First full build.
After doing some Casio mods, and swapping the dial on a Vostok, I decided to finally do a full build. I had seen this dial on Reddit, and loved it.
So I went to AliExpress, found that exact dial and then everything needed to make this guy. It's 36mm, is powered by an nh35 movement, the bracelet has screw links, solid end links, and slide adjust. It was a lot of fun to put together, except for installing the seconds hand, that sucked!
With that said, this will definitely not be my last mod. Total cost was about $110, and a little over an hour to put it all together. If you have been thinking about doing this, give it a try. It's a lot of fun!
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That looks cool
Very cool. Nice job!
Oh, that dial reminds me of the Twilight Zone. 😀 I like it.
Cool! I love the case! And design as well, but makes me dizzy 😵💫
Cool! I love the case! And design as well, but makes me dizzy 😵💫
I thought reading it would be confusing, but it's really not. I also forgot to mention that the entire dial is lumed!
I thought reading it would be confusing, but it's really not. I also forgot to mention that the entire dial is lumed!
Oh c’mon you can’t say that and not show a photo of the full lume shot!!
Love the dial!
Nice I have been thinking about doing the same. The part that kinda scares me is if I need to trim the crown stem.
Wow! That looks cool! 😎 Nice job!
Nice I have been thinking about doing the same. The part that kinda scares me is if I need to trim the crown stem.
I had the same fear, so i bought a few extra stems, they are actually pretty cheap. The only tip I can give you is, remove small bits at a time.
Oh c’mon you can’t say that and not show a photo of the full lume shot!!
Awesome!!!
That's ridiculously cool for not a lot. Nice one mate 👍🏻👍🏻
Very cool! I’d wear that for sure!
Congrats man, this is on my list to do
Yeah, I'm all about this. Thanks for posting.
Mamma mia, that is a sweet dial.
I have been thinking about different movements, but not a moon phase or Chrono. I want to find a movement with a sub seconds hand at the 9 o'clock position. I want to do an explorer/luminor mash up.
It sounds like an interesting project, I look forward to see some pictures in near future 👍
Very nice! 👍
🔥🔥
Certainly one for the Dr Who fans. Ahem!
Awesome dial, good work mate!
Certainly one for the Dr Who fans. Ahem!
Old School Who was actually one of my inspirations, I wanted a watch that I could see Jon Pertwee wear!
Old School Who was actually one of my inspirations, I wanted a watch that I could see Jon Pertwee wear!
The credits where that look comes from are a lot more recent than that - the Peter Capaldi era. See https://youtu.be/6p5BEzoGwD4
I’ve been eyeballing this dial for a while now but never really had an idea how to pull it off. You did amazing! Isn’t it cool to have a wristwatch knowing you put it together yourself? So far these are my only 2 builds but I’m currently waiting on parts for the green seiko dial as we speak. I’m looking forward to your future projects! By the way do you mind sharing a link for your bracelet? I’m having trouble finding a decent one with solid end links on a budget.
I finished my Ali Express Build of a Seiko SPB155 (Baby Green Alpinist) with the same exact “Climber” dial earlier this week. I purchased the OEM Alpinist case and bracelet from the Heimdllr store on Ali ($330). The OEM case is fitted for a 30.5mm dial, but the “Climber” dial is 28.5mm. I had to forgo the NH35 movement holder from the OEM case because the dial couldn’t seat against the inner trim ring and the dial was just too loose in the case (after removing the NH35 plastic outer fitment ring). Instead, I put the outer plastic ring back on, went to Hobby Lobby, and purchased 1/8” black art tape and wrapped the outer ring of the NH35 movement until I build up enough thickness for the movement to fit tightly within the case without any crystal interference issues. The unfortunate part is that the decorative gold counterbalance weight on the back of the NH35 movement is stuck in place against the display case back. So, it’s a hand wound watch for now! If you’re looking to match the OEM seconds hand with the orange tip, I have some advise for you! Purchase gold cathedral hands (obviously) and at Hobby Lobby I purchased “Pumpkin” colored acrylic paint for 67 cents and some micro paint paint brushes. I applied painters tape to the hand and painted on the orange tip perfectly. This watch looks almost exactly OEM for 50% the cost! Let me know if you want any pictures 😎
Yeah I’d love to see it! I thought about copying the Alpinist but I decided to go a rather…different route. It should be interesting. Tom Petty was right. The waiting is the hardest part, when ordering from AliExpress. I will be sure to make a post with my build when it’s finished.
And I used to work at hobby lobby years ago. I was about to squeal for joy because I thought for a second you meant hobby lobby had watch hands and parts. (I know they do cheap quartz clock parts but had thought they expanded.) good on you for going the extra mile and getting the paint and tape. I hope you can find something else that lets you seat it in there the right way eventually.
How did you guys learn to build your own watch ? By joining DIY classes ? Or any particular YouTube video ? Pls let me know as I am willing to learn how to make one
I learned a lot from a YouTube channel called “ItsAnotherWatch”, “LumeShot”, and LongIslandWatches. Hope this helps! I’m on my 6th build! Getting easier and easier! No cheaper and cheaper though haha
Very “ Alice in Wonderland “ Very cool 😎
Yeah I’d love to see it! I thought about copying the Alpinist but I decided to go a rather…different route. It should be interesting. Tom Petty was right. The waiting is the hardest part, when ordering from AliExpress. I will be sure to make a post with my build when it’s finished.
And I used to work at hobby lobby years ago. I was about to squeal for joy because I thought for a second you meant hobby lobby had watch hands and parts. (I know they do cheap quartz clock parts but had thought they expanded.) good on you for going the extra mile and getting the paint and tape. I hope you can find something else that lets you seat it in there the right way eventually.
I’ll be curious to see what you come up with for your Alpinist build! A reinterpretation of sorts! Apologies for false hope in Hobby Lobby watch parts haha More like fix my mistakes watch parts haha I see that the Heimdllr Store is now selling OEM Alpinist cases with the inner ring now as they didn’t previously. I wasn’t lucky enough to recieve the custom inner ring, but I’ll message them to fix this inherent OCD problem I have with this build not having a functioning decorative counterbalance wheel.
Also, I feel you on the Ali Express delivery times! My favorite is when the status shows delivered and then 4-5 days later it’s actually delivered 🤪Currently, anxiously awaiting delivery of my King Seiko build!
This wouldn’t be good after a couple puffs of the green stuff