Some opinions would be appreciated

[olboy]

So I'm still relatively new to collecting helmets and then I came across this one.
I tend to think it's appearance is legitimate and who has it also appears to be legitimate....but I'm cautious after what I've read and seen.

Anyway I'd appreciate it if people could tell me what they see. Thank you

[real steel]

If I saw this on a table at a show...I would not even pick it up. Not a convincing period done camo IMO plus you can observe the liner/split pin issues. It bares resemblance to the "shake & bake" tan camo's from the 80's. Tan paint & then oven baked to produce the stress marks & cracks.

Others may like it though...
D.

[MG42UK]

Seeing posts like David's above makes me come out in a cold sweat realising how little I still know on this topic...

I think based on my limited experience of collecting Militaria that German helmets are the most complex and knowledge rich part of this interest area to get involved in.

[Schwerpunkt]

Seeing posts like David's above makes me come out in a cold sweat realising how little I still know on this topic...

I think based on my limited experience of collecting Militaria that German helmets are the most complex and knowledge rich part of this interest area to get involved in.

German combat helmets without camo can be bought quite safely , camo helmets is another story.
Medals , visors , caps, uniforms there is quite a lot of fakery going on there as well.
You need expertise in any collecting field if you plan to spend a lot of money.

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Hi I agree with David completely, heat stress to the paintwork and the liner clearly was not in place when that happened, so for me a messed with helmet for sure. Leon.

[AndyM35]

I agree with David’s comments. One thing I noticed with this one was that the paint appeared to be pealing in some areas and cracking like an ‘old master’ painting which also leads me to think of it being placed in an oven and baked. The liner definitely looks messed with either to check the split pins or to look for maker marks which in itself detracts.

I can admire the beauty of a classic camo but for me they’re a bit too risky to contemplate at this stage.

[AndyM35]

Another thing I noticed was that one of the letters (circled) of the name appears to go over a deep scratch. The same with the full stop at the end over older paint loss/wear.

[helmet2id]

[QUOTE=real steel ..... Not a convincing period done camo IMO plus you can observe the liner/split pin issues. It bares resemblance to the "shake & bake" tan camo's from the 80's. Tan paint & then oven baked to produce the stress marks & cracks.

Others may like it though...
D.[/QUOTE]

Most won't however. Count me as one of those. Sorry, but I agree with Dave 1000%. Jim G.

[olboy]

My hats off then to ever did this as that patina is quite exceptional, even some of the rust has gone quite dark. But this is why I paid a 12 month subscription to this site, the opinions are invaluable.
I'll be looking for untouched ww2 helmets primarily from now on.....thank you once again.

[MAP]

My hats off then to ever did this as that patina is quite exceptional, even some of the rust has gone quite dark. But this is why I paid a 12 month subscription to this site, the opinions are invaluable.
I'll be looking for untouched ww2 helmets primarily from now on.....thank you once again.

Wise words from David that most of us agree with. You also have to remember, this is now almost 40 years old. Rust will darken (although I feel people put too much of an emphasis on rust) and a patina will build up after all these years.

Also agree 100% with Frank. Visors, awards, uniforms, etc. etc. are faked to a high degree as well. And as time goes by, the fakes get even better and better. Remember the days of cast lead fake awards but just recently I saw a fake PAB25 by JFS that would fool 95% of the people out there (me included).