Vostok Mod Question...

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artphotodude
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Vostok Mod Question...

Post by artphotodude »

Hello: I'm doing some mods to a Vostok Amphibia (pic 1), and one of the big ones is replacing the dial. Like a fair number of people, I've been pretty underwhelmed with the calendar (no quick-set, small/squinty), and I lucked-out to find a vintage Komandirskie with the rare no-date version of the same dial (Pic 2). No if I'd known I'd find this, I'd have just bought an amphibia without the date to begin with (2415), but since modding is all about making the best of what you have, I'll be starting with the 2416B.

QUESTION: should I remove the Calendar ring/works, or leave them under the dial? While the actual change is essentially instantaneous around Midnight (with a charming 'chunk' sound), it begins pulling on the movement around 8PM to make this happen - charging an advance spring??

1. If I remove that, will it need a re-regulation?

2. If re-regulated, would it average better accuracy without that drag against the train?

Thanks for any info!
2021-04-13 16_22_25-Amazon.com_ Vostok Amphibian Automatic Mens Wristwatch Self-Winding Military Div.png
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exHowfener
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Re: Vostok Mod Question...

Post by exHowfener »

The short answer is - I don't know. Which probably isn't very helpful.

I've noticed from reviews that many micro brands (though not all) use a Seiko date mechanism on watches without a date window, so it can't really do any harm. Vostok mechanisms are legendary for rugged reliability and long service intervals so again,you should be OK there. If you want to dabble with the mechanism and are confident doing so, why not? You can buy a new mechanism direct from Meranom for £30. I'm not suggesting that' makes economic sense, but it's worth bearing in mind that if you break something, then that's the maximum it would cost to put it right.
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artphotodude
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Re: Vostok Mod Question...

Post by artphotodude »

exHowfener wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:59 pm The short answer is - I don't know. Which probably isn't very helpful.

I've noticed from reviews that many micro brands (though not all) use a Seiko date mechanism on watches without a date window, so it can't really do any harm. Vostok mechanisms are legendary for rugged reliability and long service intervals so again,you should be OK there. If you want to dabble with the mechanism and are confident doing so, why not? You can buy a new mechanism direct from Meranom for £30. I'm not suggesting that' makes economic sense, but it's worth bearing in mind that if you break something, then that's the maximum it would cost to put it right.
Great Reply - Thanks!
In one sense, leaving the calendar wheel (chunking away) where nobody can see it is the height of Steampunk/Mod sensibility, but at the same time, these are relatively easy to regulate. Once the new dial gets here will see if it fits cleanly over the top or not.
This is a wonderful watch, very impressed by just how tough and reliable it is. I work at Home Depot and have worn it every night for about a month (while doing the mod-work) and it still doesn't have a single noticeable scratch (despite already taking a few good knocks).
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Re: Vostok Mod Question...

Post by tikkathree »

First off, have fun with your modding and treat it as a learning experience as well as shaping the watch you want. I'm pretty sure I tried both paths, hiding the date wheel behind a no-date dial and taking the date wheel out. I think I also swapped out white date wheels for black.

I think I settled on leaving the date wheel in if for no better reason than giving the next owner the option to reinstate the date. :wave: :wave:
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artphotodude
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Re: Vostok Mod Question...

Post by artphotodude »

tikkathree wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 4:32 am First off, have fun with your modding and treat it as a learning experience as well as shaping the watch you want. I'm pretty sure I tried both paths, hiding the date wheel behind a no-date dial and taking the date wheel out. I think I also swapped out white date wheels for black.

I think I settled on leaving the date wheel in if for no better reason than giving the next owner the option to reinstate the date. :wave: :wave:
Great advice. While these are utterly expendable from a price-point POV, they are also, among the most serviceable and value-packed watches available. Honestly, after owning a lot of great watches over the years, this has proven to be one of the biggest surprises I've had.

Just installed the presentation case-back and WOW - what a cool watch :D
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Re: Vostok Mod Question...

Post by artphotodude »

So just a quick update: One of my big mod-goals is to put GOOD LUME in the watch. So spent much as the watch itself buying blue and red SuperLuminova (the real Swiss stuff). For the hands/dial am still waiting on the new dial to come in, but decided to try luming the bezel.

Well, sadly the spots that are normally red, are much shallower than I'd initially realized. Had intended to do blue at the top-spot, and then red in all the other normally-red spots. When mixing the lume with epoxy, it weakens a lot (even if mixed thickly - probably why so many lumed-bezels are rather underwhelming). So mixed the epoxy as thick as seemed workable, then used a Dremel to deepen and enlarge the spots to be filled. I don't have a drill-press, so did by hand and then polished, and for a first try, it didn't come out bad, and the glow is pretty respectable (beats the normal Vostok lume easily for both brightness and duration). I still have to fill-in the lines in-between the red spots once the spots themselves have dried (mostly for daylight appearance), and will have a finished piece to show in a couple of days. Not sure if it will visually work or not, but considering how cheap these bezels are, seemed good to try, and it might wind up being fine. If not, will order another and then only do the blue-dot at the top.
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Re: Vostok Mod Question...

Post by artphotodude »

So have realized that even expensive Red Lume isn't very good. Seems like you really need to go Tritium to get a good red. So ordered another ring to just put in the blue 'Index' spot at the end of the red spots, and will be making the final 'cut' to my mod wishlist. The BGW9 aqua SuperLiminova is magnificent!

Since am not Keeping this ring, thought it might be good to test how durable this application is. Good news - is VERY. I used a slow-drying clear epoxy (30-minute set time), and it worked as good as I could have hoped. It took a lot to chip it, but even when I scraped it forcefully against concrete (enough to seriously impact the metal), the lume spots simply wore down but didn't come off or shatter. Meaning they are effectively as tough as the metal. While some epoxies degrade over time, am hopeful that like Roman cement, the slower it cures, the longer it lasts.

There's always a balance between hardness and flexibility, and while I'd initially thought to use a glassy resin, the higher cost combined with presumably more brittle/fragile nature, made me try this first and I'm glad I did.
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