201/A Pre-V Project Complete...I think

[atomic_doug]

Hi guys and gals,

I hate to pile on and add another "hey my 201/A project is done too!" thread but...well, hey, my 201/A project is done as well.

I did all the work myself, but I'd have no idea how to do any of it if not for the great info on this forum.

The specs:

Unknown case (might be an old DSN) with no strap-notch.

C3 crystal (without AR, of course)

FGD dial

Gen service hands

ETA 6497-1 movement

Gen crown with DSN round tube

DSN CG

DSN caseback

The work:

Case reshaped to have softer edges and shoulders, lugs drilled out and reshaped to 'drop off'

Rehaut polished

Canon pin flattened

CG reshaped and pin flattened (and given a circular graining)

Pressure tested to 100m. It's probably got more in it, but I don't dive.

I haven't varnished the dial yet because I'm still deciding on whether or not to paint the indices a different color. It doesn't look quite right to me. Maybe I've just been staring at it too long. Also, I want to get a Mario Paci sharkskin strap. I think that would look sweet.

Sorry for the lousy pics. That's the next skill I have to pick up.

If there's some little (which is to say, major) thing that I'm missing please let me know.

I can't get the angle right to show the reflection of the numbers in the rehaut, but it's there.

Dust on the crystal. Definitely no AR, haha.

[atomic_doug]

(I'm not thread-bumping, but I don't seem to have an edit button anymore.)

Update:

I re-painted the dial, and now I think it looks a lot better. It's actually paint-filled-looking and you can see the reflections of the numbers in the rehaut. The numbers look fatter too.

[daevildog]

Fantastic work, the dial looks much improved!!!

[atomic_doug]

Thanks. I decided non-matching was the way to go.

I was very nervous painting the dial and I still haven't varnished it. FGD dials may be quite tough, but varnishing is that step you can never un-do.

[mir36]

Great job painting the indices! What did you use to paint them?

The dial "didn't look right" before because the indices were in the original unpainted/unlumed condition which later FGD dials were sold.

I would suggest not varnishing the dial and keeping it as is for now. Let it age nicely.

Edited June 21, 2012 by mir36

[atomic_doug]

Thanks!

The dial indices were just raw brass before?! Ha! Now I'm really glad I painted them.

I used Vallejo brand model acrylics. (If there are any tabletop miniature fans on the board, they'll be familiar with the brand)

It was a mixture of bleached bone, golden yellow, and a tiny hint of fiery orange to get the Non-matching Tritium color.

I used a drop of Future floor wax in the paint to help it flow better in the recesses. (It cuts the surface tension in the water.) When the paint flows well, you don't actually have to 'brush' the paint into the recess. It's more like 'placing' some paint into the recess and it will flow to fit the shape of the index. You just need to draw the brush along the shape of the index and it will pull the paint up the walls of the index, which is gen correct. (It would be incorrect if you were doing a pre-A dial, though, since the sides of the cutouts weren't painted.) Also, a #2 liner brush. Also, always water down your paints.

The paints are acrylic, so they will never age. However, they have a slightly 'dusty' look that the gens don't have. The varnishing will solve this and also cut down on a lot of the dial sheen. Projectologist has been helping me with the varnishing step.

This one is my super-anal-retentive project that is never quite done and has been through nearly a dozen iterations. The only constant has been the movement.

Edited June 21, 2012 by atomic_doug

[mir36]

I used Vallejo brand model acrylics. (If there are any tabletop miniature fans on the board, they'll be familiar with the brand)

It was a mixture of bleached bone, golden yellow, and a tiny hint of fiery orange to get the Non-matching Tritium color.

I used a drop of Future floor wax in the paint to help it flow better in the recesses. (It cuts the surface tension in the water.)

Thanks for the tip! I figured it must've been some high quality acrylic paint for lead wargaming figures. I was planning to use warhammer paints, but I'll go the Vellejo route now.

Are there any alternatives to Future Floor Wax for cutting the surface tension? They don't sell this where I live.

[atomic_doug]

GW paints are fine for Space Marines, but I wouldn't use them on an FGD dial.

The Vallejo paints have a much higher pigment density, meaning you can get greater color coverage with thinner paint. (For models, this means never obscuring a figure's face. For a dial, it doesn't have the same detail, but it does mean you'll only have to do one pass over an index. This is important, because it's the touch-up where all the mistakes happen.

Future is now called "Pledge Wood Floor Finish with Future Shine". You can only get it in big bottles, but if you have wood floors it's a nice bonus. I bought my bottle of it eons ago. (In the UK, it's called "Klear".)

You don't need a lot. When I'm painting, I'll mix up a batch of five-six parts water and one part Future. That's what you use when I'm watering down your paints. Clean water for washing brushes and Future water for mixing paints.

Once you've got your color mixed up and watered, you load up your brush and make a single clean pass through the index. If it's a curved number, you can do it in two strokes, since the paint will flow instead of quickly drying and lumping up.

[mir36]

Awesome! I know what I'll be doing this weekend! I knew a mis-spent childhood painting lead soldiers would someday pay off.