M38 FJ Helmet Shell

[BLONDI]

Gentlemen, I have just received this Para shell, it was purchased from the Estand on the Wehrmacht Awards forum and got the thumbs up there when discussed. I must admit, I thought it was right in the photographs and still believe it to be original in hand. That said, I’m posting it for opinions as I haven’t seen liner bolts like this before and don’t think they’re right. The nuts on the inside of these bolts are painfully thin. This shell isn’t mint, but it’s the way that I like them. This shell is a small ET66 Batch number 4986 and it weighs 700 grams. I would be obliged if you would rub my back on this one

Cheers as always
Andy

[M38]

There is some slight variation in the thickness of the nuts, some are pretty thin. So these could be okay. Can you tell if they are the correct thread size?

It appears that some of the bolt holes were drilled out to make them larger. That's not a good thing. Not much left of the decal but the shell seems solid.

Cheers,
Terry

[BLONDI]

Cheers Terry,
The thread size seems fine and they appear to have been there from the beginning. Yes, someone has drilled two of the nuts out perhaps to liberate the liner. Thankfully they haven’t oversized the holes but they’ve been brutal and have damaged the shell around the hole at the rear.
Thanks for your reply chum
Andy

[HARRY THE MOLE]

It looks a fine shell, do you intend to install a liner? Sympathetically done, it would look very nice. I did one a number of years ago, and used Bundeswehr straps.

Cheers,
Steve

[BLONDI]

Cheers Steve,
I have an ET68 FJ shell in better condition than this one and I’ve been trying to piece an original liner together for about 6 years. Unfortunately, original parts are like chickens teeth to find. I have a repro liner and straps but will probably just leave this one as is for now. I’ll probably just stick a couple of repro bolts into it for display.

Andy