Thanks Steelhead10 for your comment.
Its funny before I got this helmet it never occurred to me that they used pencil to mark helmets before painting them.....the things you learn.
Thanks Steelhead10 for your comment.
Its funny before I got this helmet it never occurred to me that they used pencil to mark helmets before painting them.....the things you learn.
As others have said, either way about the name, still a really nice helmet.
Hopefully one day I will get one in as good a condition as yours.
Thanks Aaron. Im sure you'll pick up a good one sooner or later. With the Aussie dollar in free fall eBay AU might work out cheap for you.
Is it just me or doe's there seem to be better conditioned Australian and Canadian mk2 examples still floating about,Iv'e hardly ever seen Brit mk2's that look anywhere as nice as some of those that have been posted up here.........maybe its just me...........
I think Micks right about the name...these helmets are coming up for sale at the moment are being embellished in this way, ive seen a few recently almost exactly the same..and in the last 40yrs ive seen a few similar , but this one has alarm bells ringing..ebay is selling the aussie helmet paint
I have as well noticed this Phenomena as it were gents and having a couple of Canadian helmets in my collection I think I can speak on behalf for the Canadian Mk II's .
I am of the opinion that it really started 70 odd years ago at the factory and that the base coats of paint that were first applied make the Canadian helmets weather the decades better this in conjunction with as mentioned above better storage and the fact that so many sat tucked away in army depots I think account for some of the queries on condition.
Of course I have a few field worn examples as well that have seen service abroad and for the most part they as well seem to weather the storm better do to the semi hard gloss nature of the paint that was applied.
I find the British textured combat grade helmets especially prone to chipping and paint loss Britain as we well know was an Island under siege and I can only speculate that this would possibly have cause and effect on raw materials that were used in the process of manufacturing paint as I can well imagine like so many of the other raw materials and supplies that were used by GB during the war that they would have to be imported from abroad .
Regards Mark
Think our much varied climate may have a lot to do with it,like you say Leon our Brit lids all certainly seem to have had better days............no minty types over in this neck of the woods............
I am sorry I do not agree when one compares the over all condition of the paint on this particular Mk II to the wear and age of the liner, crucifix pad and chinstrap IMO they all seem to match pretty close and I am not a 100% convinced the writing was added after the fact as well
As seen on my 1942 Canadian ARP helmet the writing is quite crisp and bold and does match the finish on the helmet body and this 70 odd year old Canadian Army depot repainted and refitted helmet looks as to have been done last year as the brush over-paint is still unblemished and shows no wear and is still evident on the chinstrap lug retention rivets and the liner retention nut and bolt
And as these two particular helmets were local finds from Vancouver Island like so many of my other examples are were the weather is very similar to that in the UK I think I can rule out varied weather conditions at least when discussing Canadian Mk II helmets
Regards Mark
Thanks Mark,a lot of what you say does make perfect sense,especially the material usage side of it,a case of making do when your backs against the wall so to speak,thats an awesome Lid you have there,or should it be yet another awesome mk2 you have in the collection..........
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