Converted M1 shell and Liner

[2ndRangersWW2]

Hello! Here I have a converted Vietnam/ late production M1 that I converted into a WWII/ Korean War era shell. I purchased it at a local surplus store for very cheap. The exterior was the typical light green seen on Vietnam era and later produced shells, however it was in rough shape. So I took the opportunity to do my best to convert it into a ww2 or Korean era looking helmet. The liner is also a Belgian I picked up at the same time. The liner was completely stripped of webbing and was only 6$. So I purchased a reproduction Korean era webbing kit.


I also used a cheese grater and a cork wine bottle to try to match the texture of a WWII shell, however I didn't do the best job at evenly distributing the cork




I chose the OD webbing as opposed to the WWII "Khaki" webbing because original Belgian liners used the dark OD variant, so in my opinion it matched better. Plus this isn't for reenacting or anything just a weekend project.
For now I just slapped a PSAGT sweatband in there until I purchase a correct one




Here it is matched up with my original '51 dated US liner.


Here is the shell after drying, I tried to match the color the best I could from typical hardware store camo spray paint, however it does look lighter on camera.
Thank you for taking a look! Just a reminder that this is a project helmet and not accurately representing a certain time period at the moment, just something I threw together in a week for as cheap as possible. If you have any tips on refurbishing or anything, feel free to let me know as I'm not an expert, this is my first one. Thank you!

[Twthmoses]

I think it looks great. A bit too much cork in places, but an ok color. A good try . I’ve turned m1 shells into flower pot and trophy, I have no problem with “accessoring” shells/helmets to one’s need! So keep at it.

[2ndRangersWW2]

Thanks! I've further sanded down the cork a bit, added chinstraps, an Austrian leather chinstrap as a placeholder for a correct one, and an NCO stripe on the back!

[Kamuflaza]

Nice restoration Project! Just add a net on it

[2ndRangersWW2]

Luckily I had a net laying around!

[Twthmoses]

Looking nice! I’m not a net guy, so I know too little about helm nets in general. But curious, what type/name of net it this? Is it original or a reproduction?

[Kamuflaza]

Now thats complete set! Where did you find belgian liner? Also looking for one to match my reeanactment duties

[2ndRangersWW2]

Thank you! I actually found it at a local surplus store, stripped of the webbing for a little over 5$ US. I purchased the webbing from J.Murray

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I believe the net is a reproduction, I purchased it from a surplus store and it had no label telling the age or manufacturer

[2ndRangersWW2]

Here is the final product! Finally got the sweatband and leather chinstrap in!

[Twthmoses]

Nice, like it a lot. Very nice helmet. What about the nape strap? Still on the lookout for one?