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Post by C4L18R3 on May 1, 2015 20:28:54 GMT -8
I think that the sweep/seconds hands on any watch play a very critical role in finishing off the looks of the entire watch. From the open red triangle tip chrono seconds on Breitlings to the bright blue or orange lance seconds of 6139s, Heuers and Omegas, to the opposite lumed ball ones on Seiko divers and the bright yellow airplane tips found on pilot watches from Sinn, Oris or Hamilton - there is so much variety and character in these details! Imagine my frustration when I started to get interested in having my watches modded. Yes there were many choices out there from Jake and Harold but I always felt that I had to compromise. For example, if you needed an orange lance second or a yellow airplane for a pilot mod, you won't find any. Or if you wanted a sky blue lance second for a blue rally bezeled 6309, you won't find one. Or if you just wanted a red-orange version of the original SKX007 seconds hand... there's none. I have 2 mod projects now waiting for parts and was again faced with the same choices in hands and thought maybe this time I'll do something about it. Summoning all my scale modelling skills from decades ago, I came up with these:  It's a work in progress but I think I'm getting there in terms of making the paint process more durable/consistent. There are a few which aren't on the pic as they're packed and ready to be sent to Harold for assembly. You will see they're not perfect but hey, I think for the stuff that I plan they'll do just fine. I'll eventually sell the ones I won't need. Learning how to relume will be the next step. After that, I'd like to take the leap and start modding on my own. What do you guys think?  All comments welcome. |
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Post by carlows on May 1, 2015 20:37:20 GMT -8
They surely look colorful... In some cases I would like some color on the seconds hands myself, however I also like the lume so I can tell that the watch is ticking in the dark. I am not at all skilled in painting such small parts and tried only once, totally failed and left it alone. I find these hands cool and interesting, but the key here is if you like them, if you do, then you are home free.  |
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Post by C4L18R3 on May 1, 2015 20:43:23 GMT -8
They surely look colorful... In some cases I would like some color on the seconds hands myself, however I also like the lume so I can tell that the watch is ticking in the dark. I am not at all skilled in painting such small parts and tried only once, totally failed and left it alone. I find these hands cool and interesting, but the key here is if you like them, if you do, then you are home free. I understand exactly what you mean. These hands aren't for everyone I know. From what I intended, they will match certain diver, pilot or military mods and will act as accents. Color should be used properly to achieve the right effect. |
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Post by stevenjohn on May 2, 2015 5:07:46 GMT -8
I always like it when they placed the lume opposite of the long side of the hand. I think it visually balances the weight.
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Post by C4L18R3 on May 2, 2015 5:19:10 GMT -8
I always like it when they placed the lume opposite of the long side of the hand. I think it visually balances the weight. I couldn't agree more. When moving it also gives the watch face a different sense of motion. |
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Thomas
WIS
Nun Gut
Posts: 1,480 
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Post by Thomas on May 2, 2015 5:33:17 GMT -8
I think those hands are quite visually interesting and will look terrific on the proper "pilot" or "GMT" watch. I've seen plenty of those kinds of watches with the "airplane" or "big triangle" second hand or GMT hand, and the hands look appropriate and lively.  I say "well done" to you Caliber (?)!! I keenly anticipate seeing them on your projects in the future. Perhaps some of the hand color can be reflected using color lume?  - Thomas |
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Post by saul on May 2, 2015 6:42:15 GMT -8
Painting the white lance red on an SKX sweep is never a bad thing.  |
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Post by docmac88 on May 2, 2015 7:16:18 GMT -8
I have grown to really like a " splash of color" on the hands after leaning toward monotone hands dial and marker in the past
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Post by russtmurray on May 2, 2015 7:30:56 GMT -8
Alright and well done! I could not agree more with respect to those dashes of colour. I have always fancied a yellow sweep hand and in some cases like Zixen, an orange outlined hand with yellow insert is great looking too. It would be nice if the OEM hands (particularly Seiko) came in a more variety of colour. Good on you for taking this on. I had to laugh when you referenced scale model building. I was into 1/25th car models as a teenager but I don't know if I could call upon those long lost skills again. Besides, my challenge starts after swapping straps and bracelets. I let others do the work for me!
