#I love watching and reading about Seiko 5s because people are just so pleased with them

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

The "MACV-SOG" Watch

This arrived while I was away, a Seiko SNK381K1. I took off its metal bracelet and attached it to this Waltham wrist compass that I had in the LRRP collection.

I'm reasonably satisfied with it as an approximation of one of the models of Seiko 5 that SF guys reputedly wore in Vietnam, but it is not perfect. This image (which I lifted from this video) compares the SNK381K1 with two Seiko 5 models used in Vietnam

So you can see the numerals' font isn't quite right, the hands are the wrong shape, the case is a bit off, and the day shows white on black instead of black on white. Furthermore, the days on the model I got show in English and Arabic; English and Japanese would be better.

Apparently there is another Seiko out there with a case and hands that match the '60s watches more closely (the SNXS79), and enterprising individuals will combine the face and mechanism of the SNK381 with the case and hands from the SNXS79. One can also swap out the day wheel. They make all this sound easy, but I'm not sure I have all that in me.