Ive just finished a round of Amphibia modding and thought that these may of interest to some.

All have been converted to manual wind with low profile stainless steel case backs they wear so much better this way in my view.

SE420724

2414a manual movement, brushed plain SS bezel. SS crown. I really like the dark blue of the dial combined with the paddle hands.

SE420549

2409 manual movement, brushed plain SS bezel. SS signed crown. The classic SE sandwich dial Amphibia.

420927-3

2414 manual movement, brushed plain bezel. SS crown. My least favourite of the group to be honest as the dial feels just a little too busy for my taste. It is growing on me though!

420811-2

2414 manual movement, brushed plain SS bezel. My current favourite – I love the bright yellow and the legibility.

420289

2414 manual movement. The classic Komanderskie Submarine Commander dial that has been available as an Amphibia option for some time. The only one with a date window – which I am not keen on, however unlike the Tank Commander it isnt available with out this. My very first Vostok years ago had this dial design so I wanted one of these for nostalgic reasons. This one retains the chromed brass bezel and has a chrome crown.

Here are a couple of shots of the lower profile stainless steel Amphibia case back.

Ian :smile-new:

Any Vostok modders on here know the model number / code for this dial?

Some of my favourite things:

1960/70s Nostalgia TV: The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
Film director: Wes Anderson
Actor: Bill Murray
Artists/Musician: David Bowie
Watch: Vostok

All come together in one of my favourite films – The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Back in 2017 I had a Vostok 420526 Amphibia as worn by Bill Murray throughout the film that I bought to complete my Zissou outfit for a fancy dress party. I then sold it on SC.

Recently Ed (ed335d) was kind enough to sell me his mint 2022 one complete with Vostok rubber strap and Zissou case back.

I am very happy to have one of these again and it’s the one Amphibia that I have no intention of modding. I haven’t even put it on a Eulit Panama which is a first. The rubber strap is actually rather good.

A number of other models of Amphibia can seen on various actors in the film along with the Rolex worn by Ned Plimton (Owen Wilson) so even if your not keen on the quirky and dead pan nature of the film then at least you can play ‘spot the watch!’

Ian :joyous:

Really sad to hear that he died this evening.

I loved all of his work. Season 3 of Twin Peaks was outstanding.

A number of us in the AU community believe that he was one of us.

You will be missed David.

This arrived today with a batch of other Kommanderskies from Meramon.

The 21 case style is my current favourite and for me its the best wearing of any Vostok Ive tried. The bezels are something of an acquired taste so I think they look best with a smooth aftermarket bezel.

Considering the rugged in house movement I think that these are great value at around £60 – if you buy them direct from Russia that is. UK eBay sellers charge a considerable mark up on this. I love everything about these bargain basement manual wind watches including the 1960’s style packaging. its almost like they have fallen through a wormhole direct from 1963.

I always order the chrome plated ones but in this latest order accidently ordered a one described as having ‘titanium oxocarbonitride’ plating. Ive never heard of this but Google tells me that its commonly used to coat various materials as a protective layer. Its described as being tough and hardwearing.

Preferring as I do shiny chrome and polished SS I am not sure whether I like this or not. Ive been wearing it since this morning and have to admit its grown on my a little…….

Vostok modding!

As mentioned elsewhere I have progressed beyond simple bezel and crown changes so thought I would share the following.

As regards Amphibia’s the 420 case is my favourite however I have always felt that in relation to the case width the case height makes it feel slightly unbalanced and clumsy. The height is of course essential to house the automatic movement.

The manual wind Kommandskie’s (which have become my favourite Vostok) are much slimmer due to their manual movement. From a modding perspective the really good thing about Vostoks is the high degree of interchangeability of parts. This means that manual movements fit very easily into Amphibias. This is such a popular thing that Meranom sell low profile replacement case backs designed specifically for Amphibias with manual movements fitted.

Whilst the difference in height looks quite small on paper – it makes a huge difference regarding how the watch feels when worn.

Ive completed a few of these movement transplants recently and am very pleased with the results. Not only do I like the slimmer profile but I much prefer a manual wind in any event.

When it came time to do this one I though that I would also change the dial and hands. This is new territory for me. I wasnt worried about changing the dial as that looks quite straightforward but after reading a number of accounts and watching some on line videos I was rather anxious about fitting the hands.

Ive posted a few photos taken during the general process below. None specific to the hand fitting though as I was so focused on what I was doing there was no extra capacity for taking photos!

I took my time and with the aid of an illuminated magnifier, precision tweezers and setting tool I managed to install all three hands so that they worked OK. It took me quite some time and I had to take a breather more than once (especially when I dropped the second hand half a dozen times in a row!) but I got there in the end. I needed to do some fiddling to stop the hands touching each other but that wasnt too difficult.

Afternoon from Cornwall. I hope that you are all well and managing to keep warm.

A couple of years ago I bowed out of proceedings with nothing more than a cheap Casio. However, can you ever really leave? Probably not.

Having now retired I have more time to follow my various interests. I do spend a little time doing some unpaid work for a few charities but otherwise I can focus on various specific interests far more than before.

Lately watches have slowly crept back into my thoughts and I have picked a few budget pieces up which have began to fuel my interest again.

When I joined TZUK just over 12 years ago my very first post included a picture of my then favourite Vostok Komandirskie – blue ‘sub commander’ dial.

As a nice bit of symmetry here is a picture of the two Vostoks I picked up recently as part of various Vostok modding I have planned.

For nostalgic reasons both have the blue ‘sub commander’ dial.

Komandirskie 211289 with manual wind 2414a movement and Amphibia 420289 with auto 2416 movement.

Both on the best strap in the world! Eulit Panama in grey :peaceful:

The Komandirskie on the left has a great profile and feels nice and slim. The 2414 movement is often quoted as being the AK47 of watch movement – rugged, very reliable if not quite as accurate as more refined alternatives. There are documented cases of these things going strong after decades never having had a service. I guess accurate time isnt quite as important when your retired! I have fitted a polished stainless steel bezel to this one and its my current daily wearer. I am growing very fond of it.

The Amphibia on the right needs little introduction. I find the quirky chromed brass bezel quite endearing so will be keeping it on this one. The 420 case design is my favourite Amphibia – however it can feel a little unbalanced as its quite tall due to the auto movement. With this one I plan to fit a manual 2414 with a low profile case back over the next few days. I have been playing around with another Amphibia and this totally transforms the watch – it wears so much better this way. I prefer manual movements in any event.

I have started to gather a number of cases, movements and other parts and am enjoying tinkering about. At the moment I am getting to grips with swapping dials and hands. The great thing about Vostoks is most parts are pretty cheap so if things go badly wrong its hardly a disaster. I have some nice sandwich dials and various hands that I will be fitting into Amphibia and Komadirskie cases soon. I will post some pictures for those that might be interested!

Ian :untroubled: