G-Shock #47: Red Zone sets the Soul Foot in Motion.

March 1995 is a memorable release date for Casio. In this month the “round standard model” was introduced. While since 1985 there have been round models, like the DW-5700C, DW-6000 and the AW-500, there had not been a model that sticked around long enough, to earn the title “Standard”. Even now at G-Shock presentations at “Shock The World” parties, Casio presents the 5600 models as the basic square model and the 6900 as the basic round model. While for years 5600 stood for DW-5600 and 6900 for DW-6900, we now know models with G and GW as suffix with the a similar look, but with respectively a Tough Solar and a Tough Solar Waveceptor function. Also there are now models with other lay-outs with suffixes like GB, GLS and GLX, but still, after 17 years, the DW-6900 is an important model in the G-Shock line-up.

One of the four special models released beside the basic model in March 1995 is this DW-6900H-4. It was released also in Europe and it was known as “Red Zone” in Germany. Since G-Shock was introduced in Germany, 13 October 1994, new G-Shock models got nick names. This tradition has stopped only a few years ago, unfortunately, as liked referring to the German (West-European?) nicknames. This model was, together with the yellow DW-6900H-9 very popular and were sold in large numbers, probably for several years. They were sold in that large numbers, that even 17 years after the introduction, the yellow and red DW-6900H are still easily to find in Germany, though of course in used state.

Originally there were three DW-6900H models. As far as I know the black version with red print on the strap, was only sold in Japan. I simply can’t remember ever seeing the black version on sale in Europe or the US. Not a real problem, as the yellow and red model look very nice and there was also of course the basic black DW-6900. The red version seems nowadays a little harder to find than the yellow version.

The look of the DW-6900H would probably make you think it’s a collaboration model. It’s pretty unusual that a basic model has drawings and text on the strap. For some time I have seen people asking many questions about the meaning of the text, written on the long strap. It says: “G-SHOCK is dedicated to the soul foot in motion”. According G-Shock Perfect Search (GPS), that has been redesigned very recently, the “Soul Foot” is a synonym to “Thrasher”. Yeah, right. Well, I’m not much into 90’s Skateboard terminology, but luckily the description can be found on the DW-6900H page on GPS. On top of the straps there are illustrations. On the buckle side a spider in a spider web, on the long strap a skull on a cross. Probably these illustrations are inspired by popular “thrasher” tattoos.

A Thrasher is a “young person” that prefers sports on horizontal boards, like skateboarding, snowboarding, etc. It would take until May 1996 before Casio came with a special series, dedicated to “the Soul Foot”, namely the X-Treme series. The X-Treme series were only released in Japan. First Casio released similar models outside Japan as G-Lide, later also in Japan the name was change into G-Lide. Sec you can say that this DW-6900H might be the precursor of the present G-Lide line-up. Who would have thought that. Well, I actually didn’t when I started writing this article.

The DW-6900(H) was marked as a new model with three graphic areas in the case of a DW-6600. Not that three graphic areas were unique for G-Shock. Earlier Casio released the DW-5900. I’m pretty curios if in 1995 Casio did already know this model would grow out to be probably the most used basic model for their series and collaborations. The three eyes look pretty dominant, specially when the bright EL light is turned on. Over 10 years ago I read on a Japanese G-Shock fan site that the basic DW-6900 design model was called the “Triple Eyed Devil”. A nickname I easily adopted, as I thought it was the best description of how the layout looks like. Mean and tough. I wish I could credit the author of this nickname, but unfortunately most G-Shock fan pages are already gone for ages (:^-^;)

In function the DW-6900H was a little upgrade of the DW-6600. The only big difference in functioning is that the 1289 module has a 24 hour Countdown Timer, while the DW-6600 with the 1199 module only has a 60 minute Countdown Timer. The 24 hour Countdown Timer on the DW-6900H can also be set to Auto Repeat, which cannot be done with the DW-6600. Further morE the Alarm Function on the DW-6900 can be set to a Monthly Alarm or a 1-Month Alarm, while this option is absent on the DW-6600. Both models have a 24 hour Stopwatch. The DW-6600 has also an extra Auto Start and a Target Time option on the Stopwatch mode, but I guess nobody uses them. The DW-6900H has the plain basic functions you expect on a basic watch, but then worked out perfect. Maybe that explains the success of this model.

Like the DW-6600, the DW-6900 has also a very bright EL Backlight, which is activated by the fifth “G” button, under the display (not all DW-6900’s have a G on the light button actually). Cool is that it has a “Flash” function. It’s default toggled on, but you can turn it on and off by press and holding the lower right button for a few seconds. A star like icon appears on the display above the seconds when turned on. When the “Flash” function is turned on, the EL lights flashes briefly when an alarm sounds (except for the button tones when you change modes).

The DW-6900H has a plastic buckle. Although it might sound strange, the buckle is quite strong. More important to me is that it is also quite comfortable. It looks also a bit bigger, so it adds also to it’s tough look. There is one disadvantage of the buckle. Once I had bought a G-Shock with such a buckle. When I opened the envelope as it arrived at my house, a lot of hard plastic pieces rolled out of in. The G-Shock was resistant to the postal stamp machine. The buckle not. Luckily I had a metal buckle to replace it.

