ProjectD Outlaw 65: Closer Examination and Assembly

The ProjectD Outlaw 65 kit currently sells in black or silver color options, however I have seen a blue kit and of course I have a green one here. So presumably Ducky will look into some limited edition colors. For all other purposes, these kits are identical so the colors will only be to see what you like more and whether there is a specific keycap set you have in mind for the available colors. You can see the aluminium used is quite thick and very well machined, and having keyboard feet for an aluminium chassis is also quite rare to where this is already a nice feature helping distinguish the Ducky offering compared to many others on the market. Begin by screwing in the feet and the weight followed by the four side plates as seen above. The instructions and the nicely labeled parts help a lot to get going.


This is a wired-only kit so there are no batteries or battery foams to consider. Instead, the next step is to start assembling the PCB. Ducky provides four screw-in stabilizers that ship in individual parts so that you can lube them as indicated in the manual using the provided lube jar and brush. Putting together the stabilizers is simple enough although you may want to wash your hands later in case you have lube on the fingers. Now place the switch pad on the front of the PCB to help align where the stabilizers are supposed to go. Screw the stabilizers from the back and then do the same for four brass standoffs—this can be fiddly since you need to go with washers and a tiny screw that the smaller Allen key is used to tighten.


Choose the plate you want—I went with the FR4 plate—and use the correct screws that fit flush in the countersunk holes along with brass standoffs to get it ready. Then pair the plate, the thicker Poron foam sheet, and the PCB together and screw the set together using one more set of specific screws from the back of the PCB to make a compact sandwich.


Things are getting close to completion as you now take out the daughter PCB hosting the USB Type-C connector and connect it to the primary PCB using the tiny internal cable. The bottom piece of the aluminium case is also getting ready now with a small divider piece getting attached. Now it's time to choose if you want to go with foam or silicone gaskets and I went with the latter which is easier but can be perhaps too thick/stiff for some. Place the hot-swap foam sheet on the underside of the PCB and then carefully position the plate/PCB piece in the case aligning the gaskets in the recesses and then screw the daughter PCB down. This can require more force than you think since the internal cable is longer than I'd have liked, so you need to squeeze it in to align the screw holes. Thankfully the added stress does not seem to hurt anything in the long run.


The rest of the panels on the front are now installed using the final set of screws and the keyboard kit is ready to go. Oh, make sure you have the four circular rubber pads on the corners on the back to help raise the kit off the desk to avoid scratches and also add some friction against the resting surface. The net result is a gasket-mount kit that weighs ~1.1 kg and is 333 x 128 x 48 cm with two elevation angles of 5° and 8° to choose from. There is branding on the side facing away from the user where you will also see the USB Type-C port for wired connectivity—there is no wireless option for this kit.