My Strange Luftwaffe M42

[Ethan]

Hi, I have had this helmet for not too long, but I just got back into town so I can take some pictures of it and post it here.

I got this from a woman at an estate sale, who's father had supposedly been a WW2 vet and had brought this back from Europe. For some reason he had put a U.S army sergeants symbol in red on it and a swastika in red on the front (all though this may not be true, I suspect his daughter or someone else may have done it), honestly I wish that whoever did it had not done it, but it makes it stand out, I guess.

Obviously I bought it not because of the story (I quickly found out thats a big not-to-do when it comes to collecting relics) but because I was able to get it at a price that you don't usually find on eBay, and that it was, well, just there and it was the only thing I went to the estate sale for. The liner isn't in the best condition, but its there.

[real steel]

Just another case of "trench art" or post war fun. At least the helmet paint, liner & decal appear original.
D.

[Neil Hever]

I have seen numerous "customized" helmets brought back to the states. I will guess the veteran put the stripes on there as a joke and wore it for a day or two. It is possible to remove the paint but you risk damaging the paint underneath. I was able to remove a bogus bit of artwork from my Luft M42 but it was painstaking. If it has provenance then I would leave it as is. NH

[Anderson]

If you want to try and remove the red additions, you could try using nail polish remover with a cotton bud stick. But work slowly and use the npr in small amounts to test if underlying paint is effected.

[Ethan]

I have seen numerous "customized" helmets brought back to the states. I will guess the veteran put the stripes on there as a joke and wore it for a day or two. It is possible to remove the paint but you risk damaging the paint underneath. I was able to remove a bogus bit of artwork from my Luft M42 but it was painstaking. If it has provenance then I would leave it as is. NH

Yeah, I don't think I'm going to try to take the stuff off it, don't want to damage the paint beneath it and I am pretty clumsy so if it is painstaking then its probably best I don't do anything to it.

[MAP]

I would leave it as is. This type of Vet are is not unheard of as David notes. To me, it is part of the life of the helmet. Sure it's not untouched and thus not as collectible to some, but it is part of the history (that said, I don't think helmets that have been messed with by fakers to deceive are "part of history, they are just junk). Personally I like Vet Art helmets.

I really do wish we could get better photos. These are really low resolution and can not be expanded.

[Tank Destroyer]

Leave it.

Marty

- - ------- - -

Leave it.

Marty

[TWS]

As others have noted, what you have on that helmet is called "G.I. Art". It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to add some custom touches to captured helmets. Often they would paint where and when they captured it and some even used German helmets as a "service record" with numerous places of battles or just places they had been during the war. Some dealers try to charge a premium for such helmets, but I'd only feel it added value if I got it direct from the vet's family like you did. Once a helmet has changed hands a few times, the G.I. Art becomes harder to authenticate.

[Neil Hever]

Agreed - it has provenance so leave it alone. NH

[MAP]

As others have noted, what you have on that helmet is called "G.I. Art". It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to add some custom touches to captured helmets. Often they would paint where and when they captured it and some even used German helmets as a "service record" with numerous places of battles or just places they had been during the war.

An example.......