Ebay items I'm interested in.

[aircap1]

Hello all!
I'd like to ask, if you could please help me better understand some helmets that I'm looking at getting on Ebay if a local military collectibles show thing goes bust.
All currency in USD

Item 1
Italian Camouflage helmet.
Listed price
180+45 shipping


Item 2
German M40 helmet shell. Camo?
This one I'm interested in very much. I asked for more pictures because they were not at all close up.
Listed price
226+38 shipping


Item 3
German winter relic helmet with liner
Listed price
250+40 shipping


Item 4
German winter relic helmet with wire
Listed price
249


All images courtesy of the Ebay seller
And finally, thank you for every response you give!

[Gunny Hartmann]

The Italian camo has fake recent paint, all the German lids are overpriced and the last one with the barbed wire looks contrived. I wouldn't buy any of them but that's just me.

[AndyM35]

Hello Aircap1, to be honest I don’t like any of these lids. No. 1. No patina ( extra thick paint). No.2 Regular M40 relic - no camo present. No. 3. Better hi res photos needed (may stand a chance). No. 4. Liners weren’t removed for camos so already a red flag. Also very bright for an antique that is supposedly 70+ years old. Better photos needed. As stated none of these really exhibit the qualities of an original WW2 helmet. Are these all from the same seller?

My best advice is to study in depth the helmets that you want to collect. Search the 100’s of previous posts on this site and become familiar with the originals and fakes. Enjoy the journey not the race. Andy

[HetzersGonnaHetz]

Ditto what has been said above.
1: Not a fan.
2: Normal shell and expensive.
3: Possibility, however it seems fragile rather than a solid shell like number 2.
4: Not a fan.
Apologies for the rushed message mate, literally heading out as we speak.
Kindest regards,
Harvey

[Schwerpunkt]

Ebay or auction sites in general is a place to stay away from if you don't have sufficient knowledge on the subject.

[aircap1]

Update number one
Helmet #4 is now down to 210.
Might ask for indoor pictures.

[geelong]

if i am right there has been a few discussions about the mythical barbed wired German helmet on here before.
and the conceptions is they never existed.
and i always thought the Z stitching in the liners of m33 were post war manufacture

[AndyM35]

If you buy the last one (or any of them really) you’re just throwing away $$. The camo is painted in the dome which means the liner would have been out which means the pins would have been taken out in the process and should therefore have no paint on them. And besides, why go to all of that trouble to remove the liner when the enemy were not going to see that area anyway.

Number 3 may stand a chance of being a snow camo but again it would need much better scrutiny. If you want to read a bit t about camos have a look at Schwerpunkt’s camo page on his website: Collecting snow camo & red cross helmets – German Helmet Vault

Andy

[aircap1]

Ah yeah
I'm definitely dumb.
I was wondering what you meant by removing the liner.

Anyway yeah now that you said that, it definitely isn't of interest.
I just saw it at a low price and I've wanted a wire helmet for quite a while now.

[Gunny Hartmann]

if i am right there has been a few discussions about the mythical barbed wired German helmet on here before.
and the conceptions is they never existed.
and i always thought the Z stitching in the liners of m33 were post war manufacture

You are correct about the Z stitching, it's post 1945.