Thank you again for all the support, we were thrilled with people voting us for product of the year and company of the year. We have some big plans for between now and Evo, including two products and negotiations for starting possible east coast distribution.
We are going to start doing custom plexi’s. As many of you know we have been playing around with our own laser for a year. We are going to have some overlap with others but we hope to bring some value added features. You will see an example of this in our new stick we finally are finishing for @inendoi , this stick will debut LED feet and a special added led feature to the faceplate. We hope this will really show off the capabilities of the Kaimana
We are going to be introducing some aluminum bat tops with modified profiles. Many people have been requesting this and so it’s time to deliver. We expect these in two weeks.
A restock of actuators is on the way! As well as the adjustable actuator. There has been a great deal of misinformation about how the actuators work and we will work hard to clarify this when the adjustable actuators arrive. While we have sold over 1000 of the original actuator series, we are only bringing in 100 of the adjustable a to start. We will also have the first modified actuators for another popular stick.
We will outline how to use the actuators with the Hori stick. A nice advantage of adjustable actuators and different sizes is that we are able provide customers with solutions to more that just a simple jlf mod.
The universal plate kickstarter, including stretch goals is almost completed!
The new Paradise stick is almost complete, parts are coming soon and build will start soon after. Sticks will come standard with hollow shafts and Cherry microswitches.
We have some new hollow shafts on the way to fill In some of the gaps in which sticks we offer shafts for.
Howler stock has arrived (for those who haven’t seen it, check out the kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2034467396/howler-arcade-controller). We had IL do a custom run of competition style Hoku buttons for this project. These will be posted to the site shortly. We requested short barrels for better fight stick compatibility.
I also want to thank everyone for their patience as I have been flying around for interviews. I have been through 10 different cities in the last 20 days. I will be in Seattle on the 2nd, New Orleans from the 12 to the 14, and Philadelphia on the 24th and 25th (hopefully spending some time in Monks, an amazing bar I have been going to since it opened in 96). Pm or email me if you are in these places and want to catch up, I would love to share a few beers with people and unwind.
We have started discussions with many people in various arcade/gaming communities regarding new projects and ideas. Unfortunately, nondisclosure agreements instituted by other vendors have prevented full exchanges of ideas and discussions. The various people we are discussing future projects with have been upfront and honest about what topics can be discussed and which topics can not be due to them being covered by NDA agreements. I hope that any and all concerns about this can be handled in a private and respectful exchange as needed.
Thank you everyone for your support, it was a fun 2013, and we are working like crazy to make 2014 even better!
Hori really seems to be keeping that one close to the chest for the time being…
It only took them 18 months to release it separate from the Fighting Edge! I can’t say this for sure since it’s been a while since I took biology class, but don’t some babies wean from their mothers faster than that?
Regardless, it’s very good product… and it’ll still fit most joystick cases on market with little to no modding required. It pretty much fits ALL the HRAP’s just like the JLF.
I have my Hayabusa mounted now in an HRAP N3 SA/Soul Calibur V joystick base with Butteroj’s emerald tigereye ball handle on top. The best in-production HRAP with the best Japanese joystick lever on market together!
At the very least, JLF mod parts don’t have to be re-engineered for the Hayabusa.
(Thank you Hori for the most sensible part of this control lever project besides making it work better than the other Japanese joysticks! Even if your definition of “better” is different from mine, I don’t think you can buy a more consistent performing Japanese control lever on the market than the H-stick.)
You can use pretty much anything made for the JLF with the H-stick including the Link shaft and the hollow shafts used with JLF/LED projects.
I would still keep using the original Hayabusa shaft parts (aside from the shaft). The actuator ISN’T exactly like the JLF actuator – it’s a bit wider than the stock JLF part – and I can’t say this for 100% certain but the pivot bearing (semi-round white piece that goes into the base) may also be a bit different. The rest is pretty much copied off of the JLF’s measurements. The spring and spring retainer like the shaft are near-exact if not duplicates for the JLF parts. The plastic shaft parts appear to be higher-quality plastic than the Sanwa originals…
Somebody else installed a JLF Link kit in their Hayabusa base and it worked perfectly with the base… I eyeballed the Hayabusa shaft and the JLF shaft together and I couldn’t see a difference at all besides the black paint on the Hayabusa shaft. I didn’t quite understand why Hori bothered to paint the shaft in all honesty… The Hayabusa comes with a shaft cover that’s identical to the JLF’s shaft cover, too!
( => That means ALL the JLF shaft kits will work fine with the Hayabusa, too… I have been eyeing a few of the aluminum shaft cover kits. Before, when I was strictly LS-joystick only, I couldn’t really see the point in getting one but now —! )
The dustwashers, on the other hand, have different texture patterns. The Hayabusa dustwasher has more of an even “sand” pattern whereas the JLF dustwasher has a larger, “broken tile” look.
It’s always good to see our ideas become popular! We asked IL to make a new button for the Howler Project, and they delivered! (they actually delivered them to us today)
Introducing the Convex Hoku button.
These competition (convex) style IL buttons will be a great addition to your arcade cabinet or fight stick! Combine these with the Howler or Kaimana and the IL-lumination LED boards for an amazing effect!
I gotta ask, will you be carrying the new SANWA clear button plugs (OBSCM-30) that has artwork possibilities? Or are you gonna make your own version at some point?
Well we were going to wait, but… We will be offering a new service in the not to distant future. We are teaming up with one of the most respected names in the arcade world to bring some great new offerings to the market.
Some people have to choose, soon you won’t have to be one of them
We are working to bring the latest in multiconsole modding for all your needs. Battle tested by a sponsored competitive team, this mod is no joke!
Bryan sent me a couple of the Uni-Plates and I must say they are top notch (and they fit nicely inside a Panzer Fight Stick). Very nice to see a quality product designed by and sold by a solid business. Keep up the good work designing cool things!
Jasen, thanks, the feedback has been great so far and we can’t wait to receive the rest of the plates!
@"Sonic Immora"
There was a question about actuators and I will get into more details in the upcoming week or two when the adjustable arrives, but for now here’s the answer.
Actuators have size and shape that affects the characteristics of how they perform.
If you look at JLF actuators they have a slope where they contact the micros, Seimitsu do not.
The slope allows for even contact of the microswich, the staight style behave as a larger sloped actuator that fits in a smaller space…
Zippy micros actuate earlier than Omrons but after the stock switch. Based on this you need to add about .5mm to the actuator to get the same actuation feel as a stock switch. If you add 1mm in the same shape as the original actuator, you will roughly get the feel of a .5mm oversize on the stock switch. @"Pnoy Pryde" I believe was using the 1.5mm oversized with Zippys and really liked that combination. It is my understanding that if the 1.5mm actuator works for you on the Zippy’s you will probably also like the Kowal actuator.
We have tested and have our first production run of adjustable actuators arriving. These will be the first actuator that all you to adjust not only the diameter, but the height at which the actuator has that diameter. Basically the actuator is undersized and has three notches that rings can be placed into to adjust the outer diameter. This will allow for people to tweek the way the stick plays to something similar to the Kowal or ours, or pick something in between. We will try to clearly explain the mechanics of this works in the upcoming weeks.
Brian, do you sell D2RVG microswitches with levers? If not, could you check to see if you can open up the D2RVG microswitches and what kind of lever will fit in them? I would like to install them in a Hayabusa stick…
I think people will be surprised and pleased in the upcoming weeks, especially 
