Due to me living in Europe, I had to suppress my urge to order Saturn 60, since it would end up costing me near 700 Euros with VAT and import taxes (that’s twice its price). BUT I have an itch for a retro keyboard that needs scratching. So, I was wondering if there are other similar and more accessible for Europeans keyboards out there. Or maybe parts that would allow me to build such a keyboard myself. Do you have any suggestions?
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Laserboost is a keeb-friendly metal cutting and bending shop in Spain, if you want to DIY a Saturn60-a-like.
The Hyper 7 R4 is in group buy at the moment, if you want something ready-made and 3x bigger. This time you can get the Hyper 7 with a Saturn60-style enclosed bent steel case.
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The HMKB lineup is not quite so assertively retro, but the industrial sheet metal aesthetic is not entirely dissimilar and I think they’re based in Europe.
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Yep. Germany. I have 4 of his boards. Many are out of stock but there are some still available. The finishes are nice and price is very fair. They do look more industrial than retro.
Currently offering free shipping that you can stack with discount for signing up for newsletter
I don’t know the ETA but he’s working on v2 versions including hotswap PCBs.
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Thanks for the suggestions. The HHKB look interesting, but they come only with soldered PCBs, so I will wait for V2 to come out. As for Hyper R7, apart for being totally impractical for my setup -I actually use my keyboards for work-, it costs 1k+ fully fitted.
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Most of the HMKBs have hotswap PCBs from other vendors that will fit in them. The exception being the 75%. If you want help, let me know.
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Thanks for your help and your kind offer. HHKB is not exactly what I am looking for at the moment, so I would like to look around a bit more before I decide.
What’s your opinion on Jacky keyboards? Haitun and Cat? Are they worth it?
I own a Piggy by Jacky and I like it a lot. Very nice finish and good typing feel/sound. I like the design of the Haitun because it is a smaller Piggy, but I’m not a fan of 40% boards. I own a few hundred keyboards and only one is a 40% board, if that tells you my preferences, lol.
MM STUDIO
has a thing for retro looking boards.
The most recent release to ship was the Class80 v2. It looks like they only have B-stock left for most of them. Probably not a bad deal at all. Plus, they are hotswap.
The Class60 Group Buy is shipping now and there will probably be extras available in the near future.
The first board he made was the Class65. Looks like there is one special coating (Black with gold particles) in stock.
ALIEXPRESS
On the cheaper side, but still retro is the M0110 kit on ali. Available in beige or black from several different vendors. I would stay with the MX version for simplicity sake.
Just search M0110 on Aliexpress:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805161316170.html
Or there is another true retro, the NCR80. Also hotswap.
Search NCR80 on Aliexpress:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805152270684.htm
The plastic boards are pretty nice and they are cheap. Don’t expect a “premium” feel because they are lightweight. But still a nice option and very retro look.
VORTEX KEYBOARDS
Have been releasing “tribute” boards that are inspired by older designs. The first was the PC66.
They also released a Model M SSK
PLAY KEYBOARDS
Also has a thing for retro designs
Their CA66 has been around a while. It’s aluminum but still lightweight. Not known for having the best sound, but fun to look at.
Then they made the Command65, inspired by the Commodore 64.
They are about to run a Model M with several vendors called the “Model OLED”. Probably one in your region.
I own most of these keyboards so I can answer questions you may have about them.
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Thank you once again for your very helpful insights. MMkeyboards and Jacky ones look like what I am looking for, but being in EU is killing me. I calculated that getting any of these keyboards directly from their producer will costs me almost twice their initial price due to import taxes and custom fees. That’s the reason I did not pull the trigger on the Saturn 60 in the first place. I know that this is an expensive hobby, do not get me wrong, but I feel that spending as much as the cost of the keyboard for taxes and customs is not money well spent. Just to give you an idea, when I ordered Serika MT3 from Drop, I ended up paying 210 Euros for a 130$ set. I do not know. Maybe I should move to the USA. 
I wish EU vendors would make available some of these great keyboards.
P.S.: Saturn 60 is my holy grail, but with a rough estimation I would end up paying min 780$ to get it barebones 
It appears that I will be stuck with my Keychron Q2 forever.
What color Saturn60 are you looking for?
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At this point any colour would do -even Heatshield, which is my least favourite of all. But if I had the choice I would go for the beige -Moondust- one.
Just a warning here, this shop appears, from the absence of legal/contact info, to be trading outside EU regulation - so giving it money is a bit risky because they could be shut down without warning.
In the post I replied to, @pixelpusher only linked a single shop, Heavy Metal Keyboards. They may be legit but one should exercise caution when ordering from a shop that has not established itself within the regulations for safe e-commerce.
Thanks for the heads up. In any case, I wouldn’t make a move with HMKB before exhausting my other options yet.
Thanks for the tip. My issue for the moment is finding the “right” keyboard
Indeed, thank you for pointing it out, the impressum itself seems legit. Best practice is to include or link it on the contact page and not hide the link in a bottom corner. People who don’t speak German, or those who have forgotten that they speak German, will not look for a specifically German word for legal contact info.
I therefore withdraw my reservations on ordering based on legitimacy.
Thanks again for the tips, but I am afraid we are getting a bit out of topic