Hi all Had a few customers asking for these, I know its been done before, just wanted to see if there was any interest. This particular set is machined aluminum and painted, we would probably powder coat the bezels in production. The bezels really make the 1940 series sets stand out. How much? A 6-gauge set of bezels would be around $225, which would bring a 1940 6 gauge set with bomber bezels to a total of $699. Not cheap but still in the range of doable Another way we could go, its kind of faux, but would save some cash is we could do these as cast resin parts, probably around $75-$100.00 a set. Which brings a 6 gauge set of 1940 gauges with bezels to a retail of $549-$579 What makes these different? I think we captured the flavor of aircraft bezels pretty well, plus I like the way the black gauge bezel is raised slightly, giving a bit more dimension to the part. Anyhow, just wanted to see if this was something the sounded reasonable and get a bit of input Mark
I like it,but I pretty much like anything to do with aircraft.They would look great against an engine turned dash.
The gauges and bezels are separate. The gauges actually are our normal 1940 series with a black bezel, then the bomber bezel is a separate piece that has a recess for the gauge to set in. Mark
Thanks for the input guys, I thought they looked pretty good overall, not sure how you feel on the pricing with machined vs. cast Mark
Hi Guys, we have had some renewed interest in the bomber gauges, so here they are... Instead of going the machined route, we are casting them in urethane. This makes the price a bit easier to swallow. These are designed for our gauges, so I am not sure as the fitment on other manufacturers. The gauges load from the front and sit in a recess in the bezel, makes for a more 3-d look, a bit more detail, which I think we all like. We are basically taking our 1940 series and adding the bezels. How much? A 5 gauge set with bomber bezels and mechanical speedo retails for $459. We also can do these with combo gauges and we plan to do bezels for the larger 4-3/8" instruments if there is any demand. Enough talk, here are some pics:
Are the bezel screws real or fake? I'd prefer real, even if they're not integral to the gauge mounting. Also - minor point here- I think the TEMP looks cluttered with the *F after it. Just my humble opinion. You guys do outstanding work!
Are they AlumKey screws, in the 1940s? HaHaHa!! Not one aircraft from the 1900s through the 1940s and even into the 50s that I have worked on or even seen had AlumKey screws in them. Being an ex-member of Morabbin Air Museum and having done volunteer work in three other Air Museums I have seen quite a few old 1940s and earlier aircraft. Do some research guys before you make shit like this, at least get it almost close to right! Doc.
They are cast from actual hex bolts, we took a set and cast right off of them, had to fill the deep recesses with wax before making the mold to keep it from hanging up. I agree with the degree symbol, these are the same dials we use for the military today, so we just left them as-is (except the speedos, those are mostly 80 MPH) These are bomber-inspired, not actual aircraft bezels. They are meant to capture the flavor of the period, while making a product that looks great and is still affordable. Actual aircraft bezels hold the lens to the case which we do forom time to time on actual aircraft gauges that we manufacture. Mark
Marks, just went to the NVU site and didn't see the bezels for sale. Are they available seprately and how much? Thanks.
The bezels are part of the kit, only available as part of the gauge package. If you wanted to use them on another brand I do not think they would fit as they are designed to cup our bezels. Mark