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Post by C4L18R3 on May 3, 2015 3:43:28 GMT -8
I think those hands are quite visually interesting and will look terrific on the proper "pilot" or "GMT" watch. I've seen plenty of those kinds of watches with the "airplane" or "big triangle" second hand or GMT hand, and the hands look appropriate and lively. I say "well done" to you Caliber (?)!! I keenly anticipate seeing them on your projects in the future. Perhaps some of the hand color can be reflected using color lume? - Thomas I actually thought of giving some of them colored lume, this is the next step. As it is I'm quite satisfied and will probably add C1 lume to the big triangle ones when I am able to. Thanks! |
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Post by C4L18R3 on May 3, 2015 3:49:15 GMT -8
Alright and well done! I could not agree more with respect to those dashes of colour. I have always fancied a yellow sweep hand and in some cases like Zixen, an orange outlined hand with yellow insert is great looking too. It would be nice if the OEM hands (particularly Seiko) came in a more variety of colour. Good on you for taking this on. I had to laugh when you referenced scale model building. I was into 1/25th car models as a teenager but I don't know if I could call upon those long lost skills again. Besides, my challenge starts after swapping straps and bracelets. I let others do the work for me! I was into car models too! In fact even then, customization was my 'thing.' I miss doing some of them now but unfortunately I don't have the time these days. Ahhh, those model cars were good fun |
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Post by russtmurray on May 3, 2015 6:07:35 GMT -8
Alright and well done! I could not agree more with respect to those dashes of colour. I have always fancied a yellow sweep hand and in some cases like Zixen, an orange outlined hand with yellow insert is great looking too. It would be nice if the OEM hands (particularly Seiko) came in a more variety of colour. Good on you for taking this on. I had to laugh when you referenced scale model building. I was into 1/25th car models as a teenager but I don't know if I could call upon those long lost skills again. Besides, my challenge starts after swapping straps and bracelets. I let others do the work for me! I was into car models too! In fact even then, customization was my 'thing.' I miss doing some of them now but unfortunately I don't have the time these days. Ahhh, those model cars were good fun The same with me. Enjoyed "wiring" the engines & entering model contests and the like. In fact, I still have a few unassembled kits around here somewhere.....I should probably move 'em on. Lots of great memories for sure. |
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Post by 69ChevelleSS on May 3, 2015 6:14:39 GMT -8
Alright and well done! I could not agree more with respect to those dashes of colour. I have always fancied a yellow sweep hand and in some cases like Zixen, an orange outlined hand with yellow insert is great looking too. It would be nice if the OEM hands (particularly Seiko) came in a more variety of colour. Good on you for taking this on. I had to laugh when you referenced scale model building. I was into 1/25th car models as a teenager but I don't know if I could call upon those long lost skills again. Besides, my challenge starts after swapping straps and bracelets. I let others do the work for me! I was into car models too! In fact even then, customization was my 'thing.' I miss doing some of them now but unfortunately I don't have the time these days. Ahhh, those model cars were good fun I say "go for it". Any personal touch you make to a watch will make that watch all the more meaningful to you and give you more enjoyment every time you wear it. As for me . . . . I still play with toy cars! Take them apart and modify with more details!   |
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Post by 69ChevelleSS on May 3, 2015 6:15:39 GMT -8
I was into car models too! In fact even then, customization was my 'thing.' I miss doing some of them now but unfortunately I don't have the time these days. Ahhh, those model cars were good fun The same with me. Enjoyed "wiring" the engines & entering model contests and the like. In fact, I still have a few unassembled kits around here somewhere.....I should probably move 'em on. Lots of great memories for sure. Depending on the age and subject matter, they could be surprisingly valuable! |
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Post by russtmurray on May 3, 2015 6:28:19 GMT -8
The same with me. Enjoyed "wiring" the engines & entering model contests and the like. In fact, I still have a few unassembled kits around here somewhere.....I should probably move 'em on. Lots of great memories for sure. Depending on the age and subject matter, they could be surprisingly valuable! I was kind of wondering that myself. I also have a number of assembled 1/25th models that have since fallen apart. Would imagine the decals for the unassembled kits are probably too old & brittle as well. Btw, I love that gasser with the Halibrand wheels, is it die-cast? Reckon we should go the pm route since we have obviously hijacked this thread! |
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Post by 69ChevelleSS on May 3, 2015 6:38:33 GMT -8
Depending on the age and subject matter, they could be surprisingly valuable! I was kind of wondering that myself. I also have a number of assembled 1/25th models that have since fallen apart. Would imagine the decals for the unassembled kits are probably too old & brittle as well. Btw, I love that gasser with the Halibrand wheels, is it die-cast? Reckon we should go the pm route since we have obviously hijacked this thread! You're 100% correct . . . PM sent. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Hey C4L . . . . how about some pics of those watches when you get them back? |
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Post by C4L18R3 on May 3, 2015 7:46:52 GMT -8
I was kind of wondering that myself. I also have a number of assembled 1/25th models that have since fallen apart. Would imagine the decals for the unassembled kits are probably too old & brittle as well. Btw, I love that gasser with the Halibrand wheels, is it die-cast? Reckon we should go the pm route since we have obviously hijacked this thread! You're 100% correct . . . PM sent. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Hey C4L . . . . how about some pics of those watches when you get them back? Definitely! I can't wait to hand them over to Harold No worries hijacking the thread with model cars! Anything car related is a good thing. Unfortunately I'm currently based in a place where its pretty expensive to do the things I really love. Back home I graduated from making model kits to actual car modifying and racing. My heart is in autocross (Solo in the US), rallying and hill-climbing (the latter being better than actual sex if you ask me) LOL. Back to watches... as a teaser (mostly to me) here's a photo of some of the parts that I'll be using...  Hands, date wheels, inserts, a Superdome kit, a Murphy bezel... I can't wait. Both are 'pilot' inspired mods which I'll post as soon as they're back! |
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Post by C4L18R3 on May 16, 2015 1:19:55 GMT -8
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Post by russtmurray on May 16, 2015 6:24:09 GMT -8
Well done, they look great!
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Post by meepokta on May 16, 2015 6:29:25 GMT -8
Wow, these look great with the red / yellow seconds hands.
I've always loved watches with one of the hands (seconds, minute or gmt) being a different color, thought it adds that something special.
Happy modding!
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All comments welcome.