The DW-6900H-4 can still be found used from time to time on eBay. A lot of them were sold in Germany and scoring one will not burn your wallet. I have several in my collection and I think I paid around €20 - €30 for this one. You might pay quite more for a mint one. Think around €60 - €80 or so. Unlike the DW-6900H-9, there has not been a reissue of this model (May 2005). It might suggest that this model was less popular than the yellow model. If you like red watches, like I do, it must not be too difficult to obtain one of these for your collection for a decent price.

G-Shock #13: Crazy Gang Stars

After a short interruption with the The Hundreds collaboration model, I'll continue with the third Gundam/Techno article this month. It's my only Crazy Gangster, I wish I had more of these.

June 1995 was a good month for G-Shock enthusiast. No less than 9 different models of the Crazy Gangsters were released, or as the Japanese translation of these series says: “Crazy Gang Stars”.

Again this is a variation on the DW-81XX model. The case is therefore the same as last week’s red Techno.

The series are inspired by the US military. Well, it is a bit odd, I think as it seems to me the inspiration is taken from the “Nose Art” of American military aircrafts and patches of the jackets of their flying personnel in, or just after World War II. About 65 years ago America and Japan were not really best friends, but luckily times have changed.

At first sight, the most Crazy Gangsters look pretty usual. They become very nice when the EL background is lit. In this DW-8195-1A6, a logo appears. This logo is composed out of a pilot helmet, a sword and wings. It symbolizes the courage of the flying crew, their love for their plane. I am not sure if this is a fantasy logo, or if it was really used. Sure is that this logo draws a lot attention. This attention is actually a bit distracting the visibility of time, but with such a background, it is a pleasure to lit it twice or more. Of course this will draw quite some energy from the CR2016 battery. Still I am amazed how long these batteries lasts in these DW-81XX models. As I don’t wear them frequently, the very low amount of EL backlight procedures helps probably a lot in the long battery life.

Although I categorize this model between the other “Game” models, it does not actually show a game in the backlight. Instead the watch shows ’90’s youth street slang statements. Funny is that there is a Japanese translation of the statements with the description of the watch.

There are 7 different statements. The 8th option is a big G. They are shown randomly in the upper part of the display. The 7 statement and, in case you don’t know what it means, their description are:
“HANG” = spend time with,
“PARTY” = let’s have a good time,
“DO IT” = Go for it,
“‘S UP” = What is happening?,
“COOL” = good, great,
“MEGA” = good, great
“RAVE” = An all-night dance party.
I guess 1995 was too early for “FAT” and “HARD” (both = good, great), LOL (= Laughing out loud).

Like the Red Techno, the DW-8195 is operated with 4 buttons, so with the light button under the display, that means there is only one button on the right side. Unlike the DW-8140 and DW-8150, you can’t turn the Backlight off on this watch. The watch uses the 1430 module. The functions are good, but simple. The watch offers you a daily alarm, a 24 hour Countdown Timer and a 24 hour Stopwatch function. Pretty much the functions you need on a digital watch.

The DW-8195-1A6 has a purple color scheme. You can see the purple color come back in the model number, where 6 stands for purple and 1 for black, the main color of this watch. It is a pretty rare notation of the suffix. On the watch a lot of the lettering is purple, as is the light button. Also the cloth/leather strap has purple striping. A nice detail are the metal inserts on the straps. Where these inserts on the Techno models say “SHOCK RESIST”, it says on these models “GANGSTERS”. I think it is very unusual that Casio uses a part of the series name on a series of models. They must have been crazy...

All Crazy Gangsters had a different EL background. There are a dragon, an eagle, this helmet with sword and wings, a chimera of a lion (strength), goat (tenderness) and snake (ferocity) with big wings, a stinging bee, a fighter jet and three different pin-ups. The Pin-Ups looks very nice and were inspired by the Pin Ups painted on US war planes in the 40’s. They represented the missed sweethearts at home and were considered the goddess of the battlefield. These pin-ups seem to have regained popularity in the US in the mid-90’s. I do not have big wishes, but one of the models I hope to find ever is the model with the red head Pin-Up (DW-8195-4). A long time ago, when I was not collecting that long, I had for a brief time e-mail contact with a guy in the US (I think it was in Ohio). It must have been around 2004 or 2005. He had a wife and daughter with red hair and was looking for this model. Eventually he found it. I was very happy for him, but secretly I want this model in my collection too. Very secretly actually two, so I can wear one…

 I actually regret the fact Casio does not make these big metal/resin bezels anymore. Closest to these models in the current line are the GWX-56 and GX-56 models, nicknamed “The King”. As Casio is now designing bigger G-Shock models agin, it would be great if Casio would design such a metal/resin bezel again.

I got this model for a very good price from a good friend in Chicago. It came in a lot with several other watches, so I can’t really say what I have paid for it. Probably it would be somewhere in the $60 -$70 range. The watch is worn, but for it’s age in remarkable good shape. The Crazy Gangsters are not easy to find anymore. They were released almost 17 years ago. You can still find them in good shape in Japan, where the prices seem not sky high. Probably these models were produced at large numbers at that time. Still expect to pay around 15000 yen for a good looking/mint model (around €140.-, $180), which is without commissions, fees and shipping costs.