thogaa Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 I ordered a 5508 rep from a trusty dealer yesterday. But the factory doesn't make them anymore. Does this mean I cannot obtain a 5508 - IMHO the only true 007ograph? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 5508's are around. But it may be that you might have to consider spending more money for a franken built from parts from Yuki Watch, NDTrading Corp, or Jewelry and Watch. The economy 5508's from the regular dealers aren't very faithful reps, anyway. But with a little modding they can be fun. Keep looking and hopefully you'll find sommething you like. BTW, Consensus seems to be that the true Bond sub was most likely a 6538. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thogaa Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 That's new to me. I see that ETZ have the 6538 on the website. They look alike to me. I wonder what the difference would be (other than $150) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thogaa Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 And the order goes to.... Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Certainly the MBK 6538 is a good choice. The pearl needs work, and some people will nit-pick a few other points, but with some correct aging, it can be made to look nice. I consider these a step above the chinese no crown guard Bond subs. And certainly far cheaper than going the Yuki/NDT/J&W franken route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thogaa Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 It'll most likely get so much wrist time that aging happens naturally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Certainly the MBK 6538 is a good choice. The pearl needs work, and some people will nit-pick a few other points, but with some correct aging, it can be made to look nice. I consider these a step above the chinese no crown guard Bond subs. And certainly far cheaper than going the Yuki/NDT/J&W franken route. Is the crown correct for this model? i went to the Eurotimez website, and they show several views of the 6538. Why did I think this model had the "Brevet" crown? What other problems do es this model have that need correcting? Obviously from the photos, the hands don't match the indicies, sio they would have to be "aged to match" This looks like a great model to do the "Dishwasher through 2 cycles or shaking the case inside a box of rocks for a few minutes. Needs some dings, nicks and a few crystal scratches as well as the hands redone.Any advice apprreciated. Another question has anyone ever done a rep of the gilt dial sub with the brevet crown. Thanks Arthur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thogaa Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 I could just put a nato strap on it and let my 5 year old son wear it one day at kindergarten. That'll ad app 50 years almost instantly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Well Arthur, you've pretty much pointed out the other shortcomings. The only other thing is the crystal- just not quite correct as I recall- T-16 is on the gen, but might not fit on the rep case. Brevet crowns are expensive- seems like someone is repping them now- still not cheap. J&W or NDT would be the places to look. Painting the hands would be relatively easy. It's still a rep, but at least better than the CN no CG's, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo35 Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 5508 love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thogaa Posted November 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 5508 love Stop it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elepaolo Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 (edited) Certainly the MBK 6538 is a good choice. The pearl needs work, and some people will nit-pick a few other points, but with some correct aging, it can be made to look nice. I consider these a step above the chinese no crown guard Bond subs. And certainly far cheaper than going the Yuki/NDT/J&W franken route. There's something else I'd really like to know, guys. Do you know if the MBK 6538 case has the correct dimensions? I mean, we all know that it should be mm 37, not 40 like the models from 5512 onwards. Can someone talk about this? That's even more important, if we consider to put a Yuki or NDT dial in it. Edited November 17, 2009 by elepaolo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 There's something else I'd really like to know, guys. Do you know if the MBK 6538 case has the correct dimensions? I mean, we all know that it should be mm 37, not 40 like the models from 5512 onwards. Can someone talk about this? That's even more important, if we consider to put a Yuki or NDT dial in it. I don't know the case size of the MBK 6538. I would think it's in the 37-38mm range. But remember, a gen 1680 dial won't fit in a 1680 MBK case- the gen dial is a little too big. Not worth it to cut down a gen dial, and too hard to turn the case on a lathe or even enlarge it w/ a dremel. So putting a yuki or ndt dial in an MBK- probably not worth it IMO. A lot of this stuff comes down to just how far do you want to go. The MBK 6538 has its drawbacks, but you'll spend over $2K building a 5508 like JoJo's- probably closer to $3K. You could buy an MBK 6538 for $375 plus swiss eta $25 plus s&h, install a yuki 8mm Brevet crown and tube $280, and put a better bezel from Michael Young on for $120 + s&h. And for under $1000 you'd have a pretty nice rep- less than 1/2 what JoJo spent. When I built my 5508, I spent over $2200 and I'm not finished fine tuning- figure another $150-200. So call it a $2500 watch (with a 1520 movt, not a 1530 which is correct). Don't forget, be it a rep or a franken, it's still not a gen. It's just a question of how much money you want to spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what2 Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 I have had the Pam111 version and the mbk, neither was prefect, the MBK in particular I thought was too thick. I am probably going to order another pam111, sold my other one and miss it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 http://www.prowatch888.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_56_72&products_id=1811 This 5508 isn't great, but you can't go wrong for the price. If the asian eta craps out, maybe you could put a 2846 in for less than $100. Don't know what you do w/ the bezel insert- maybe beat it up and yank the pearl... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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