Dubai City Model 3

Tonight's camera comes to the shop all the way from Dubai City in the United Arab Emirates. These are the kind of cameras that I really enjoy working on. A lot of these cameras have a story behind them... they're often used and loved and later remembered. This particular Model 3 has been in the customer's family for many years and it was owned by his father so it carries a lot of sentimental value. When I got this camera it was relatively beat up, the skins were nasty, the flash didn't fire, there were all sorts of nicks and dings in the plastic, and the shutter was acting up. Often times I'll do a general cleaning and full repair but this customer wanted to get the cameras as close to mint condition as possible. This is what I would call a restoration rather than refurbish (the process costs quite a bit more as a lot of time is involved). The camera was stripped down and parts were cleaned, some painted, new labels were applied including the rear shutter board thumb sticker, the door latch label, and the instructions label under the viewfinder. Here's what else was done to this camera:

- new faceplate
- new factory fresh motor
- removed rust and painted the rear shutterboard
- disassembled and cleaned lenses and shutterblades
- replaced the ECM and corresponding flex circuitry
- polished the viewfinder lenses
- cleaned all plastic parts
- removed taking mirror and polished
- replaced film rollers


There may be a few things I didn't list but this little camera got the whole kit n kaboodle! I really do like Model 3 cameras... although they require a bit of a learning curve to get used to finding distances for focusing, they have a lot of charm to them. They're little workhorses. Many special thanks to the owner of this fully restored Model 3 and I hope it has a safe trip back home and brings many more years of pictures and happiness! Shop's closed!



Here's what it looked like when it came to the shop...

A few progress shots including masking for paint.

And the final product with a few test shots!