Possible Vet- Art Helmet? "The Invincible Axis"

[Spitace41]

Hi all. I don't tend to venture much into German items, however this came with some British items from a house clearance. I believe it to be an original German helmet, although I can't make out the serial number due to the overpaint. I know it is hard to tell when this was painted in this way but in my opinion it has some age to it. Possibly veteran applied but i'm only basing this on the RAF Wireless Operators trade insignia on the side, but that doesn't say much really. I think I will leave it as is as I believe that attempts to strip it may end badly.

The chinstrap is marked but I cant really see what it says.

Any comments on this oddball would be great. I know that it doesn't have a great deal of collector value compared to an untouched example but I quite like it.

Cheers.

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Hi, well it is an M40 with an original liner and I think a good chinstrap. As for the "vet art", your guess is as good as mine to when it was done, but it quite humorous! Leon.

[Larskirtner]

I like it..a lot
Up for sale??

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Spandau Militaria often sell this kind of thing, both from WW1 and WW2. There used to be a bloke painting them and flogging them off on eBay, but he normally used relic helmets. To me that top coat on the helmet looks suspiciously like a modern re-paint, so it would follow that the rest of it probably is too. If you like it though, go for it if the price is right.

[Spitace41]

Sorry Larskirtner, i'm going to hang on to this for the time being. Thanks for the comments Leon and Harry. I have this helmet now as it came in a kit bag from a house clearance along with some British kit. Although it is obviously hard to tell when this was painted, I'm pretty confidant that it wasn't done recently to deceive, my reasoning focusing on the fact that the swastika on the decal has been overpainted. I would have thought that someone painting this to deceive more recently would have left this intact in order to maximise profit. All just speculation of course, but having the little bit of provenance that it does and the price I paid for the lot which I considered to be fair, I am quite happy with it. Cheers.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I like the thumb-prints in the paint, did you notice them? When I say 'modern,' I don't mean last week or even last year. It could be the last 20 or 30 years for all I know - or even longer. Whether it was done in the immediate post-war years would probably be difficult to prove I suppose. Send the thumb-prints to Scotland Yard!

[CBH]

Nice helmet , if it was for sale online I'd be more concerned , but if it came as a lot I'd say it's good . The front paint looks to be old and the rust goes through it , I'd say it was done during the war . Maybe onboard a ship were grey paint is plentiful .

[Spitace41]

Nice helmet , if it was for sale online I'd be more concerned , but if it came as a lot I'd say it's good . The front paint looks to be old and the rust goes through it , I'd say it was done during the war . Maybe onboard a ship were grey paint is plentiful .

I like your thinking Chris. I've just had a look at USN M1 helmets in particular (and some Royal Navy MK2s) and the shade of grey is pretty much identical. I know that in the Pacific theatre sailors were quite adept at embellishing Japanese souvenirs so in my opinion it is not too much of a stretch to imagine that sailors in the Western theatre could have made a lucrative trade out of "tarting up" the bring back helmets of returning soldiers. Cheers.

[CBH]

I would think it was a personal Tarting up , to me it looks like the faces were done first , then the battleship grey was added later . It looks like old paint to me . Good luck .