Franken Mod : Next MM300 Homage Project

Remember my earlier proposed MM300 homage project? 

I did one such project with the Sumo case, and it was a big hit! Quite a few readers had asked me to replicate that piece; but the MM300 parts were hard to come by and I don't want to waste them on a similar project.

Well, the parts i.e. SBDX017 dial, handset, and chapter ring, had arrived and the MM300 homage cases  in stainless steel and bronze respectively, were ready- so the MM300 homage project would be taking off after the Raya holidays. This would be a rather costly exercise but I believed that the end results would be well-worth the monies spent!

Keep your eyes peeled hereabouts!

Raya Special : Buy-One-Add-One-Plus-Four

I just got back to Malaysia today, and will be going overseas (this time for some well-deserved holiday with my loved ones) again tomorrow. Admittedly, I was in a pretty jolly mood today and was looking forward to some us-time out there. I was just clearing some e-mails and 2 caught my eye- one was from Lee and the other from Ali. 

Lee was all excited about his MM300 SBDX023 while Ali was asking for a Raya Special. So here goes, I'll put up 2 of the latest Franken Mod in a Buy-One-Add-One-Plus-Four deal. These watches were namely the following :

BUY THIS : SKX007 John Wick @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2019/05/franken-mod-skx007-john-wick-challenge.html :

Movement : Seiko Caliber NH36

Dial : Dagaz

Handset : Dagaz

Crystal : Flat sapphire

Bezel insert : Ceramic Submariner

ADD THIS : Turtle Explorer 1655 @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2019/05/franken-mod-turtle-explorer-1655.html :

Movement : Seiko Caliber NH36

Dial : Dagaz

Handset : Dagaz

PLUS THIS : 4 x 22mm straps (DLC bracelet, French military-style MN strap, rubber strap, and thick vintage leather strap).

The above 2 Franken Mod homages, to be collected within the next 8 hours at Mont Kiara, at just RM2.3k. What do you say? :)

Franken Mod : Turtle Explorer 1655 (Challenge Completed)

In my Rolex watch collection journey, I have had the Explorer ii in Polar and Black. However, I have not came across the vintage 1655, which was a very handsome piece. 

Certain micro brands e.g. Steinhart had this homage piece, but I would attempt to build one myself. And to make it different from the rest of the crowd, I want to have it in a cushion case and with a bidirectional GMT bezel. 

Not the easiest of task as most diver watches had unidirectional bezel, but I managed to come across this homage Turtle case and it could be tweaked to turn in bidirectional ways. Woohoo!!!

It was a simple Franken Mod for this homage piece, but the result had the following :

Movement : NH36

Dial : Dagaz Mountaineer Proto

Handset : Dagaz Stiletto

Bezel insert :Namokimods (under consideration)

Strap : MN type

I was still searching for a 24-hour GMT bezel like that of the 1655; but it wasn't easy to find one for Turtle. That was the reason why most modders preferred to utilise the SKX007 base watch- parts were aplenty! The nearest that I could get for the general look seemed to be this one from Namokimods.

Anyhow, at this point in time, the Franken Mod was sporting this look sans the 24-hour bezel insert.

Seeing the interim result, I would do another Franken Mod of the 1655; but on a SKX007 base watch instead. Perhaps a full DLC case with black GMT ceramic insert- that should make it stand out from a sea of SKX007 out there!

Franken Mod : The Many Faces of SKX007

Readers would know that the Seiko SKX007 had been discontinued. Prices of existing pieces had seen some appreciation, and the situation would likely continue as the stock of existing pieces get digested over the years.

And whom were the biggest buyers of SKX007 over the years? Why, it's us Seikoholic modders of course, and it's the greatest base watch for various modding projects!

With the discontinuation of SKX007, it's just as well that micro brands had been stepping up to create excellent homage cases; and in many cases, further improved upon the classic imperfections of the SKX007.

Lately, Crystaltimes' DLC case had been a hot favourite amongst the modding communities.

