TeeJay

I'm more than very interested in these decals. I have a dual blank for the right size I need and this will simplify my project for a 5514 Tudor sub. E

I believe they were printed onto water-transfer paper using a high quality laser jet printer (1200 dpi is coming to mind, but may be wrong) The design of the slides was created using AutoCAD software, but I'm afraid I don't know any more than that... Hope it's of help

STEBLEHOX clasp :thumbsupsmileyanim:

Excellent result I have plans to do something very similar for a 1665 project using the enamel to block the yellow, and then to apply a luminous paint I have which dries almost transparent. The brand is called Americana, and it has the original name of 'glow in the dark paint'... Another paint which makes an excellent lume (although obviously not as good as the stuff Freddy has listed) is NightColor, by Revell I'm pleased to see that the enamel does mask the yellow, so that's another green light for me

I still have it... It's sized to fit an a21j movement, and not in the best condition after the procedure, but it's yours if you want it

still in your possession?

I'll check my parts tray, it might've got lost when my tray spilled while cleaning my room after pipes burst in the attic, but bear with me, and keep your fingers crossed

So uncool, what is the matter with these twats? Stay safe, folks

TeeJay-

I have this case, dial and 2824 movement if you want them:

Wow, that would be fantastic, thankyou, I could definitely put those parts to good use, especially the 1655 case, as that will provide a fine base for creating a homage to Oliver Shepard's custom 1655:

Fantastic amalgamation

I have - but not with this 76100.

Has anyone tried doing that mod yet? Looks to me to be nearly impossible without bending/damaging the hands. I have steady hands, but not that steady.

Best dial combo ever :tu:

I have tried the mod, but it is really fiddly to do, and in the end, I couldn't be bothered to actually install the hand

That DD definitely deserves the pristine bracelet, it's a stunning watch, and I suspect that photos don't come close to capturing the appearance the dial has to the naked eye That watch inspired another of my 'drawing board' projects. I've found a site which can provide the same bracelet/case configuration, with a date-only white dial with the same minute markings as on the DD, but only labeled 'Date' rather than DateJust. In terms of modifications, all I'll be doing is matte-spraying the dial, but I'm hoping for positive results

Let me dig around and see what I have. If I come across anything that looks interesting... I'll send it your way...

That would be fantastic, thankyou

TeeJay-

What parts do you need for your projects?

Almost all the projects are pretty much complete builds, requiring entire watches, such as the 1655, and 16800. Even my DateJust projects require entire watches for various parts The least part-intensive project would be my snowflake, that needs an insert, snowflake hands, and the movement (I believe that is a 2824?)

I'm not bored of the hobby, I can't ever see myself 'outgrowing' my obsession with watches the way I outgrew interests like Star Wars, I'm just stuck in a rut financially at the moment (and have been for some time) It's nothing serious, I have a roof over my head and food in the cupboards, that's not an issue, so don't start panicking that I'm going to have to start selling my organs to put food on the table, I just have almost no disposable income whatsoever, which means I simply can't afford to buy even the most budget of budget reps at the moment (waiting on a PPI refund though, which might at least get one project accomplished ) It's like yesterday, I had to take my cuy to the vet to get his foot seen to. A lump of bedding material had somehow bonded to one of his toes, and even soaking in the bath couldn't loosen it, so I knew he had to go to the vet before it turned into a serious infection. 15 minute procedure, and he's fine, but as a result, there goes any spare cash I had for the moment... Such is the responsibility of a pet owner...

I think I'm probably more interested in watches now than I ever have been, and researching new pieces and projects all the time. I've got about six projects on the drawing board at the moment, and £1000 should see them all brought to fruition With regard posting, well, I'm pretty limited in what I can contribute, afterall, there's only so many times I can post the same wrist shot I just try and add something to a conversation if I can, but for the most part, I'm pretty much just stuck in neutral at the moment

[Edit to add]

While we initially purchased Norfolk as a regular guinea pig, the additional toes he had on each back foot (had to be removed by the vet as they were not attached by joints, just loose skin, so could have snagged and ripped off) and his rapid growth, lead us to realize he is at least part-Peruvian Cuy. He's about 18 months old, and when sitting, is 14 inches long (that's not even at full stretch) Once the additional toes were removed(one on each rear foot, fully formed with bones,skin, growing claw, hair etc, just no knuckle joining it to the foot) the shape of his feet made it clear that each foot had the bone to accommodate the additional toe, it just lacked the knuckle for said toe to properly attach to the foot... He also eats twice as much as our other regular guinea pigs, and his size is clear from the scale with my fingers

Congrats mate....

But now that thought of you going commando is indelibly etched into my psyche... !

