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| Ball Fireman Night Train Arrives | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25th, 2011 11:15 pm |
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1st Post |
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stew77 Admin 
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Well...nothing new here, as the Ball Fireman Night Train has been around for some time. I seem to be a late adopter of many pieces, adding those that catch my attention with great build quality and unique features/design. I am a big fan of Ball timepieces...IMO, they offer tremendous build quality for the dollar, and they contine to also be uniquely designed (IMO) which allows them to stand apart from the crowd. Any fan of Ball, would also have to be a fan of the "tubes", and I am no exception...I love them!!!  With one look at the pieces in my collection, one can see that I typically go for a Diver, but I continue to love a well designed Pilot or Military piece...I put the Night Train in the Military category if one is splitting hairs, but it has alot in common with cleanly designed pilot pieces too. For those familar with the history of this piece, this is the most recent incarnation with only 2 color Tritium tubes (Red at 12 o'clock with Green everywhere else). Ball has produced a couple Tri-Lume options in this model which look spectacular as well...within a day of me purchasing this one, I saw a tri-color lume model come up for sale...oh well...that one sold quick and at a much higher price than I picked this one up for. I am very happy with this one, as the Lume show is spectacular. 63 Tritium tubes in total do not let you down, and the glow is "always on"...these are Tritium tubes afterall. Everything else is easy to understand. I will point out one interesting feature of the Night Train that is a differentiator...It is powered by the Ball Calibre 124 (this is an ETA 2824-2 modified with the "Universal Military Time" window and Ball's "date warning" window...the triangle under the Military time window changes from white to red between the hours of 9pm & 3am to warn the user not to adjust the date). Most WIS understand that this is standard protocol for a mechanical timepiece, but it is cool nonetheless!  Worth noting is that the "Univeral Military Time" is not a UTC indicator (ie. Not a secondary time indicator like available on a GMT or UTC piece)...Ball caught some flack for labeling the indicator "Universal Time Coordinated" on the first edition of the watch and changed the indicator to read the current Universal Military Time. It is just that...a military time (ie. 24 hour time) indicator.If you didn't notice from the pictures, the case is a nicely done DLC which maintains the nicely bushed grain of the ss underneath. Looks very good with this piece IMO. Here are the specs from Ball: Movement: Automatic BALL caliber 124 Functions: 24-hour military time indicator, quick-set date warning system, hours, minutes, seconds and date ; 12 double sized micro gas tubes on dial and 51 micro gas tubes on dial and hands Shock Resistant: 5,000Gs Water Resistant: 100m Case: 43mm diameter stainless steel with DLC coating, 11.1 mm height, Fixed bezel, Anti-reflective sapphire crystal, Screwed-in crown Bracelet: Calf leather strap with pin buckle Dial: Black Bracelet Options: Rubber strap with pin buckle You can get the Night Train with either the Ball calf leather strap (Black w/ orange stitch) or the Ball Rubber Strap. Mine came with the Ball Calf Leather, but since the seller sort of understated the condition of the strap (lots of 'use'...I will leave it at that), I put one of my unused Anonimo Kodiak straps (Black with Grey Stitch which works well with this one IMO). I will, no doubt, explore some other strap options with this one. Here are a few pics:   Date warning indicator 'off'...Ok to change the date!  Date warning indicator 'on'...NOT OK to change the date!   LUME is very nice!!!   Last edited on Fri Feb 25th, 2011 11:31 pm by stew77 |
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| Posted: Fri Feb 25th, 2011 11:40 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Devin 3T WIS 
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Hey Chris that is a killer Ball! I have the aviator model and you are correct lots of watch for the money! I like it!
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26th, 2011 01:23 am |
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3rd Post |
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oagaspar Site Founder 
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Congrats Chris!...the Night Train never gets old and your pics are awesome as usual
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26th, 2011 06:01 am |
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4th Post |
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Hammerfjord Moderator 
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Chris, as allways: you have good taste! Thanks for the little review and cool pics
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26th, 2011 06:47 am |
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5th Post |
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mario 3T WIS 
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NICE!!!
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26th, 2011 07:37 am |
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6th Post |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS 
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Nice one, amigo! You're on a roll and have been snapping quite a few lately. It actually looked bigger than the 43mm of your review. The red indicator/warning is a big help to us WIS with so many pieces and who rotate some pieces. Safety is always worth the premium. Enjoy it in good health for a long time, amigo.
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26th, 2011 09:52 am |
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7th Post |
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Skipdawg 3T WIS 
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Big congrats and enjoy.
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26th, 2011 11:13 am |
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8th Post |
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stew77 Admin
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Thanks for the kind words and congrats on the Night Train guys!!! Trent - I really like the Aviator model that you have (it is cool that the Aviator is available in both 44mm and 46mm versions too). I have been really liking the Aviator Dual Time lately as well! Jeff - yes, these do wear a little larger than the 43mm would indicate...I think mostly due to the thin bezel area and the large (35mm) diameter dial. [ Now, it won't quite wear as large as your Laco 55mm Flieger B-Dial Jeff...  ]
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26th, 2011 11:29 am |
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9th Post |
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Paxman 3T WIS 
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Chris we all know you are a big time fan of Balls... and you enjoy watches too! I'm a fan of the brand as well and would agree Ball builds excellent timepieces at competitive prices. The Night Train is a great model though I was one of those disappointed with the UTC indicator, initially taking it for an independent time zone. As is, Ball made a nice recovery though I'm uncertain if WIS need a complication to inform them of the 24 hour time. Having said that I am all in with 63 tubes providing copious lume. I like the military style dial and appreciate the tube-less numerals. Some Balls get wanky with the blocky, tubed numerals imho. I had no idea about the date change safe/not safe indicator. That's a nice touch. The 43mm Ball case is right in the sweet spot. I'm wondering at the lug width? I know my 43mm Fireman has the odd 21mm lug width... perhaps this is a more friendly 22mm. Overall a lovely addition to your masterful collection. Wear it well brother! Thanks for taking the time to post your new arrival.
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26th, 2011 12:19 pm |
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10th Post |
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Axelay2003 3T WIS 
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| Posted: Sat Feb 26th, 2011 02:35 pm |
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11th Post |
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Jeep99dad 3T WIS 
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Chris another winner in your fast expanding awesome collection :) I love everythingi about it and the date chnage indicator is a cool feature IMO! This strap rocks on it too!!!Congrats! Wear it in good health!!! Brice
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| Posted: Sun Feb 27th, 2011 03:36 pm |
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12th Post |
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stew77 Admin
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Mark, Axelay, and Brice! ....Thank you guys for the kind words and congrats!!! I'm very much liking the Night Train. Mark - agree with your sentiments on this one...I had similar thoughts when I approached the piece, but I did fall for the clean military inspired design and the 63 tubes (some serious glow here). Like the Fireman and Fireman II, this one does have the odd 21mm lug width, but I had no problem squeezing the 22mm lug strap into the space.
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