Mendota Explorer

not close to perfect at all, but better than before, and for the price a good kick around piece.

new hands, crown, and crown guard mod + lug holes, T19

beyond that-

a better caseback and bezel ring should make this piece that much better.

Good insights. Is there a better starting point that you would recommend for a budget 5512 or 5513 build?

Here are my thoughts:

1. Athaya 702 crown and tube.

2. Drill lugholes to accept fat bars

3. Age dial, hands, insert

4. Swap in T19

5. Rock out with this awesome piece!!

This looks really great. Thanks for posting your pics and thelink. I'm thinking this could definitely be my next vintage piece. Would make a great winter modding project.

I think that would look better with a different plexi profile, too. A T19 would look fantastic.

"The best vintage Rolex sports range ever replicated.. Surpassing all previous replication from whoever!!"  Wow.  With a description like that it has to be good!  LOL

All kidding aside, that really is a great looking one.  Just needs a new crown, lugholes drilled, new springbars, and some dial aging.  I'd also like to know if the bezel construction is accurate.  If I ever get one, I think I'd pull the movement out and put in a 2846-2 and either sell the 2836 or keep it for a future project. Put on an Athaya 702 and that would be a great piece.

Does anyone know if the 5513 has also been updated like this?

Either Freddy333 or cc33 posted this about a year ago (maybe 2 now), but one of those guys has some incredible step by step progress macro pics from "He who shall not be named" during the creation of a dial.  MIND = BLOWN after looking at each step of the process to create one of these masterpiece dials.  The "gilt" is simply the brass dial plate showing through the lacquer, but the process to build up the dial surface all around the brass is amazing.  Maybe one of them could post those pics again, or we could find a link back to that thread.  It is spectacular to see it. The guy really is a magician.

To the OP - the nameless one only works with gen dial plates.  The 6538 was a 38mm watch.  There is no way a gen 6538 dial is going to fit in a modern 40mm sub case.  Nor would you ever want to hobble together a replica of a custom build watch using a gen plate refinished dial. There would be a line of people here a mile long waiting to flog you if anyone heard that you took a Voldemort dial and clipped the feet to hobble it together into a rep.  That is blasphemy!  But it is a moot point, anyway, because it won't fit.

That is my dream watch box right there.  Fantastic collection!  I think you meant to write 6538 instead of 1675, though.  

So $1,450 gets you a complete Phong build, including his case and bezel, custom engravings, and ETA movement.  Is this a Swiss ETA or a clone, I wonder?  Probably Swiss?  I wonder if his case and bezel are as good as his others?  Those are fantastic, and cost the same.  How are his dials, crowns, plexis, and inserts compared to what we can find elsewhere?  This could actually be a great deal considering the case is completely gen spec so you could use it as a base for a gen franken down the road.  Also, if it is a Swiss ETA you could always sell the movement and buy a 2846-2 with the proceeds.

Cruising with the top down on this glorious day!

I don't know how many years it's been since this one saw daylight. A new battery and it's all good. Soon to go back into the safe though

Hey, is that the one that you can only buy if you have been confirmed as having ejected from a plane? They engrave your serial # from the ejection seat on the back, the date of ejection, and other details. Jimmy Fallon bought one for his father-in-law and presented it on his show. Amazingly cool.

Great pic. It looks beautiful.  Someday I plan to visit.  I've heard nothing but great things from everyone who has ever visited the state.

Someone either here or on Homage Forum had reached out to Helenarou and he confirmed that he has all of the parts needed for the build.  He could sell them as a kit.  His case is already an oversized 40mm big crown case, with no crown guards, it has gen size lugholes and chamfers.  The Helenarou watch comes with the bezel and domed sapphire crystal.  In fact, the crystal is a big complaint for 6538 builds since it is domed sapphire, but it is a plus for this build.

It might be simpler to go that route. The only drawback is the bezel insert from Helenarou is aluminum.  Tough call on this.  It is such a cool watch but is going to take some work to get it right no matter which angle you use to approach it.  I'm definitely looking forward to seeing someone's first attempt, though.

Way back in 2008, and being fresh off the boat with regards to online forum etiquette, I used a pic of my baby boy as my avatar.  I now have 3 little guys, but at the time he was my first.  He was maybe 6-8 months old at the time, and the pic was a super cute pic of him sitting in a bumbo chair, smiling at the camera, and wearing a baseball cap.  Anyway, some total D-bag wrote in a watch related thread that every time he saw the avatar pic it made him so angry that he wanted to reach into the screen and slap the smile off his face.  This was in regards to a baby! I was stunned and gave the a-hole a piece of my mind, and he was very quickly banned for that awful display of douchebaggery.  

I cannot even imagine what it would take for a person to actually say something like that in person, and face to face.  I don't think any of these a$$ clowns would have the gusto to do it.

Called today and the warranty is expired.  They gladly suggested I buy a brand new gun safe! LOL

 

 

Wow. Huge bummer. Well, I stand corrected. Sorry about that. I'm kind of surprised by that. Maybe these lifetime warranties are a new phenomenon to draw people away from getting bank safety deposit boxes? I'm sure a lock smith can help you fix your issue.

Thanks for he input.

The safe was built into the home when I purchased it.  Original owner said it was purchased from Cotsco maybe 8 years ago.  The warranty is definitely up, I think.  I may call them this week. Original owner is a friend so that will help.

I can always call a professional but if it's a simple fix... I might try my hand at it.

 

I highly doubt the warranty has expired. I've been looking at safes and so far every single manufacturer I've seen has a lifetime warranty. Every one of them so far. It makes sense, too. They want you to be able to trust their products with your family's most important valuables AND they want you to choose their products over alternative options. Fixing a failed part for free is a minor expense for a lifetime customer.

I installed the Fuse lenses and I'm not very impressed.

From the front they look exactly like the original ground glass Revos. But looking through them, you know you're looking through cheapo plastic lenses.

I guess it's better than throwing old Revos away.

I noticed on the website that they have glass lenses, also. I wonder if those are better?

Cool! Look at all of those font variations. That is amazing how different each one looks.

They also used the wrong model # for the caseback engraving.

^ Yes, that is gorgeous indeed!

^ LOL that is priceless. Bad whiskey, masturbation for 30 years, imaginary female trouble...

Fitting choice to wear on my birthday don't you think?

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Beautiful pic. Happy birthday!

I thought Silix used to accept PayPal for long time/experienced forum members or customers with prior relationships with them?  Did they stop doing this?

They can be as safe as you make them. Follow the instructions and don't wear 1 day lenses for a month. If you use them in the wrong way, or don't keep them disinfected, then you are going to have issues. People have been using them all over the world for decades.

Try Googling your question. You will get much better answers on medical sites.

1665 today

What great pics! This is a great piece!

Not quite, movement is a $24 dg3804 and hands/dw is thus also rep. Beyond that bezel is a WSO, modded to better match an mkI dial.

Those crown guards are perfect, though.

Agreed 100%.  In fact, on one of the other boards a lawyer gave some opinions [not legal advice, of course ] and he said not only to ignore it, but DO NOT create a paper trail of illegality.  In other words, whatever you do, don't send a letter back!  LOL

The nice thing is you'll be able to keep up with the filming of the Walking Dead, since it is filmed there.