alligoat

I don't know the case size of the MBK 6538. I would think it's in the 37-38mm range. But remember, a gen 1680 dial won't fit in a 1680 MBK case- the gen dial is a little too big. Not worth it to cut down a gen dial, and too hard to turn the case on a lathe or even enlarge it w/ a dremel. So putting a yuki or ndt dial in an MBK- probably not worth it IMO. A lot of this stuff comes down to just how far do you want to go. The MBK 6538 has its drawbacks, but you'll spend over $2K building a 5508 like JoJo's- probably closer to $3K. You could buy an MBK 6538 for $375 plus swiss eta $25 plus s&h, install a yuki 8mm Brevet crown and tube $280, and put a better bezel from Michael Young on for $120 + s&h. And for under $1000 you'd have a pretty nice rep- less than 1/2 what JoJo spent. When I built my 5508, I spent over $2200 and I'm not finished fine tuning- figure another $150-200. So call it a $2500 watch (with a 1520 movt, not a 1530 which is correct). Don't forget, be it a rep or a franken, it's still not a gen. It's just a question of how much money you want to spend.

Cool! Thanks, Rosnik. I posted the 16800 about 1-1/2 years ago here. Since then my computer crashed and I lost the pics. Omega drilled lugholes in a noob case. Took a Ziggy relumed 16800 matte dial, glued it to a 2834-2 w/ old style date wheel, gen crown and tube and put it all together w/ a 93150 and 593 ends. Stephane was my inspiration- he put a gen dial in a noob case first, as I recall.

Good point, Ken, I guess it's kinda like gambling- all or nothing, no guts no glory! The description does say the caseback screws in easliy, tho. But second look at the movement and it is obviously cheese- melted that is! Of course, I'm very happy just to watch from the sidelines!

Interesting. I've got a spare case- might swap out for a no cyclops crystal and build an Explorer I. Eurotimez has the datewheel for the Red Subs, w/ the flat top 3's and open 6's and 9's- correct for the 1500 Date also- $20 plus s&h. Have you tried the cheap plastic spacer rings from the cheap reps- one of those might work. Like Rosnik, I take my stuff to my watchmaker- he's built my two DJ's and my 16800 franken.

Well Arthur, you've pretty much pointed out the other shortcomings. The only other thing is the crystal- just not quite correct as I recall- T-16 is on the gen, but might not fit on the rep case. Brevet crowns are expensive- seems like someone is repping them now- still not cheap. J&W or NDT would be the places to look. Painting the hands would be relatively easy. It's still a rep, but at least better than the CN no CG's, IMO.

Just curious, Libby, which movement are you planning to use?

Precious Time used to have the WM9 v1 and he's in the EU. If he's in the EU, can't he ship to you w/o the Customs hassle? BK's in the USA, don't know if he can ship to Netherlands w/o hassles.

Certainly the MBK 6538 is a good choice. The pearl needs work, and some people will nit-pick a few other points, but with some correct aging, it can be made to look nice. I consider these a step above the chinese no crown guard Bond subs. And certainly far cheaper than going the Yuki/NDT/J&W franken route.

Great pics, beautiful watch, lani. Wish I liked Roman numerals. BTW, that's a presidential band, not a jubilee.

5508's are around. But it may be that you might have to consider spending more money for a franken built from parts from Yuki Watch, NDTrading Corp, or Jewelry and Watch. The economy 5508's from the regular dealers aren't very faithful reps, anyway. But with a little modding they can be fun. Keep looking and hopefully you'll find sommething you like. BTW, Consensus seems to be that the true Bond sub was most likely a 6538.

Noob sub cases are F520117 and the newer M092117. To align the cyclops, remove the movement and pop the crystal out from the inside of the case w/ your thumbs. Clean it off and reposition it and repress it into place. Best to have a crystal press like the $15 one from Harbor Freight. Removing the bezel isn't easy- you have to work your way all around w/ a knife/razor between the case and the bezel and keep lifting it up. It helps to have some wedges so when you lift one side, the other doesn't go back down. Slow slow slow. It's a PITA, but don't get in a hurry or you'll bend the bezel. There's a little ring under there w/ three little prongs, you can bend those up a little, hopefully that will tighten things up a little, then you press the bezel back on w/ the crystal press. Noob bezel's are notorious for being tough to remove, good luck.

I'd get the WM9 case over the Euro(MBK) case, myself. But if you got the complete WM9 sub, you'd have a nice watch for 'dress' and a watch for 'beating around'.

Interesting. Rust indicates the presence of water. If you were using the watch for regular diving in salt water, some of the parts could be subject to surface rusting- bezel parts come to mind. But if you haven't been in the water, it's very unusual, to say the least. Maybe it is a quality control issue.

Congrats, Offshore! I'm certainly enjoying my new set of screwdrivers. And you can leave me off the drawing since I don't plan on polsihing sapphire crystals. But I do have my eye on the waterproof tester- maybe later, when my wife forgets about my latest gen purchase!

I doubt anyone has tried mainly because it's too new a model. But the good news is, things have been getting better over the last 2-3 years. It used to big that rep dials were about 1mm bigger than gen dials. And a gen dial was too small for the rep case. But lately things have gotten closer to gen sizes- for subs we're even to the point where gen parts can be used. Maybe if someone has a GMTIIC rep, they could uncase it and measure the dial for you and then you could compare w/ the gen dial. The other good news is that date windows are in the correct position more often these days.

All makes sense to me, good job, Freddy!

Eurotimez is the one to go to. The Euromariner is a copy of the gen in terms of bezel construction, and nothing against Eurotimez, but the fit and quality of the Euro/MBK sub bezel assembly aren't the greatest, IMO. But Eurotimez/Chris doesn't make these, MBk factory does, Chris just sells them. You could get the Euromariner w/ the asian 21 j movement and just swap out your noob dial and 2836- change out the crown to the 2836 stem and away you go I don't know if BK would sell you a WM9 case alone (w/ crystal, bezel,etc) and you might need a spacer ring since you're using the 2836-2 w/ the noob dial, but that might be a possibility. Or you may just need to belly up and get a WM9.

I just got a set of screwdrivers from Watchbitz- very nice blades and a very reasonable price. Definitely worth checking out.

Chinese case, used by Paul, Andrew, etc. Sometimes referred to as a 'WOK' because of the inward sloping rehaut- but yours didn't look too bad. Your pearl didn't look too bad. BK's formula is a jewelryoutlet555 insert and the $10 WM pearl. I'd just enjoy the watch and install a new insert/pearl when you've tore up the one in there now- they do get scratched and nicked fairly easily.

If you're putting in an eta, that means you're putting on a new set of hands to fit the eta, and swapping over the datewheel overlay, or have a new one to install, right? If the DG2813 is just held in place by the plastic movement ring, might try sticking with that MO first. If it has a plastic ring and hold down tabs and screws, try that. Finding the right size movement ring is tough- they're not readily available. And even though a plastic ring doesn't look very professional, they work just fine- there's nothing wrong with them

krb, yours is the basic chinese sub rep- the little spring loaded click, the eight sided 'paper clip' in the bezel, snaps on. And the aftermarket assemblies really aren't worth the trouble. Euromariner, WM9, and the late model MBK's will accept gen bezel parts, and crystal. Not sure about late model TWB's...

Looking good! Which case did you use?

Thanks for the heads up, B. Must be due to the alignment of the planets and the moon!

So let me see if I have this straight. A 703 crown is crimped- does this mean an ss wrapper is basically shrink wrapped around a base metal core? And a 704 crown is solid stainless. So, I'm assuming they're interchangeable, with the 704 just being the next in line in the evolution of quality.