shadeone

touche' fellas! thanks for the pics! i still think the "natalie" dial on the first page has too little amount of lume / too large of a gap to look authentic though

can someone please show me a REAL 6538 that has a gap between the lume marker and the gilt circle around it? I think people have been on replica boards too long without looking at the real deal and this large gap and small marker has just become acceptible on rep dials lately... a good real 6538 has marker lume that fills the whole circle:

ok yeah, must be a gen1 vs gen2 thing with the tiger cases then... got another email from tigerconcept stating that he special orders the dials for those cases and thats why his standard dials like the brown sterile one on his site (29.2) dont fit. Also just got pictures of an opened tiger case from another member on homageforum with a helenarou dial sitting in the back and it definitely does not go in all the way to the dial mount area... ill see if i can get them up here... edit, jerkstore! you replied while i was typing! can you throw those pics you sent me on homageforum up here for the definitve visual for everyone?

I finally got a response back from tiger concept directly regarding this.... I quote: "the largest dial that fit this case is 28.2mm and the opening area that can see the dial is 26.5mm" Someone on homageforum stated that the brown jiao-dragon dials that tiger concept sells seperate on their site (http://www.tiger-concept.com) do not fit the big crown cases they sell because the dials are 29.2mm joeyb, how old is your case from them? I know they used to have one with a huge tropic-39 superdome type crystal on it but now they are correct profile for a 6538... im thinking maybe they switched the dial stuff too?

there are reports on homageforum that the tiger case only accepts 28mm dials... i believe the rafflestime one takes their own 29mm dials... I had wanted to do a helenarou sterile 6538 bond gilt dial in a tiger case but it looks like it isnt possible unless you either grind down the edges of the helenarou dial (in which case the chapter ring on the dial will still be too close to the rehaut) or else open the rehaut on the tiger case AND machine the inside of the dial area out to 29mm... joeyb, what dial did you use in your tiger cased mod up there ^^ ?

Just got my completed milsub project back from the watchmaker last night and thought you guys might be interested in the details! I wanted to make the most correct 5517 homage out there, but keep it on a small budget. I know there are many replicas out there that I could have just switched dials on but there are usually a lot of tiny imperfections on them that just bother the heck out of me. Anyways here is my new beauty: Case - I used a replica case, originally from "Trevor Time", obtained from lloyd at rwg.cc. It has the fixed / welded lug springbars like the original 5517 had to enable only NATO nylon straps to be used. The movement inside is a DG2813 "21 jewel". $100.00 shipped Dial - I got an unmarked "sterlie" 29.2mm dial with white lume from Ken at rafflestime.com. It has the correct "Swiss T<25" marking near the bottom and minute marker ticks / hashes that extend under the rehaut. $10.39 shipped Hour and Minute Hands - I ordered a set of milsub sword style hands from helenarou.com. The hour and minute hand are the most correct hands for a milsub. All other sword hand sets that exist for the DG2813 dont have a minute hand with lume that forms an "arrow" shape near the tip and are usually just rectangular lume bars. The movement in my watch is a DG2813 with 100/150/17 hands and the helenarou hand set was designed for ETA which is 90/150/25, meaning the hole on the minute hand was too small and needed to be broched to fit. $29.95 shipped Second Hand - Since Helenarou's second hand is not the correct Milsub style (its design matches the old Omega Seamaster 300 and slightly curves in at the sides of the triangular lumed pointer), I bought an additional white lume hand set from Ken at rafflestime.com in order to use just the more corect second hand from the set. $22.99 shipped Bezel Insert - The case came with a bezel insert that was designed for the traditional non-milsub submariner with minute markings at only the first 15 minutes. The correct 5517 milsub insert has minute tick / hash marks all the way around the bezel instead of just the first 15. I bought a replacement insert from user wholesaleoutlet990 on ebay. It didnt snap in place and needed to be cemented to hold it. $13.00 shipped Crystal - The crystal that came on the case was a little too generic and flat on top and was replaced with a Clark 25-19 dome style replacement acrylic crystal from user nostalgia-2000 on ebay. The original milsub used a Tropic 19 and the Clark is an excellent, almost exact replacement. $17.00 shipped Strap - I bought a 20mm "Admirality Gray" NATO strap from user mickie500 on ebay who sells for Phoenix, the original suppliers of NATO straps to the British MOD (Ministry of Defense). Phoenix made the original straps that came with the real milsub. He sells some factory goof straps that are much cheaper and you cant notice the very minor errors at all. The original milsub was issued with an 18mm "Admirality Gray" strap, but Rolex themselves offer 20mm as a factory replacement so either width is correct. $11.05 shipped Assembly - Since I am not a watchmaker and dont have tools and have never played around with taking a watch apart or putting it back together, I had a Jay at Motor City Watch Works assemble all of the parts for me. The rehaut needed to be opened up a little bit for the correct amount of minute tick marks to show $120.00 shipped grand total = $324.38 I know there are a few things that could be even more correct like the bezel pearl and the lug and crown guard widths / shape, but those dont bother me as much right now as the things like hands and crystal profile etc did. Plus modding things like that would cost more and this is just a bidget watch... Maybe for my next watch I will go even more perfect.