Thanks, dude, at least you know those days're over

Are those stock shots or did I just witness a serving of your 'gentleman potatos'

Stock photos the blog owner added for illustration of the styles I was discussing

lol congrats! but please ; NSFW!!

Thanks

Man, can you imagine how perfect you could get with a COMEX dial? The overlay of "COMEX" onto white onto black might actually look right.

I'd not considered that, but yes, that would be pretty much spot on, and probably look good at anything upto maybe 12 inches/close inspection, where COMEX would then look too flat against the rest of the dial, but other than that, yes, it could definitely work :thumbsupsmileyanim:

Looking good That's an interesting technique in applying the lume over the top of the matte coat When I did my 6200 dial, I lumed them varnished, but would I be right in thinking that your technique creates a noticeable difference in texture between the lume and the dial?

That's a fascinating read! Do you have photos of the decals before applying? From the description it sounds like they have to *exactly* lie above each other so the text can show through both superimposed cutouts. No way could I align them that precisely!

What text and icon will you engrave into the caseback?

What you need to do now is get an old MBW crown and machine a bevel onto the "case" side, so it looks like a 702.

I don't have a pic of the uncut decals, but the base layer has larger rectangular areas left clear, which each section of text on the top layer then fits over, not literally two layers of text to line up I'm sure Slartibartfast would be proud to see his decals being used in such an awesome project

i assume you cant make any more of these dials...? cause, honestly it looks better than yukis.

did you even get that case back engraving thing sorted?

Without the AutoCAD software and high dpi printer to create the decals, Slartibartfast was the only source, and sadly, he hasn't been posting for a while

Because so many of the watches have survived & so few original inserts have accompanied them, even to the hard-core TZ (& VRF) elitists, a 6542 with an aftermarket (or later gen version) insert is often acceptable. Therefore, exceptions are often made for this model.

The fact is that some of our frankens (those powered by gen motors behind gen dials (even if repainted) in gen cases) are so nearly gen that you can no longer simply dismiss them out-of-hand as non-gens. The line has blurred. And I say that having been a TZ member for more than 10 years (I preceded 2 of their Rolex Mods ).

I agree entirely, but as above, try posting the watch on a gen forum and seeing how well it goes down From what I've seen of the behavior on such forums, there'd be some initial 'ooohs and ahhs', some yahoo would then call it out as a fake, and then it would all descend into a witchhunt and name-calling... I quite agree, the kind of watches you're discussing should still receive the kudos from someone who is a genuine watch enthusiast, and viewing them as 'a watch', sadly, the attitudes I've seen on those forums seem to be somewhat 'blinkered' Either way, it's still a fine build and a historically interesting piece

My "it's been sitting in my watch box for generations, I need to restore soon" vintage Benrus Ultra-Deep...

Must be a navy man T

I would think so, from the tats he has. I didn't want to post the entire photo, as I just wanted to focus on the Sub

ha, ha, ah...Very funny!

It's not a joke, it's a photo of the photo in the book...

True (& with all due respect to the Pythons), but I still would not call it a model.

I have to admit, I thought the original comment was refering to the model/issue of watch, ie model 1665, model 1680, rather than calling it a model as in an airfix model. It does highlight quite well one of the main reasons (other than financial restraints) that I haven't ever wanted to get into the more accurate and expensive builds... We all know that the pieces which go in are what makes the watch what it is, not the brandname factory who builds them, and even then, it is the pursuit of said pieces and their acquisition which make the watches more than the sum of its parts But as far as the TZ elitists are concerned, it doesn't matter if it has 100% gen parts used, or all bits from 21j models, as far as they're concerned, if a Rolex-trained smith didn't build it, it's still 'just a fake', so given that blinkered rationale, I figure if expensive parts are still considered just as 'fake' as the cheap parts, whatver I build would always be considered 'just a fake' by the elitists, so as I'm not trying to impress anyone, I might as well save myself cash and build cheap

M8 I drive a '63 Land Rover now, eh? Doesn't that make me at least part British?

"My Land Rover doesn't leak oil, it marks its territory"

I guess that's close enough

Yeah, having it lost in Canadian customs for 3 months wasn't the worst part. The worst part was thinking "How am I going to explain this to J and keep my name on the Good Boys list?"

It eventually came back to me, packaging all torn to heck, with a huge orange sticker across the torn opening saying "CANADIAN CUSTOMS REFUSES ENTRY OF ALL COUNTERFEIT GOODS".

Pffffffft. [censored].

And the best part? J kept me on the list.

Awesome to see the word used by a non-Brit

Model? Except for the insert & paint (on the gen gmt dial), this grail is the real deal

Try saying that on a gen forum and seeing how well it goes down

I found this photo in the book 1000 Tattoos, and thought I'd share. It is simply listed as '1970s'