Medium Weight M34 Double Decal SD SS Helmet with Interesting Pocher Runic Decal
Article about: This one is an interesting piece because it illustrates the layered method used to print Pocher Runic decals. I bought it about 22 or 23 years ago, sight unseen, from one of the old Ruptured
Medium Weight M34 Double Decal SD SS Helmet with Interesting Pocher Runic Decal
This one is an interesting piece because it illustrates the layered method used to print Pocher Runic decals. I bought it about 22 or 23 years ago, sight unseen, from one of the old Ruptured Duck paper catalogues. The old timers recall these - they came in the mail every few months back in the day. You would get home from work and there would be a message on the answering machine - we didn't have i-phones then - from a fellow collector that the catalogue had arrived, and for the next few days the first thing you did when you got home was run to the mailbox to grab it before the better half intercepted and "deep sixed" it. This one is a double decal SS SD example on the more common 4 rivet M34 medium weight shell with bulged vents. Anyway, when it arrived I was initially a bit surprised and disappointed. It was in really rough shape, the liner was a rat, there was no chin strap, the paint had a fair amount of oxidation, and the decals were a bit washed out. Most alarming was the runic shield - my first impression was that it just didn't look "right". They were too narrow. I took out a magnifying glass, and the more I looked at it the more I liked it. I showed it to AL B., and to my relief got his blessing. In fact, he had owned it in the 70's, and confirmed what I thought. The top layer(s) of black ink had worn off, leaving only ghost outlines of the original runes. If you look closely at the decal, you can actually see the original borders of the runes. If the area within the shadows on the edges of the runes was black, the graphics of the decal would match perfectly with the classic Pocher runic shield. Anyway, the price was right, it was a bit of a conversation piece, and one that I knew had already been around and known for decades, so i kept it. I have always intended to buy another SD helmet, hopefully with reversed decals, but after all of these years this one is still my only M34 medium weight double decal SD SS helmet. Hope you like it. Jim G.
The last picture is of a Pocher runic shield on a reverse decal M35 that is for sale on a dealer site. This shield also shows similar wear that resulted in the loss of the black ink on the borders of the runes.
Hi Jim, thanks for showing this one as it clearly highlights how the "border" became so visually prominent on the Pocher decal. The duel layering printing method is shown to it's fullest with this worn down decal. Leon.
I really like the look of your SD/SS helmet! A lot of character with that "been there" appearance. Also interesting seeing the printing process through the wearing away of the decal.
Here is a shot of a nice "blood red" party shield on my M35 Polizei, instead of a slight orange colored "warm red" that is most commonly encountered.
The darker red is achieved by "double bumping" or printing the same color twice. Sometimes this can be seen when the second pass through the press is slightly out of registration, as is the case here at 1 and 2 o'clock.
Medium Weight M34 Double Decal SD SS Helmet with Interesting Pocher Runic Decal
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