TeeJay Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Okay, I'm sure you all remember Slartibartfast's awesome Ranger dial project, well, since then, Slartibartfast and I have been in collaboration to explore the medium of dial transfers as a viable substitute dial. Given the recent popularity of Tudors, and as the previous project had been a Ranger, it made sense to stick with the Tudor theme, and in the end, we wound up going with a no-date Snowflake dial. The process of producing the dial, Slartibartfast documented in his above linked tutorial/pictorial, so all I am doing here, is reviewing the dial 'as a product', and presenting it to the community as a fun project, which has given very good results Any questions, I would suggest to direct to Slartibartfast, as he is the one who actually brought this all to fruition, I was merely a sounding board and reviewer. While Slartibartfast has very kindly gifted me the dial reviewed, that has not in any way biassed my view of the dial, because I am genuinely impressed by the finished result, and would have given a positive review even if the dial was not to remain in my possession. Onto words and pictures (who remembers that old classic? ) The actual face of the dial, is, as in the above linked tutorial, a high-quality print onto water transfer paper. Here are a couple of 'raw transfers' so people can see how they look 'coming off the line', to bear in mind when comparing to the actual finished dial... Here's a better shot to show the clarity of the printing... After application, the dial was painted with luminous paint (not superlume, although I can only imagine how awesome a superlumed dial would look) and then sprayed with matte varnish. While I have been told that the transfer would not withstand getting wet, and that the edge can be a weak point, for the transfer to potentially seperate from the base dial, I can honestly say that I found no such problems when installing the dial. While I handled the dial gently during installation, I did not treat it any more gently than I would any other dial transplant, and there was no issue whatsoever. Here's a few shots to comparing the dial to a Silix Vintage dial. Personally, I think the quality is comparable. The varnish gives the dial an awesome texture, the text is clearly and crisply printed, and I think it looks fantastic Here it is installed on the movement (I decided not to go with the destro setup in the end, as I just wasn't feeling it) And all cased up... I am not happy with the condition of the watch case, as I really want to get a black insert back in place, but at the moment, it's financially not an option, so I'm making do with the bare metal. That said, while I was not over happy with the condition of the NATO sub 24 hours ago, I am now thoroughly overjoyed with it, and would be happy to wear it publicly, even though it is still quite some way from accurate to the gen... From this point on, please excuse the condition of the crystal, as it obscures the clarity of the dial, but to the naked eye, on the wrist, the dial is incredibly clear and easy to read. Certainly the clearest Rolex dial I've seen, and on a line with Panerai clarity/ease of visibility. Could this be to do with the square indices being more noticeable to the eye than circular ones? I don't know... Either way, on the wrist, the dial is very easy to read at a glance With its equally vintaged blood-brother: Standing proud: And a final wrist shot As above, 'happy' does not begin to cover how pleased I am with the dial, and what an awesome start it has gotten my Snowflake project off to. Slartibartfast is a true gentleman, and collaborating with him on this project has truly been a pleasure R, thank you again for your generosity in gifting me the dial, it really is very much appreciated, and if you'd care to add a few words about the production of the dial and the issues overcome, please feel free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Holy Crap...that's really cool T!! Slick as...we'll SLICK!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Very, very, very cool TJ!!! Nice job. Who did the lume? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Thanks for the feedback, guys, I cannot take any credit here, as all the construction of this dial was done by R. He just sent me a couple of uncut transfers incase I wanted to play around with them myself, the dial arrived fully finished, and fixed to the brass backing disc All I did, was cobbled together a photoshop version of the dial layout, which he then refined into the final prints Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterOfPuppets Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 great job brother, looks beautiful well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 great job brother, looks beautiful well done Many thanks, brother, but all I did was take the photos and case it up, Slartibartfast is the master craftsman here, so all the praise must go to him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Wow...awesome TJ !!! loooookin Gooooood TJ.. congrats to you and SBF and props again to Ubi.. nothing like team work .. A~C L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 TeeJay, thank you very much for such a positive review of my dial making attempts. