Belgium M-51

[Opex]

your very welcome mate and glad to help out as i know how passionate you are about these helmets,you have done a fantastic job fitting it too complimented by the tubing so well done

James I cannot express what a faff it was fitting this cover, in the end I soaked it water and dragged the edges down through the tubing...phew !!!

Thanks again for sending it my way mate, it really looks the part, nice one mate

[James C]

gary i never even thought of wetting it down ,i will try and do the same on mine to iron out the creases so thanks for the tip

[battle gear]

Here is my Belgian M51 with a period camouflage paint job with a matching liner, shows lots of aging, the Belgium flag has been painted over, I think this was an export helmet used by some other country, the liner looks like a 1960's Vietnam style liner, but it's marked in the crown the mold mark "MIX"

[Opex]

gary i never even thought of wetting it down ,i will try and do the same on mine to iron out the creases so thanks for the tip

No worries James the "wet and drag" method was out of sheer desperation, but I got there in the end. Post these pictures I have taken it back of the shell, and cut it into four pieces sewn the pieces together and placed back , it's a much better fit and looks a little more like the period versions, when I get a chance I will post some pictures up mate

[Opex]

Hi BG, that is very interesting, the liner is unusual and I have never heard of the manufacturer, the chinstraps are Dutch BTW so that makes it an even more intriguing piece in my opinion

[battle gear]

Hi BG, that is very interesting, the liner is unusual and I have never heard of the manufacturer, the chinstraps are Dutch BTW so that makes it an even more intriguing piece in my opinion

hello Opex, yes it seems to be made from parts from other countries besides Belgium, it could even be a helmet from the Iran - Iraq War? or the war in Beriut Lebanon? when other countries use surplus or exported helmets it's common to see a mixture of parts like that.

Ive been told by some former military that served in the middle east in places like Iraq, that they would find all types of helmets over there, some were West German, East German, Belgian, Austrian, Dutch, US, British, Polish, Russian, etc since most of the helmets were imported.

[Opex]

Hi BG, good point that could well explain the usage of different nations part's, oh and I forgot to mention in my previous post that I like the camo effect on the shell

[James C]

i will look forward to seeing your handy work gary and great example Battle gear out of curiosity can i ask if the cammo paint is in solid blotches or has a strained look its hard to tell but ive seen hessian covered examples painted in the exact same way and wondered if this is one of them where the colour has bled through ,just wondering mate ,cheers james

[battle gear]

i will look forward to seeing your handy work gary and great example Battle gear out of curiosity can i ask if the cammo paint is in solid blotches or has a strained look its hard to tell but ive seen hessian covered examples painted in the exact same way and wondered if this is one of them where the colour has bled through ,just wondering mate ,cheers james

Thanks James, it appears to be solid camo blotches with lots of small nicks and field wear, I dont see any signs of hessian canvas patterns on the paint, mostly just lots of field wear.

[James C]

fair enough battlegear, thanks for looking