another option... rafflestime has this complete milsub dial with all the rolex printing on it: how hard would it be to get all of the printing off of it besides the little circle t? does rubbing alcohol take off printing without damaging the black base?

Another question about this broaching deal... When you enlarge the hole, does it create a new fl@nge (dont know why it censored that word) on the border of the hole with these tools? How do they work? They look like files of some sort to me... Thanks!

Ok, is there anyone on the forums that does broaching? I found a different set of hands and it turns out I only need the hour hand enlarged from 90 to 100. The minute hand is fine and as mentioned earlier,I have a perfect second hand. These ones: http://helenarou.com/5513-6538-milsub-super-luminova-watch-hands-f5513653828242836.html

these ones specifically: http://www.yukiwatch.com/catalog/item/6960394/8865330.htm there is a serious lack of good hands for the 2813 movement that closely resemble the actual 5517 milsub sword hands... the only ones really available that fit the movement outright are from rafflestime but the minute hand on those do not have the lume that forms an arrow shape near the tip of the hand:

not gen... aftermarket but made for gen rolex calibers... still cheap

I know that it is possible to go from bigger opening holes on hands to smaller using the tedious and painful task of laser welding or whatever, but I was wondering if I could go from hands that are drilled for 80/130/20 (rolex 1520 movement) and open up / bore them out to the DG2813 size of 100/150/17? I know the second hand is smaller, but I got the second hand for the 2813 covered already so ignore that.... I read something about return flanges or something, needed in order to keep the hand from rocking on the post. Can this be re-done in the newly opened up hand at all or is this whole idea just a lost cause?

can you print white onto the clear film decals?

are there any methods based on the above that would allow me to just put the letter "T" on there without having to redo the whole dial? The sterile dial is perfect the way it is, I just need a simple letter addition... this is the dial:

Wow, thats a lot of money! ha! And no this isnt a rep dial, its completely blank, I just want the "T" because it is a distinguishing feature of the Rolex Milsub and Im doing an homage watch, not a rep (yet) Now that could work! Hopefully one of them chimes in on here!

So I decided to get a new sterlie dial for my Trevor 5517 Milsub. I was wondering if there is any place that you guys know about that would be able to just print only the "T" in the circle on the dial just below the hands?: I have contacted about 6 different dial restoration places and only one of them has got back to me with a price of over $100 PLUS I would have to ship it to Spain. There has gotta be a cheaper (and closer) alternative! Thanks! Jamie

perfect!!!!!!!! Ill take it! you can leave that bezel ring/insert on there, im replacing it with the correct gen-style one from wholesaleoutlet (already on the way to me) check your PMs, we will finish the transaction on there! Jamie