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with someone with such a passion for this hobby of ours. Artwork inspiration was all down to you. I am seriously of the opinion that anyone with access to a vector drawing prog (such as autocad) and a 1200dpi laserjet can have a go at dial making themselves. The only serious bit is the luming, at which you will need some practice (using a loupe) prior to committing to the final dial. Here is a shot of the two I made TeeJay's dial is the one on the left (better 12 0'clock marker lume IMO). Thanks to all for the comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Freaking great job Teejay!!! Very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Thanks for the feedback, guys, once again, I must point out that it was Slartibartfast who did all the hard work on this project, and it was he, who constructed and lumed the dials I'm just the monkey who cased it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlaletom Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Whaow handsome job. And very interesting thechnique. I had thaught of that for changing font on a date disk (p196 7753 brob), but never even imagined it would be so cool for a dial. After luming it does look like if was a normal dial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Whaow handsome job. And very interesting thechnique. I had thaught of that for changing font on a date disk (p196 7753 brob), but never even imagined it would be so cool for a dial. After luming it does look like if was a normal dial. Indeed, R first used the technique for changing a date wheel font As you say, once the transfer is lumed and varnished, it really does look like it is a regular dial. The crazing on the crystal picked up the light, which obscured the dial in the photos, but on the wrist, the crystal appears much 'clearer', and, given the quality of the finished dial, I would be quite happy to install one under a 'clean' sapphire crystal, and hope to be able to do so with a future project watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Me likey! how long did the whole thing take not including creating the dial template? Any plans to sell dials? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Me likey! how long did the whole thing take not including creating the dial template? Any plans to sell dials? Well, we've been working on the project for over a month, but R would be the best person to say how long it took to actually do, as he did all the practical work. If I remember, it took me a few hours to create the original dial template, which he then refined into something more useable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddog Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Me Likey!!! Wow, I now have hope that I'll Be able to get that small rose 27mm closed minute track dial done finally!! Impressive work , both of you! Cheers Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Me Likey!!! Wow, I now have hope that I'll Be able to get that small rose 27mm closed minute track dial done finally!! Impressive work , both of you! Cheers Ed Thanks Your project sounds pretty awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Me likey! how long did the whole thing take not including creating the dial template? Any plans to sell dials? The creation of the dial has defined stages after creating the graphics and printing the decals 1. Apply the white backing sheet to dial blank 2. Apply base tansfer decal 3. Apply dial decal 4. Trim edges of decals to fit dial blank 5. Apply 1st coat of lume to indices 6. Apply top coat of lume to indices 7. Spray dial with matt acrylic varnish 8. Cut out central opening for hands. Whole process takes about 4 days, as drying time for decals, lume, varnish etc. is very important. BTW..... I have one other dial, that I made at the same time as the dial reviewed by TeeJay. If there is any interest, I was thinking about putting it up for a RWG Fund Raiser Auction. All proceeds (less the cost of shipping) to the RWG fund. Any interest anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick1972 Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Amazing work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demsey Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Whoa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyberetta Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Yes, I would be interested as I am sure other members and RWG would be too! The creation of the dial has defined stages after creating the graphics and printing the decals 1. Apply the white backing sheet to dial blank 2. Apply base tansfer decal 3. Apply dial decal 4. Trim edges of decals to fit dial blank 5. Apply 1st coat of lume to indices 6. Apply top coat of lume to indices 7. Spray dial with matt acrylic varnish 8. Cut out central opening for hands. Whole process takes about 4 days, as drying time for decals, lume, varnish etc. is very important. BTW..... I have one other dial, that I made at the same time as the dial reviewed by TeeJay. If there is any interest, I was thinking about putting it up for a RWG Fund Raiser Auction. All proceeds (less the cost of shipping) to the RWG fund. Any interest anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4GTR Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Great collaboration project with amazing returns! I hope you wear it well T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Fantastic i have some of these decals so i think i have to get round to working with them. #Great work you guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 Great collaboration project with amazing returns! I hope you wear it well T Thanks, it hasn't been off the wrist since the new dial (well, other than bathing, as I don't want to get the strap wet ) But I'm definitely preferring Tudor to Rolex now in terms of dial variations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archibald Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 What a great Project!! Even better, it can be improved with a small investment of dough (maybe 20 bucks) and a couple of techniques I stumbled accross while working on datewheel projects... Shoot me a PM TJ and I'll point you in the right direction... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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