Here we have 3 SKX007 cases- modded along different design languages as per the following :

1) SKX007 Planet Ocean

2) SKX007 John Wick

3) SKX007 Soxa Pepsi

All the above watches were utilising the following :

1) Movement : Seiko Caliber NH36

2) Dial : Dagaz

3) Handset : Dagaz

4) Bezel insert : 1) PO Aluminium

                          2) Sub Ceramic

                          3) GMT Ceramic

I have written intensively about the SKX007 Planet Ocean @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2019/04/franken-mod-seiko-skx007j1-planet-ocean.html, which you could read on to attempt a similar mod. 

Similarly, I have written about the SKX007 Soxa Pepsi @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2019/04/franken-mod-sexy-soxa-pepsi.html. Think of it as a similar piece except that this one had the Millennium Falcon handset instead. And nope, this was NOS from Dagaz so you can't get these hands no more.

And then, there was the SKX007 John Wick, so-called because I wanted to create John Wick surrounded by guns pointing towards him. It's DLC to have that menacing look. I wrote about it here @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2019/05/franken-mod-skx007-john-wick-challenge.html.

A couple of readers wrote in to me and opined that the piece looked like Darth Vader to them. I'm a Star Wars fan myself and could definitely see where they were going with that.

"... Franken Mod had a DLC case for the all-black sleek look of Vader's helmet. The full mod had only 2 colours- black and white, with sharp and straight lines; to complete the overall look of Vader."

Irregardless of whether it created the mental picture of John Wick or Darth Vader in your mind, I thought that it was a very handsome piece and would draw attention to the wearer's list.

And worry not, there would be more Franken Mods coming up. What do you have in mind? Drop me an e-mail at toyotaharrier240g@gmail.com, and I'll pick and choose the appropriate project.

Franken Mod : SKX007 John Wick (Challenge Completed)

I just watched John Wick 3 : Parabellum, and it was an adrenaline-rushed, action-packed movie from the get-go. Keanu Reeve's John Wick character definitely kicked some serious @$$ in the movie; and watch enthusiasts would note that there were very evident product placements in the movie. You could spot gold Rolex Daytona on some of the casts, but the main sponsor was Carl F Bucherer. The brand even made a limited edition of 50 pieces of Scubatec for the main casts of the movie.

I don't know about you; but I would think that the Scubatec was not reflective of the look and feel of the franchise. John Wick had always been a sleek and well-groomed character- dark but menacing. He was an assassin and the best in the game- like a Shark on land, if you will. And his suits were always in the typical white-on-black or black-on-black.

I have been doing a series of Franken Mod of late, and the one for Avengers Endgame particularly attracted lots of attraction from readers and in the wild. For John Wick 3, my idea of how a befitting watch would looked like would be in this particular look :

Take a good look at the above rendition and tell me honestly that you can't see the resemblance to this :

The John Wick rendition came in a DLC case to bring out the menacing look that John Wick bore in the whole franchise, and further sported the following :

Movement : Seiko Caliber NH36

Dial : Dagaz Pro-Dive

Handset : Dagaz Stiletto

Crystal : Flat sapphire

Bezel insert : Ceramic Submariner

All in all, I was satisfied with the overall look of the John Wick rendition. It was dark and menacing; yet handsome and sleek. It portrayed the general outlook of the character as I imagined; and most importantly, I had it ready to wear to the premier of the movie.

In line with the black-and-white theme, we took my missus' Panda to the movie. Come to think of it, her rides were all either black or white. Mine were the colourful ones.

I had a military green distressed vintage leather strap matched to the John Wick at the moment; but it would probably looked more in tune with the overall design to go with the DLC bracelet to complete the whole menacing look. John Wick was the Shark indeed!

I'm currently waiting for a pair of MN strap with DLC hardware to arrive, which should pair week with the watch. Imagine the menacing look with the MN white centreline on this watch- they should be quite the pair.

So there you have it, folks! Onto the next Franken Mod it was then!