importr

I appreciate the wise words and all thus far; true, it could be a challenge for some - a phase for others. I personally would not spend time & money modding just to sell on though. I mod a watch that I like (therefore am already "attached" to), and don't plan to sell on intentionally. There is too much money to be lost, IMO. Maybe some people have too many watches to use, and ultimately, to justify keeping....as was mentioned already. One thing that I do feel strongly about: I don't think it's "right" to sell a watch for the same value as you bought it for; even if it is immaculate. Getting your money back for geniune parts, fine, as they can be difficult to source...

Avitt....you're just showing off now! ...but I'm enjoying it! I love the richness of the coating

Folks I'm seeing some really, really nice modded-reps for sale here and elsewhere. TopGuns, UPOs, PAMs, Fliegeruhrs etc So much time and money being spent on them, not much use, and then they're up for sale! I'm flummoxed as to Why? I understand if there are financial difficulties...but if its just because one is "bored"? Or has the urge to buy the gen taken over? If i'd invested so much in making a rep as perfect as possible, I think I'd keep it for a long time. I wish I hadn't spent so much money on gen watches already, or I'd have snapped up these fabulous uber-reps like, yesterday! Please, tell me what the "problem" is; guys & girls...

Wow! The gen is a very handsome piece, its size appears bigger than even the SA! Wowsers i bet the boys down at Upton Park are impressed too!

So...here we go! The dial I got is the latest 2009 SA dial, Volcano Black. Arabics in Stencilled effect. It is indeed very nice. My crappy rushed pics don't show the very subtle difference in definition and texture. Its like the difference between v1 Skyland dial and v2 Skyland dial. The v1 is better (apart from the lume blob & date window). The rep dial is still very very good...but me being a compulsive tinkerer, I had to do the swap! Then and Now Both dials are the same diameter and height Printing on the rep is less defined as the on the gen....but only by comparison. If you just had the rep, you don't notice. The lume blobs give it away though. a7750 with correct DW ugly rep dial on left! Hands set and ready for casing Greased up ring-piece! By the way, the gen dial with movement is a perfect fit for the rep case! ...and some more rushed pics!! Overall, I'm very happy with the gen dial. At first, when I opened up the packing to see it, I wasn't sure if I liked the stencils...but now I feel that its bang up to date, and it does away with any lume blob issues! Winner!

Well, i'll be picking up my gen arabic dial tonight... I can't wait to see the difference, guys! Those gen baton dial are gorgeous, but I preferred the contrasting subs for my SA. Plus the arabic dial was like, $100 cheaper to buy!

Damn So you couldn't install an old rep dial and slide rule then. Hmmmm Back to the drawing board hey? I wonder, does this mean that the previous Fighters rep is out of production???

Interesting. Its like 1 step forward, 2 steps back. Great macro pics Pete! The case and the scalloped bezel do indeed look like the gen Fighters Edition. Why didnt they brush it? The white slide rule bezel appears to be narrower than the rep tricompax version - hence the numbers moving further outboard, which is good also. This is proven by the gen dial being too small...? It would appear that to achieve the right look, the height of the taller bezel forced the dial to be made of 2 layers, hence the 2-part subdial. The gen has the "pie-pan" effect. Thereby creating the sunken datewheel look. The datewheel font looks very odd. Like nothing that we normally see on a7750s? The crystal should be a high bubble mineral glass, with double AR (like the gen). Profile similar to that of a PAM 253. Other dial flaws: the tachymetre markings, the 60 and 1000 etc are too small the Automatic (subdial @6) is too big Questions: Is it better than the old version? 50/50 I reckon Can the new bezel be switched over to the old version? I think what the factory should have done is to keep the white slide rule Dimensions as previous (but with correct printing), and keep the First version 1 piece dial. Install a much thicker crystal, which would take up the height of the new metal bezel, and also make the slide rule and dial appear to be shallower.

