Another Moonswatch metal case project

[DapperDoctorHolmes]

Still waiting on my order from QQ...9026, but my Moonwatch delivery came and they're laughably bad. That was the only shop I'd seen that was allegedly still sending out models with the circular subdial texture, but the ones I received don't have it, and are just all around shitters.

The Mission to the Moon dial looks alright otherwise (which is what matters here) but the tachymetre was printed hilariously askew and the Moon battery cover is a weird dark blue shade - not like the Super Blue Moon, but somewhere between that and black.

The Mission to Neptune is way worse - the case is a dark navy, so not even attempting the gen color (which is also unfortunate since store reviews from July showed color-accurate versions) and the dial is a weird shiny blue that I've never seen in anyone's reddit or forum photos to date, so I can't even really utilize the dial. The planet battery cover is also bad, and the blue plastic on the strap doesn't even remotely match the blue of the case.

All around just complete shitters, so that store is certainly to be avoided unfortunately.

 

[tofino]

I just ordered form laopo and got a pretty decent snoopy and moon. No texture on them though. Still not sure if thats on the legit ones.

http://sale.dhgate.com/X1ikmi04

 

[M Scott]

I just ordered form laopo and got a pretty decent snoopy and moon. No texture on them though. Still not sure if thats on the legit ones.

The Genuine MoonPhases, White, Black, and Super Blue did not have the concentric ring texture, but all of the rest of them did have it. Some did not have it on all three Sub-dials, like Saturn that is smooth at the 6:00.

 

[mikey6766]

Hi all, I really want to try a few of these metal mod moonswatches but do not have access to 3d printer, does anyone know where I can buy a custom printed pe50 movement holder for the 39.7mm vk63 case in the UK?

 

[DapperDoctorHolmes]

QQ..9026 order arrived, and these are honestly pretty great. If I had to guess on-par with Swatch1? Maybe even better, since my Super Blue Moon dial was accurate from QQ but incorrect (too small and too blue) from Swatch1.

The Lava dial is the best I’ve seen, as it does actually have the subdial texture! None of the other styles I received did though, so unclear if their Moon would.

All in all I picked up the Mission to Mars (pretty good all around, though the dial is a bit more cream than white), Mission to Earth (looks great, has the correct navy dial instead of the very wrong black that some vendors have), Mission to Earth Lava, Super Blue Moon (accurate!) and the white UTDesign Snoopy, which came with a slightly shiny dial (would’ve preferred matte, but still nice).

So without further ado, here’re the Moonswitches:



Metal Mods:

 

[DapperDoctorHolmes]

Hi all, I really want to try a few of these metal mod moonswatches but do not have access to 3d printer, does anyone know where I can buy a custom printed pe50 movement holder for the 39.7mm vk63 case in the UK?

You can just pick up these 33mm PE50 adapters real cheap:

I just found this on AliExpress: $2.04 |

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLQuQ9E

 

[jeffj199]

Has anyone found a good chapter ring for the case?

 

[poerger]

QQ..9026 order arrived, and these are honestly pretty great. If I had to guess on-par with Swatch1? Maybe even better, since my Super Blue Moon dial was accurate from QQ but incorrect (too small and too blue) from Swatch1.

Do you have a link to that seller?

 

[DapperDoctorHolmes]

Do you have a link to that seller?

qq13751589026, https://www.dhgate.com/product/men-...28e4b0d790e843c4a4|&skuId=1279880953716863006

 

[M Scott]

Lava dial is the best I’ve seen, as it does actually have the subdial texture! None of the other styles I received did though, so unclear if their Moon would.

I got a Lava recently that was also really good with the Sub-dial texture, but I also got a Mission to Mars with the Silvery tinted dial from the same source.

Even the ones from 77watches varied sometimes. I have some Mission to the Moon with the textured rings, and some without.

 

[DapperDoctorHolmes]

Tried out those new gold leaf-style hands - it also includes a very thin line-style chrono hand and three small leaf style subdial hands, but like the subtlety of just doing the minute and hour.

I also tried out the silver hands; they just sorta blend in and are difficult to read unfortunately, but might work on other colored dials?

 

[therepfather]

The qq13751589026 Moonswatches are pretty nice considering their pricing.

 

[poerger]

Are there better ones out there? Im looking for a white snoopy (the fictional one, not the moonphase one) and a Mission to the Moon one ...
Otherwise Ill order them from 9026

 

[davelister]

So I'm a little confused what I've done wrong. I've got the case and the replacement stems. I also have the 33mm PE50 insert, but when I tried to put it together there was a ton of slop side-to-side in the case and the pushers wouldn't reach the metal buttons on the movement.

Not sure where to go from here.

 

[Karbon74]

So I'm a little confused what I've done wrong. I've got the case and the replacement stems. I also have the 33mm PE50 insert, but when I tried to put it together there was a ton of slop side-to-side in the case and the pushers wouldn't reach the metal buttons on the movement.

Not sure where to go from here.

Several things
The reps and the cases can be different, even from the same vendors…
you need to try several holder sizes and even shapes to make it fit snug
I have even made custom holders for some cases

For the pushers, most cases have them too short as they are made for the vk65 which is large than the pe50
You need to use a piece of heat shink tube to lengthen the pusher pins an extra 1mm

 

[davelister]

Thanks! Gonna try again and do some measuring.

 

[davelister]

It took a long time, but I finally got it done. One of them at least.

The other is going to have to wait because the movement in it is completely toast - it does weird things even with a brand-new battery:

The chrono hand sometimes moves as the seconds dial.
The Chrono won't start, stop, or reset. Sometimes, the top left subdial turns when the top button is pressed.
When I put it into the case, it would run for a while, then stop when I screwed down the crown.
The hands would rotate on their own.

So I will have to put another movement in it. I did get the snoopy finished though.




This one also required a new movement which also involved filing down the top right pivot to accept the disc and not bow up the dial. That took forever to get it just right. This one's movement was completely DOA - nothing at all.

 

[davelister]

I just noticed how off-center the dial is.
Oh well.

 

[Karbon74]

I just noticed how off-center the dial is.
Oh well.

Yup. This is harder than it looks to do right

 

[davelister]

Yup. This is harder than it looks to do right

That stupid chapter ring insert.
Any tips for keeping it in the right place?