Based on many community requests and the subsequent overwhelming response to my polls and interest checks, I’m happy to report that I’ve finally brought to life my housing for the Leopold FC660C, which I call The Heavy-6.
UPDATE (over a year later): available now also in frosted machined polycarbonate.
It is so named because its all-steel backplate acts as a weight, nearly doubling the heft of the aluminum upper housing—to four pounds with the keyboard installed. And for the high rollers, also by popular demand, I’ve even made an all-steel version, suitable for both self-defense and data-entry purposes, which weighs in at an astounding 7 pounds. (I know the price on these is bonkers, but I’m barely taking any markup at all on them.)
I’m making this offering in the form of a group buy on my shop. You can find all the pricing and details there, but please feel free to use this thread for any questions or discussion or feel free to email me directly: shop@norbauer.com.
I’ll be taking orders for a brief period—just until midnight 13 October—so that we can get factory production rolling soon. Please note, however, that there is a possibility I may cut the orders off early if the quantities get too high (which the survey data suggests it might), just in order to help keep the logistics manageable for me personally.
Like my popular and (happily) well-received Norbaforce design, the Heavy-6 uses my contoured back-plate design strategy, meaning no visible seam at the sides of the housing and a clean external profile. The FC660 plate is hung from above with flange screws and the keyboard’s breakout PCB rests on internal standoffs that rise up on the interior of the case from the rear cover plate. Assembly is pretty straightforward and, like with the Norbaforce, I’ll provide an instructional video closer to the time when they ship.
For the first time, I’m offering a custom-made padded carry bag to pair with one of my housings. It is specifically designed to fit an assembled Heavy-6, though it should also be compatible with the FC660C and other similarly-sized keyboards. It is made here in California and features luxurious, high-end materials (see product listing in the GB for more details). I hope to offer more custom keyboard bags from this factory, so please considering supporting this one. I know the pricing is pretty dear, but this is part of my ongoing experiment in trying to work with the best possible factories and materials possible. Please help me prove that it’s feasible.
These are the finish options:
Aerospace: a bead-blasted anodized finish—gray Portcullis badge.
Retro Refrigerator: a matte blue-green powder-coat evocative of Midcentury Modern kitchen appliances and typewriters—white Portcullis badge. This is a matte version of the very popular similar color I have offered previously on other products.
Aperture: a powder-coated hammertone texture, evocative of the finish used on certain vintage Leica cameras and high-end Japanese tripods—gray Portcullis badge.
Motorsport: a textured vibrant yellow powder coat—red Portcullis badge.
Monolith: an astonishingly heavy all-steel housing with matte black PVD coating (a durable coating primarily used on luxury watches)—purple Portcullis badge.