mir36

Nice pickup. I have resisted getting one of these since people keep saying they look small on their wrists, but your wrist shot looks good.

Looks sweet F. How accurate/reliable are DSN's asian movements? I'm planning to order the PreA 004 and 009. Is it worth the bother to swap out the movements for swiss?

Very helpful comparo shots. Thanks for sharing this.

Nice. The hands look like the alternate angelus hands which some 6152-1's had.

Your search should have brought up Aeromatic's 6538. I keep coming back to this: Forrestal also has a nice 6538 build.

Cool! The profile pics are extremely helpful.

Very nice. I'm inching towards getting a couple. Still not perfect (CG pin too big, gap between CG lever and CG housing, Lug size) but a definite improvement over the previous version.

Thanks for the tip H.

I've had Josh's $99 sub for a few months now and must say it's a great value for $99 and keeps very accurate time. My only problem is I overdid the insert bleaching (my 1st attempt). Can the experts please direct me to an aftermarket source? I've bought several inserts from the board and none seem to fit (all too big). Thanks in advance.

I'm normally a Panerai guy myself when it comes to reps. However when JAG put his 5517, built by this forum's best artists, on the market, I just had to have it. With a quick search, you can find better pics of this actual watch from the master builder himself. Hope these pics help you with your build: K: Your 5517 is in a good home with lots of friends:

I completed this project late last year but was never happy with the indices and hands. After browsing through some reference pics earlier this week I decided to update it. First, the inspiration. Photo credit in the pic: My interpretation: For a comparison, my 6152-1 LPMM no CG and 6152-1 LP: Project Specs: Case: DSN 6154 re-shaped with rounded edges. I filed a bevel to the bottom of the Rolex crown. Dial: Ross with resin filled indices, amber wash and faint Glow Inc. lume applied to back plate. Handset: Getat fiddy handset with Tamiya flat yellow wash applied to lume area. The lume still glows through. I purchased these about 2 years ago for a 127 project but was upset to find out the hands were too short. Luckily i kept them as they were a perfect match for this project. Caseback: Nightwatch thick caseback Strap: Peter Gunny Paupe. 26/26mm, 80/150mm, brushed steel buckle. I always order my straps from Peter without the holes, then punch them in myself. Thanks for looking!

Awesome! Learned something today. Thanks D!

Pete, please clarify. I thought as a rule all Pre-Vs/As had H3s? If not, then this is welcome news. I have some builds that have H2's, and I loathe to re-open watches and mess around with dials unless there is a really compelling reason.

Sweet! Very well done. I can't wear these, but need one in my collection just on principle.

JMB, Did you get a chance to measure the diameter of the cartel dial? I don't have a case opener, but have estimated the dial of my Joshua 5513 to be 27mm. Is that correct?

Thanks TH. I was worried that was the answer. I'm out of good reasons not to get these 111Js.

I have to ask. Please tell me the middle case in the stack pic is the gen. I am still fighting the notion of having to buy all new 111J case sets for my PreV builds. Someone please PM me the answer. Thanks.

My 5513 purchase from Joshua was inspired by Star69's 5512 review. Same build quality as the 5512 and at $98 a great budget build foundation. I don't have a Rolex case opener so I played around with 'vintagizing' this as far as I could today. Here are some pics: The 5513 on NATO, no mods yet... I worked on the tropic first. Sanded the plexi with sanding sponges then polished with plastic polish... This is the effect I was going for, the weathered surface shadow only visible in direct sunlight I couldn't remove the tropic retaining ring, so got stuck here and didn't get a chance to play around with the actual dial. Here is this weekend's finished product. Overdid the bleaching. Put it in a cup of 100% bleach for 30minutes. Next time I'll water it down and actually keep an eye on it. Thanks again Star69 for starting this thread. I too would like to see this thread continue with more budget efforts based on Joshua's $98 551x offerings. I plan to get a couple of Yuki dials and case opener and start playing around with dials. Thanks for looking.

Thank you sir! I learned something today.

I ordered Josh's 5513 after reading Star69's 5512 review. I received it today and immediately put in on a Nato. I've never owned any vintage subs (rep or gen) but have to say I'm very happy with it. A question on the bezel. My 5513 bezel is bi-directional and doesn't click as I would expect a diving watch to. Is that how the gen 5513 was? Thanks.

Inspiring build! I have ordered Joshua's $98 5513 with the hopes of taking it to the next level of budget build nirvana.

Awesome gen case pics flex. Thanks for sharing these.

I'm a bit late to the game. Thank you Babola for the fantastic comparo and PreV case roundup! I now know what I need to do in 2011.

Your grail came together beautifully! May I ask from where you sourced your Cartel 11H ultimate case? (you cannot receive PMs).

Hi, I've been a big fan of the vintage sub projects posted here ever since I saw aeromatic's 6538 masterpiece. I would like to start a 5513 or 6538 project using a Yuki dial and 2824. Appreciate advice from the experts please: - The Yuki sub case sets are not cheap. Is their build quality on par with their pricing? Or is there a better value case set available? I would like to be a able to at least swim in the pool with my sub. - Would I have to cut the Yuki dial feel to adapt it to a 2824? - Are any mods required to fit the Yuki handsets to the 2824? Thank you.