Hi all,
As some of you may be aware, I have been helping Aussie members on this board for a number of years with repairs, mods, etc.
I haven't done one of these for a long time but given the growing interest in these little plastic puppies, I thought i'll share some upgrades which I think can be done with a bit of practice (plus if you mess up, its a $35 watch afterall). In particular, i'm referring to the cheaper version whereby the movement is a micro-stepper (with faux 2 o clock subdial).
Critically, there are 2 obvious issues with the rep watch.
1) the faux 2 o clock subdial that follows the hour hand. Now in the genuine, it only moves once the chronograph is activated. In the absence of a new / proper movement, the best solution is to just freeze the subdial.
If you are confident enough to dissemble the watch to bare movement, remove the top plate of the movement (no screws btw, its friction fit with plastic stubs). You will see that there is a extra wheel between the hour hour and the 2 o clock subdial. You just need to remove that piece and using either a touch of glue or double side dots, secure the 2 clock pinion. Sorry I didn't take photos of this particular step but I think once you remove the top plate, the above step should be pretty apparent.
FYI, the DW and all the DW gears are irrelevant here so if these come loose, who cares. Secure the top plate and you are good to go.
Reverse the removal steps and put all the hands back in place - test the chronograph before putting the watch back together.
2) the weight. The version I got was so light it just felt wrong. It should weight around 30 grams but when it came, it was <20 grams. Solution? lead tape. Easy to find at your local hardware store or if you play sport, you may alreay have them, they are used to increase the weight of a racquet, club, etc.
I just put some on the back case. Just make sure it doesn't interfer with the battery / movement placement.
FYI, in the below pic, I hadn't done the freezing of the subdial yet.
As some of you may be aware, I have been helping Aussie members on this board for a number of years with repairs, mods, etc.
I haven't done one of these for a long time but given the growing interest in these little plastic puppies, I thought i'll share some upgrades which I think can be done with a bit of practice (plus if you mess up, its a $35 watch afterall). In particular, i'm referring to the cheaper version whereby the movement is a micro-stepper (with faux 2 o clock subdial).
Critically, there are 2 obvious issues with the rep watch.
1) the faux 2 o clock subdial that follows the hour hand. Now in the genuine, it only moves once the chronograph is activated. In the absence of a new / proper movement, the best solution is to just freeze the subdial.
If you are confident enough to dissemble the watch to bare movement, remove the top plate of the movement (no screws btw, its friction fit with plastic stubs). You will see that there is a extra wheel between the hour hour and the 2 o clock subdial. You just need to remove that piece and using either a touch of glue or double side dots, secure the 2 clock pinion. Sorry I didn't take photos of this particular step but I think once you remove the top plate, the above step should be pretty apparent.
FYI, the DW and all the DW gears are irrelevant here so if these come loose, who cares. Secure the top plate and you are good to go.
Reverse the removal steps and put all the hands back in place - test the chronograph before putting the watch back together.
2) the weight. The version I got was so light it just felt wrong. It should weight around 30 grams but when it came, it was <20 grams. Solution? lead tape. Easy to find at your local hardware store or if you play sport, you may alreay have them, they are used to increase the weight of a racquet, club, etc.
I just put some on the back case. Just make sure it doesn't interfer with the battery / movement placement.
FYI, in the below pic, I hadn't done the freezing of the subdial yet.
