hackR

wondering if any of the local hardware (Ace, Tru-Value) or big box home centers (Home Depot, Lowe's) would have UV glue for a cyclops install...if so, what brands have you used or recommend?... i know i can get it on the internet - but if it can be found local, that would be great... thanks...R

I just completed this quick build last night and love it...it's not uber-accurate, but i think it came out nicely... Ingredients: 1) MBW dial from Bill... 2) gen eta movement from a beater 1680 red Sub... 3) gold hands from Clark; sanded to a matte finish... 4) case set and bracelet from Ephry73

I just completed this quick build last night and love it...it's not uber-accurate, but i think it came out nicely... Ingredients: 1) MBW dial from Bill... 2) gen eta movement from a beater 1680 red Sub... 3) gold hands from Clark; sanded to a matte finish...hands came with white lume...i used iodine (which made them yellow'y), then wiped them down with water to soften the yellow to creme color - to match the dial's creme colored lume...amazingly the lume is faint on the hands and dial and actually matches in glow and duration... 4) case set and bracelet from Ephry73

1. case looks to be the better one... 2. nice to see the rehaut markers lumed... 3. tough to tell if the color is similar to the gen...gen is creme...this looks to be a little lighter - similar to the old "silver/white" dial... 4. tough to tell - but it doesn't look like they were able to get the concentric circles of the dial to reflect light like the gen...that's the biggest diff in rep vs. gen...the gen dial really reflects the light... 5. the lume still isn't as flush/smooth as the gen...matter of fact, if you look at the 2005 steelfish x-plus gen, the lume application on this rep is similar...the current steelfish gen has terrific smooth lume fills... 6. has a nice breitling date font... 7. colorless ar?...wrong - needs to have that nice Breitling blue hue... overall - a nice build...especially the lume...dial details, case details seem to be same...looks like the best part of this is that the dw, dial lume and movement are nice adders...and they used the better case...it's definitely one of the best builds i've seen...the AR being coloreless isn't a good thing...and the jury is still out on the concentric circles... here's how a gen dial catches light: should this thread be eventually moved to the Breitling forum?!

and those E series casebacks are rare, too...

is it a swiss movement?...have you checked the plates near the balance wheel for 6497-1 engravings?...looks to have one of the old skool swiss movements...nice "E" series caseback, too...

+1 on "Lawrence"...who/where? welcome to RWG... wear your new pieces well...

best to de-case...remove the hand and re-seat it...after a couple chrono start/stops when it's out of the case, you'll know or see whether the hand tube is slipping or not...i'd start there...if it works, you won't need to go inside the movement...

white...for sure!

looks great J...glad to see/hear that the hands are better...R

where's Dave...he'll know...

hey Anders!...congratulations, my friend...he looks strong and healthy...hoping your wife is recovering well... R

excellent Red!...and good to see Andy assisting, too...he's one of the best!!!

i noticed the daytona, too...nice...

shining the "Z" off the roof into the sky...before i try anything, hoping i might hear from The Zigmeister on this one...

I can never get these darn PC links to open right for me...argh... found the piece...yuck...

nice box!...what are the details?... nice variety of pieces in your collection...well done..

i find the new Pro2 bracelet a bit on the stiff and sharp side compare to the original Pro2...not by much on the sharpness - but a little...a bit stiffer if you torque down the screws to prevent them from working their way out...

yup...looks good to me...its a nice v3 edition...enjoy it and wear it well... R

@Ray...looks great...creative use of parts to make a sharp looking watch... i completely brushed one of my v2 skylands (case and bracelet) and the look is so much less blingy, but still sporty...i still have blingy breitlings - but don't need a squad of them... well done and wear it well... fyi - found that the rehaut on the code yellow is so faintly yellow, that its tough to see anyways... stay tuned for a future set of pix...i just transplated my "swiss made" code yellow into a v2 case...added a gen DP stray/buckle...it works well...so much better... R-

my pref has always been the old skool 252 North Pole...requires some modding, but a unique looking piece...

@chi...you rock!...great idea...i'm glad i posted this... already known in the cosmetic aisle...another member sent me to get a small nail polish brish for fine touchup...never found it...but made their day... can you shoot a macro of the finished pearl...looks great!

+1

@Jurgen...i guess its part of the hobby...but once i collected all of the 3 colors of swiss fish and did a LOT of research, you could see that the factories did mix/match...so i simply would pick up pieces and move the best pieces to a single piece...as you can see, the differences exist, but are minor...most people don't know what's best...having a couple of the pieces in my collection led me to see the differences...that and some private discussions with other breit freaks like me to discuss the differences...all said and done, i collected a couple models (all swiss/eta, so said) and assembled what i wanted...sold the other pieces...if you know what to look for, you may get close with some of the pieces out there...anyways, the total cost of a "nice" swiss fish with all the right features is approx 1/5 of the pre-owned street price...not too bad, IMO...i added a gen dial - which drove my cost to 2/5 pre-owned street price...factor in relume and you're much closer to 1/2...yes - stil a lot compared to gen pre-owned...but still saved 1/2!...eventually, i'll pick up a gen steelfish and sell my franken - which will nicely subsidize the pre-owned price... all in all - building a unique steelfish franken is actually a good investment - as many rep collectors would jump at picking a nice franken up... just my 2 cents...it works for me... R-

to completely stir this up... there is no super-rep of the SOSF... heresy, some would say...but true, IMO...consider this: get the 1st gen with nickel-plated gen eta (problem: most came with eta dw and not breitling dw; but had a stellar dial; case wasn't the best)...after the 1st release came all the variations...and there ARE many variations, slight case difference, slight dial differences, etc, etc... to really build a super-rep steelfish, you need to buy a couple of "the best" swiss fish reps and assemble the best components...there's another sosf thread where a bunch of us fish zealots describe the differences... is it a good rep?...yes...great, no...the dial's concentric circles are not grooved enough to catch light...and only the black is close to its gen color...the white/silver and blue are way off... personally - i assembled the best rep components and added a gen black dial...having the hands/pearl re-lumed, as we speak (not to mention a little needed jewel repair on a gen eta)...all said and done, it'll be about a 1/2 of a pre-owned gen...was the cost worth it?...no...was the journey rewarding...hell yeah...that's what this hobby is all about... R-