Luftwaffe M42 SD: fake?

[ErichTopp]

Hi folks, here is a luftwaffe helmet, the decal and the painting look good but i was wonderring about the liner... the seller want 500 euros for it

[Danmark]

Hi Erich,
The liner looks OK to me, the staining on the fingers certainly looks like naturally occurring sweat stains ( crown of the head and brow line ).
I like the date and RBN ink stamps - nice & crisp - the felt is the correct type also.
I give it a thumbs up and the price is what you would expect for a M42 , not too high but not a bargain either.
That said, I think a close-up of the eagle is a must before you get the all clear.
Regards, Dan

[ErichTopp]

Thanks Dan, useful info, there is something else that bother me though...the smell! it does not smell like an old leather would do, thats why i got suspicious...but if someone else can corroborate that it seems to be a good one i might go for it!

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Hi,do the leather tounges have small leather washers at the ends where the string passes through?This liner looks fine to me although i have not seen an RBnr printing on one before(that does'nt meen it's wrong!)that said i have a luft with a huge leather batch number or depot number printed on the visable side.As i said seems a good helmet to me but better photo's of the decal are required.

[Danmark]

Ah, well then lets take another look. Leather DOES lose it's smell that is for sure so a leather smell is NOT a good sign. It has certainly been worn, those stains are not chemical. Can you look at the rivets to see if they have been bent only the once? The double bend is easy to notice if it has been out of the shell. This would be my next step - if it has been out, it could well be a good replacement liner but I would still knock the price down 100 euros!
Dan

[Lidman]

The felt looks ok to me too.
But, as Dan said, leather that old, should not smell like leather, if that's what you can smell
And a nice close up of the decal, would be a great help to confirm it's originality.

Brad.

[geelong]

could the leather been treated with a leather conditioner to clean it up a bit, but would that leve stains.

[davejb]

The leather looks just a little too clean for my liking, there should'nt be any smell except an old metal and sort of musty whiff, those "sweat" stains should have reacted with the leather over the years and one point to always take into consideration, look for stretch marks in the leather vent holes, i dont see any, although this is'nt a firm indication. I have seen original unfitted leathers being sold in near perfect condition but they are few and far between, more close ups are needed especially of the decal, the side areas of the liner, the rear of the liner and edges around the rim of the leather

[ErichTopp]

Thank you all, I contacted a friend of mine about the helmet and he told me not to buy anything from the seller, apparently he sold numbers of high quality fake helmets, thank you for your guidance as well. Too bad that our interest is too perverted by unreliable sellers...

[MD Helmets]

I see rings on the eyes of the fingers. If these are the sellers photos than he is trying to hide something. Who is the seller?