What's the string on the Turtle helmet scrim?

[Armo1000]

Of the many vast ways MkIII/IV/V helmets where scrimmed, from what i have seen, one of the more common methods was to wrap a square of hessian round then shell, and then put a helmet net over that.

However from viewing many of these, i have noticed that some which are scrimmed like this tend to have what looks like a shoe lase string warped around the net. Can someone explain why this was done? Was it for aesthetics? or did it serve some practical purpose?

[jimpy]

Of the many vast ways MkIII/IV/V helmets where scrimmed, from what i have seen, one of the more common methods was to wrap a square of hessian round then shell, and then put a helmet net over that.

However from viewing many of these, i have noticed that some which are scrimmed like this tend to have what looks like a shoe lase string warped around the net. Can someone explain why this was done? Was it for aesthetics? or did it serve some practical purpose?

Usually done so that extra local foliage could be added. A length of black elastic was also sometimes added.

Regards etc

Ian D

AKA: Jimpy

[Composite]

I was told that too......which is what i thought the net was there for....but it would seem that the net was there to hold the sandbag piece on and to hang all sorts of clothy bits....but plants?...oh not, plant life goes in the elastic/lace.....apparently......

[Watchdog]

Usually done so that extra local foliage could be added. A length of black elastic was also sometimes added.

Regards etc

Ian D

AKA: Jimpy

Yep, I agree. This was the "Toms" solution to an obvious problem so you never find two exactly the same.

The net holds the makeshift hessian cover which eliminates the shine, solid colour block and an amount of the shape, in place and facilitates the attachment of scrim but not the attachment of foliage (local to the environment). Honestly, try it! So, an extra ready means of attachment is needed and the first obvious option is a spare bootlace. Elastic if you want to show off but the salty old sweat knows that elastic is only good as long as it remains; well, elastic! Sometimes there would be more than one lateral lace plus vertical sections between them. With this method the relevant material matching the immediate vicinity (no horse chestnut leaves in a pine forrest!) can be quickly added.

It is perhaps worth a mention of the factors to consider in camouflage and concealment known by all professional soldiers; shape, shine, shadow, silhouette for the actual camouflage plus sound and movement

I hope this is helpful.

Regards

Mark

[Watchdog]

I was told that too......which is what i thought the net was there for....but it would seem that the net was there to hold the sandbag piece on and to hang all sorts of clothy bits....but plants?...oh not, plant life goes in the elastic/lace.....apparently......

It's a bit like one of those jokes in which "you had to be there"

The real fun is when you try to carry out NBC decontamination. Imagine an image of The Walking Dead

Regards

Mark

[Jerry B]

as good a place as any to keep your spare laces....

[Armo1000]

Yep, I agree. This was the "Toms" solution to an obvious problem so you never find two exactly the same.

The net holds the makeshift hessian cover which eliminates the shine, solid colour block and an amount of the shape, in place and facilitates the attachment of scrim but not the attachment of foliage (local to the environment). Honestly, try it! So, an extra ready means of attachment is needed and the first obvious option is a spare bootlace. Elastic if you want to show off but the salty old sweat knows that elastic is only good as long as it remains; well, elastic! Sometimes there would be more than one lateral lace plus vertical sections between them. With this method the relevant material matching the immediate vicinity (no horse chestnut leaves in a pine forrest!) can be quickly added.

It is perhaps worth a mention of the factors to consider in camouflage and concealment known by all professional soldiers; shape, shine, shadow, silhouette for the actual camouflage plus sound and movement

I hope this is helpful.

Regards

Mark

Thanks for elaborating on that, i am currency working on getting my hands on one of these later turtles, in order to scrim it up somewhat like this, so i appreciate the info.

Ps. sorry for the late reply.

[Watchdog]

Thanks for elaborating on that, i am currency working on getting my hands on one of these later turtles, in order to scrim it up somewhat like this, so i appreciate the info.

The material for the scrim would be mainly strips of hessian cloth the ideal width of which would be approx 1" but that is imprecise because it was usually cut by the individual Tom using whatever sharp edge he could find, not always scissors! The ideal length would be around 8 - 10 inches as the method of attaching it usually entailed folding it in half therefore creating a piece of scrim about 4 - 5 inches on the helmet. The cloth came in natural (beige) or black colour and part of the process would have to include making it "mucky" as new cloth shines like a beacon. Also used was cloth from old KF or green combat shirts, lightweight trousers etc. Methods to make "mucky" ranged from paint to boot polish or even muddy water. Often the best idea was to use pieces of old hessian from the vehicle covers (also hand made from huge bolts of cloth) which was already "worn in". Remember, the idea is to make it look like an amorphous mass (aka piece of crap!) so that it totally blends in to just about any background.

Regards

Mark