If you've never done a movt swap before, practice with a $10 cheap & nasty watches. When you get good at switching hands around without damaging anything, then move up to your good watches. Unless you really like the idea of messing about with watches, then you'd have to invest in a lot of time and expense. Even as an amateur, I've spent countless days/weeks messing with watches and wrecking cases and movements over the years. To install an ETA 7750 into a rep takes me between an hour to 2 hours (if there are unforeseen issues). The Carrera took a while longer due to modding the date window . This is what you need for removing movt, hands & refitting: Case openers - Jaxa (3-prong) type, 2-prong type, and the Bergeon short stick (with rubber end). These are needed for all the various case backs you'll encounter while watch collecting. Jeweller screwdrivers - A&F standard. Try to avoid cheap & nasty 'drivers as all they do is slip and wreck screwheads & movts. Tweezers - needle nose. Steel and plastic types (for hands) Movement holder Hands lifter - the Presto type Dial protector - for covering the dial prior to lifting hands Hands broaching set - for enlarging Chrono hand tube on the asian 7750. I bodge it by using a fine sewing needle! This is for the ETA 7750 swap by the way. Hands setting tool Rodico (sticky putty for picking up dirt) Case blower Silicon grease (for gaskets) Eye loupe (checking for dirt on dial, movt and crystal etc., also for checking hands clearance esp. on chronographs) I'm not going into detail about how to do it as there's plenty of tutorials about on how to swap movts etc., so you'll have to do another search. Besides, its too much for me to type while I'm at work! lol Check out these guides for watch modding: http://www.pmwf.com/Watches/Watches.htm#WatchSchool Finally, Yes the rep hands are fragile. Again, I've wrecked a number of hands sets whilst doing mods. Over time and practice you do learn how to treat them with care!

Well, that will be some feat then! To me, the rep dial already looks to be very good quality!

Great pics matey Those PAMs are impressive! Xmas come early hey?!

Lovely work Did we ever get to see a lume shot of this?

Guys I received a new Super Avenger yesterday...rep of course. What a fabulous watch, an absolute monster too! It is the previous Black dialled model with Arabics and silver eyes. I've ordered a gen dial (the same type) from DC. What are the tells between gen and rep? So far the only thing I can see is 1) Lume blobs - flatter on the gen

I like it. There's a whole bunch of people out there that don't like the stencilled numbers that would like it too. Especially those who think a Super Avenger is too big. I would personally prefer a Skyland (or new Avenger) to have a brushed finish. There's too many blinged out Breitlings in the current line up IMO.

Hi folks My friends 253R (A7750) somehow managed to pop the crystal into a few pieces. Other than asking a dealer, is there anywhere else I can obtain a new crystal (pref. AR'd) for him? He loves his PAM to death, and wants it restored asap. Thanks

"CENTIFUGAL SYSTEM" http://www.jpc8118.com/0065a-p-7627.html It looks extremely thick cased too

Great work! All you need now is a good AR and it's a perfect rep! what do you use to remove/install the crown tube? I have a couple of gen tubes and crowns coming in for 2 UPOs and am wondering about DIY or give to my w/smith my gen 42mm

old pic, but this is what I'm wearing today

The watch itself is excellent, for the money, but my rubber strap should've been better and same goes for the lume. You can see the difference in the first lume pic.

You're welcome

Howdy, sorry about the late reply: Now, these colours are from Humbrol. A range of paints available in the UK. 60 Scarlet (matte) 34 White (matte) if you google humbrol paint chart you'll find the codes. If you use another brand, I guess you'll just have to wear the watch to the shop to compare

Here's the pics of the re-lume I initially did only the main markers to see what the difference was then the whole thing - on the holder with the PC on in the background I suppose i should do the bezel marker too!

Hi guys, 1) Yes i believe it is the same IHS as the GMT-II's. It works fine aswell. 2) Yes I simply painted the second hand using flat red and flat white enamel for model making 3) As much as I like the clasp, the strap sucks, because the rubber compound is the cheap variety. It does need a thick (at least 3mm) leather strap to finish it off. I tried on a few standard 22mm straps but the case is too chunky

Relumed dial and hands, corrected second hand! Thats it! lol i did have a lume shot, but can't find it on the PC yet....

I got my U2 yesterday, it is indeed a very nice and simplistic watch. My only gripe so far, is the rubber strap: Its supple and comfortable to wear, but its the dust attracting type of compound! and JDKNO, yes the pins in the strap are simply there to stop dirt etc from getting inside the strap.