Slartibartfast

AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH my eyes...my eyes!!

I have a 42mm PO which I sourced from PT. It's the ETA version, and has been going strong for well over a year now. It's a very heavy and chunky watch. Very hockey puck IMHO, but a great watch none the less, I love it. I also have the ETA IWC Mk XV. Again a great watch, not super slim, but not chunky either. Hey, get both.... instant collection !!

Absolutely. Wow, what a piece of kit. Thanks themuck for a great review. Can't wait for the finished report.

Yep... a beauty. And on my list too!

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Ha ha!!! I am sorry. But you won't regret it. Good luck finding a movement, though I think that I read somewhere here, that Cousins have a Chinese replacement movement (with 24 hour 4th hand). I may be completely wrong here, but worth checking out.

Absolutely. I need to get that vintage feel for both. There are many suggestions for doing this on the board. I will probably try them all

Spooky, 'cos that's exactly what I did, polylines and all, you can change the tickness unitl they look correct for the font size. I tried using TT fonts, but none that I could find were anywhere close. Great minds thinks alike!!. [EDIT] BTW I used a HP 600dpi laserjet. I would think that a better printer would yield better quailty results.

Thanks guys. Glad to receive such a positive response. Has inspired me to continue. Now where's that Seamaster!

Pics, pics piiiiiiiiccccs!

Having just completed my first major modding project, I thought that I would share with you the processes that I have gone through (right or wrong) in an effort to persuade you all to have a go yourself. After all if I can do it...... So here we are, a brand spanking new Explorer 2 "Orange Hand" 1655. This is the ETA version bought from TT, billed as "Top Grade Vintage" Pic As Original As you may be able to see from the pic above, there was no lume (dial or hands), the date mag was negligible, the date font was wrong (on the 3's), and the crystal didn't look even remotely original. It also came on a diver's oyster strap, which wasn't as shown on the TT website. Good old Andrew sent me a replacement strap FOC, so that was that bit fixed anyway! Pic Of Original Strap Well this wasn't quite "Top Grade" enough for my liking, so thought well what the hell, let's have a go at modding. I have read loads about it here on RWG so, armed with a basic watch repair toolkit, off we go! Oh...I will make a point here of owning up to being in a completely different (amateur) league to repaustria and his 1655 modding antics (but you guessed that already, didn't you ) After the initial strip down, the first job was to relume the dial and hands. I used a mixture of Revel night colour and the tiniest amount of yellow ochre acrylic paint to get just the right shade for that vintage look. I applied it to the dial using an old 0.18mm Isograph pen (used to be a draughtsman you know), dipped in a small amount of paint, and then dotted onto the dial (all credit to Edge for his inspiring guide). Bit by bit the lume was built up to give that old, slightly knackered look that would suit a "30 year old" watch. Pic of dial lume technique I used the same process for the hands too. Whilst I was at it, I re-painted the 24 hour hand in fluorescent orange mat enamel to look more like the originals I have seen on the web. Pic of lumed hands waiting for re-assembly I wanted the correct date font for the date wheel, you know, the flat threes. I thought that I would have a go at making one myself. Using AutoCAD, I made a 1:1 vector image of the original date wheel overlay, having measured it with vernier calipers to get an accurate size. I then re-drew the threes to give them the flat topped look. I printed a whole batch of these overlay stickers on self adhesive address labels, using a laser printer. I think that they have turned out quite well considering. I cut one out and simply stuck it over the original overlay. It took three or four goes to get it centered in the date window, but then that is why I printed out so many! Overlay shots The final mod that desperately needed doing was replacing the crystal. I trawled through the Cousins website and found a near match for diameter and date mag position, again using the old trusty vernier calipers to measure up. An original crystal won't fit this rep case so I am told, so there was no point lusting after the impossible. The replacement crystal was a cheap (less than

Don't know about any MBW version, but I have TT Top Grade Vintage, and whilst I like the watch, believe me, it needs a lot of work to make it that bit better. Good luck with yours, it is a great looking watch. Go for it!

That's a sharp looking collection. Beautifully displayed. Thanks for sharing!

Great looking GMT. Wouldn't mind one of those myself. Hmmmm....... now where's my credit card.

I bought the "Top Grade Vintage" ETA 1655 model from Andrew. It came on a diver's strap, and had next to no date mag. I was not that impressed. To be fair, Andrew sent a replacement strap at no cost to me which I thought was excellent service. After all these are only "reps". The date mag is an issue that all of these 1655's seem to suffer from, they seem to be poor to say the least. I have fixed this issue on mine by fitting an OEM acryllic crystal from Cousins (only

1655 is one of my favourites. An under rated watch at the moment. Great wallpaper!

I followed onto this thread from a reply you posted to another member. I must say that the matt finish you have achieved with the spray can looks fantastic. I have a 1655 that has come with a gloss dial, and looks just wrong. I will try the matt spray technique that you have posted. Great work freddy!

Great review Taiji. Excellent that you spend so much time and trouble bringing a review such as this to our forum. (and you too gioarmani)

I think that the Airking is smaller. Maybe that's why?

Airking has to be the best cheap rep available. Got mine from Silix for under 20 quid. Everyone needs one of these!

Well what else would you expect from the top admin team here at RWG!

Just used your guide to sort out my new Nato on my sub. Should have read it first mind you, but got it right except the last bit where you tuck the loose end back under (much neater). Thanks Pugwash

Whoaa! You're not wrong there. Stunning photo. Great outfit you've got there. Inspirational!

894179 Asian blue