Hey all! I’m curious to hear what someone thinks who has bought a reproduction model F from ModelFKeyboards and actually used it for a long period. (@wendell especially since he had that ModelFKeyboards video)
They look great in the photos and the value statement is awesome. But I also frequent a couple of retro keyboards communities and they are brutal about this vendor, speaking of QC issues, sticky keys, and chipping. That would suck, for $500!
But I really want a modern layout model F…
Aren’t keyboard enthusiasts generally brutal about manufacturers, as a rule of thumb? 
I have been using my Model F62 since March of this year and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. I had wanted one since first noticing the project in 2016 or so, but only bought one after the recent price drops.
The endeavor of installing the keycaps alone (they do not come installed) took me several hours. Because of the tolerances on the springs and the keycaps, I had to try several combinations before any given switch buckled correctly. That’s expected according to the website’s FAQ, but was frustrating.
After that, you’ll need to update the firmware once you distinguish which is the current version. My impression is that there were several completely disparate firmwares, but the documentation for each is still available, making it unclear which is the most recent until you’ve read extensively.
After all that, I’ve had a few instances where a key suddenly stuck or stopped working for one reason or another. I had to order extra springs, separately and at extra cost to me, to replace one that got slightly tweaked when reseating a keycap.
The black finish on my board has held up fine, but it’s uncoated and so I imagine it would be damaged easily.
All in all, there’s a reason the seller calls the keyboard a “project” and not a “product.” Do not buy one unless you’re prepared to tinker with it, possibly forever.
Very similar experience to @rrubberr, I’ve had it for almost a year, I used it, not as extensively though.
What I could add is that the controller seemed a bit, slow? I tried a few typing games and I noticed that when I press keys with modifiers(like typing a question mark) that there’s a slight delay before it appears and other keys can go through before the actual question mark if typed fast enough.
That being said, after a similarly painful assembly, and barring the above quirk, it works great. Don’t know exactly what there is to tinker with it, but probably stuff on the controller side I guess.
Very illuminating, thanks for taking time to write that @rrubberr and @mpdarkguy .
That’s a tough one! I don’t mind the long setup, but I don’t tolerate continued issues that need troubleshooting and peeling paint on the housing.
Maybe I will go original…
Maybe there are still old originals on the market. But myself, I wouldn’t have had any other opportunity to try a model F out, that shit was beyond the iron curtain back in the day. I’ve only ever touched some late model M keyboards with 1990’s labels or so.
The keycap assembly thing is a one time deal, so I wouldn’t take that into account too much
the F-ssk from 2204 has been solid. I did have some sticky key issues/wear on the compact-fsssk from 2023 but I assumed it was a “me problem” and added a spot of key lube and its been fine.
the software is/was shit, for sure, but that’s been fixed. I also really like my retro-converted model Ms but the nkro on the fssk with the full metal body is treating me really nice.
I type too fast to daily drive the beamspring but… it was hypnotic, I had to have it. lol
I’ve been using my F62 for years, and got my F122 this year. Both have been excellent keyboards.
Setting them up, on both I had minimal issues installing key caps. There were two or three keys on each that wouldn’t buckle properly and I had to pull and reinstall the caps, but other than that they worked flawlessly. The F62 has an older controller and needed a firmware update before it worked with Vial, but that was easy enough. The F122 came with Vial support out of the box.
I’ve been very happy with both keyboards. The seller is a bit special, if you ask for guidance he’ll rant about reading the manual, but the manual is a thick block of random forum posts other people wrote about his product that he’s just copy-pasted together, so it’s a total mess. The information is in there, somewhere, you just may have to read the whole thing one or two times to find it.
Some people have had issues with scratchy keys and paint peeling. I haven’t seen anything like that on mine. The paint peeling thing looks like it might be a case of a guy who just needs to take a shower, it looked almost like the paint had dissolved in the spot where you would rest your palm.
Good to know that “being too fast to daily drive the beamspring” isn’t just something I thought I was doing wrong lol
He needs more than taking a shower! That paint is gone all over the place.
Kidding aside that is very useful feedback. I know the guy running the project has issues. That manual is ridiculous and so we can assume customer support is just not a positive experience.
But, sounds like losing paint is not a universal experience and y’all have been enjoying your end product.