Hey lloyd! Any pics yet? Hows the dial customization coming?! Jamie

im definitely interested! sterile caseback = yes please! by no bezel ring, do you mean the insert or the scalloped outer part? Im replacing the insert with teh one with the right amout of minute markers, but i might need the outer part also, if the crown and logo come off the dial good, can you take the word "submariner" off too? Its a trademarked name and this is just going to be my sterile homage watch, im saving the trademarked / official stuff for when I get farther into this replica world and get into aging dials with tea and ovens I still want the circle T on there though! also, considering the dial seat is at 29.2mm, the first dial i posted will work AND i just noticed something... the fact that the viewable portion is only at 26mm, the minute markers on the sterile dial will actually extend to underneath the rehaut like on the gen 5517. There is a little 3mm border around the outside... take a look at the sterile dial: versus the real deal with the rehaut covering the outer border: so anyone wanting to do this project, it will work! Jamie

awesome, thanks for all the info! Yeah, pictures of the different dials in the case and stuff would be GREAT!

yeah that confuses me slightly too... trevor got back to me and says he does not know the diameter of the dial... lloyd, can you be absolutely positive of the 29mm dial? Do you have calipers available? I will paypal you a couple bucks if you can post a definitive picture of the dial being measured! I contacted motorcity watch works and they will do the assembly of the watch for me for a really decent price, but I want to make sure it will work before I spend money on shipping. Either that or I will have MCWW check the dial on the Trevor watch first before any other mods are done in order to save from getting too far into the project and then realizing something wont work and therefore costing me the money for the already completed steps Jamie

Thanks for the response! What is the best way to get writing off of a dial? Like a dental pic and scrape gently or something? I got the Admiralty Gray NATO strap for the watch already! Going to order the watch and parts this week sometime! As mentioned in the original post, is there someone on the boards here who could assemble everything for me for a small fee? Thanks again guys! Jamie

just a quick update.... trevor wont sell just the cases seperately. also his email only stated overall case size when i asked for dial size... will report back here again when i know more! Jamie

Greetings folks! Long time lurker, first time poster! Ive been toying with the idea of getting a milsub or some time now and almost bit the bullet on one of the Trevor 5517s a while ago: http://v.yupoo.com/p...albums/2235661/ After seeing a few threads here and RWI, I decided that there were a few things that I didnt like about it and decided that I wanted to build my own in an "homage" style instead of a replica. I know you guys are fanatics here about replicating original watches and getting every last mm correct on dials and stuff but Im saving that kinda stuff for some of my later collection (and will probably do a real ETA milsub with proper markings etc). For now, I want a sterile homage to my favorite watch of all time to just use as a beater.... First off, Im waiting for an email back from Trevor regarding if I can get just the case alone as it has the welded bars on the lugs that I desire so much. I was wondering if anyone knows the diameter of the dial used in the Trevor milsubs? I found the sterile dial I want to use from rafflestime on ebay. Dial comes in at 29.2mm http://www.ebay.com....=item256a8d0ea9 Along with the proper color matched hands: http://www.ebay.com....=item256f1d3870 I had heard that the Trevor milsub takes gen crystals and bezel inserts. The true 5517 used a Tropic 19 and I seem to have found a cheap acrylic replcaement version here: http://www.ebay.com/...=item43ad4d573d This should fit properly right? The bezel insert on the Trevor 5517 has too many minute hashes around the bezel so I want to replace it with the one from Wholesaleoutlet: http://www.ebay.com/...=item27c14dfa2d I have read that these are a direct replacement and work just fine. Lastly, if I get just the case from Trevor, I am going to need a movement, which I would like to use an Asian 2813 for its bang for the buck (and correct me if I am wrong but its the movement that his watch comes with in the first place) and the parts I have listed above are all for it. Where do I find one of these? There are a few listed on ebay around the $40 range but there seem to be little dfferences in all of them. How do I know which one is right? Also, I am not a watchmaker and the only thing I have ever done to a watch is to switch bands... Is there a go-to guy around here where I could send all this stuff to in order to get it all assembled? Should I check with some of the Seiko modder guys like NEwatchworks, motorcity, internationalwatchworks, etc? Some of the prices on those sites would add up pretty fast to probably over the cost of all my assembled components here! I live in Minneapolis, MN and all of the local watch fixeries and shops either have stupid mall teens that I wouldnt trust a $5 watch with, or else there are insanely high end places like the typical rolex dealers and jewelry stores... Thanks in advance for all of the help I anticipate will surely be posted here! You guys look like the most knowledgeable bunch of replica watch freaks Ive seen on the net! Jamie Minneapolis, MN