compatible with stock Filco PCBs, but it is recommended that you combine it with an aftermarket PCB.
With the aftermarket plate, PCB, and metal case, you can make what is largely a custom metal Filco.
At that point, is it still a Filco - was it ever a Filco?
If a Filco set sail from Theseus having each part replaced one by one until no original parts remained when it reached the shore, is it the same Filco?
They use a form factor standard enough for a bunch of other commercial boards to fit in their cases. If this spec doesn’t have a name I feel like it needs one. CoolerMaster uses it, Turtle Beach uses it, KBParadise uses it - I wouldn’t be surprised if there were others. All that said - Filco’s construction and material choices are either slightly or much better than those other examples.
Yeah, the “Filco” aftermarket parts got me thinking about the Theseus problem as well. You could eventually build a Filco whose parts never passed through Filco? It’s a “Filco-compatible” at that point!
You’re right about the quality, though. OG Filco still has a reputation for durability and longevity.
The Theseus problem was also faced by the refit of Star Trek’s original U.S.S. Enterprise. I mean, that thing in the first movie could hardly have contained any parts from the TV show version.