Inspirations for a 6105 Captain Willard Seiko Mod

The legendary Seiko "Captain Willard", officially known as the 6105, earned its nickname from Martin Sheen's character in Apocalypse Now. But this watch's fame goes far beyond Hollywood. During the Vietnam War, American soldiers discovered that their standard-issue watches couldn't handle the brutal heat and humidity. Enter the Seiko 6105, with its unique asymmetric case, crown guard at 4 o'clock, and tough-as-nails construction. It’s a watch designed to take a beating, and when soldiers took it home to the US after their service, it quickly became known for its amazing value proposition. 

Today, original Captain Willards are rare collector's items, and even Seiko's modern reissues can be pretty pricey. That's why many watch enthusiasts turn to Seiko modding to capture the distinctive look of this iconic timepiece while adding their own personal touch.

With a history associated with the military, one would be tempted to use it for Milspec mods. However, the diver aesthetic is still quite apparent, making it great as a basis for other designs as well. Here are some modding ideas that would be perfect with our Willard-SKX case.

Classic 6105

What better way to start this list than with a faithful homage to the original design. As Seiko’s second-only diver ever, it’s got a familiar look that’s reminiscent of the time, but it still has a distinct appearance thanks in large part to the case. The no-frills dial and hands combo also add to the design however, giving the Willard a serious, “I mean business” look. For your faithful Captain Willard Seiko mod, you’d want a black dial with rectangle hour markers and a matching baton handset. For the bezel insert, we recommend going for the classic Seiko style 60 minute timer insert with numerals every 10 minutes.

MilSpec Willard

While the traditional Willard look is that of a diver, we can lean on the military connection and give it a more obvious MilSpec look. Instead of a dial with bar hour markers, you can take our MilSpec Type II dial with lumed 24 hour numerals for the face. You can pair it with the MilSpec silver hands which has lumed sections that will match the multiple sections of the dial. And since the dial is already ‘loud’, you can balance the look by going for a simpler bezel like a regular pilot or a stepped pilot bezel. At this point, you can play around with the other parts that go in the mod, but we would also suggest using a NATO strap for the build.

Great Wave Willard

Source: @finemods on IG

The Willard may have a serious vibe, but that’s no reason why you can’t dress it up! One dial that we like to recommend for diver watches intended to be eye-catchers is our Great Wave White, which has a beautiful, intricate pattern that still fits the dive theme. It’s got lumed hour markers as well unlike most dressy dials that only featured applied indices. To pair with this dial is our MM Polished Finish Hands that are also highly legible, making them a great alternative for the Batons. Give your mod a nice white and blue color combo with a 62MAS style blue insert and you’ll have a winner.

Want something a bit more neutral-colored? Simply swap out the dial and insert to their black versions and you’d still have a great looking build.

Golden Willard

Source: @miskmods on IG

We’re convinced that black and gold looks good with any design, and the Willard is no exception. We’re doing the opposite of a no-frills watch now, and going for something eye-catching, but you can still tone it down or dial it up depending on your preference. If you want just a bit of gold on the watch, you can start with a black Willard case and pair it with a golden coin edge bezel and a black Yachtmaster style insert. For the hands, you can use a gold MM style then switch back to black on the dial with a Divemaster with black lume. Lastly, you’d want to use a gold crown (knurled would look great) - this alternating color scheme adds visual interest and does not make it “overwhelmingly golden.”

If you do want it to look overwhelmingly golden though, use the gold Willard case instead, and pair it with a gold bezel, insert, hands, and crown. You’ll just want to keep the dial black, and complement it with black rubber straps for something more flashy with a higher gold-to-black ratio.

Wrap Up

Source: @thejames80 on IG

The familiar design of the 6105 case makes it a perfect fit for diver or milspec style mods, but that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment around with it. The fun of modding lies in its flexibility, so you can take the above as suggestions that you can tweak further to exactly match your style, or use it as inspiration to create something completely different.

Happy modding!