Totally redone and aged.
Totally redone and aged.
As a member stated above before i read the comments i try and guess about the lid's authenticity but i have limited success because i don't know exactly what and where to look! I have learned a few 'beginners' tricks as to spot a fake helmet but that doesn't help me always as some of the fakes are proffesionaly made! Slados i could easily find a fake decal and an original, place them side by side and compare but it looks like there are many different styles of decals so it would be difficult to find the exact i.e. Poscher fake and the Poscher original to compare... What i want to say is that it would be perfect when someone commenting on a helmet insteed of saying ' fake' say ' it is a fake, here is the pic of the original decal. Look at the differences here, here and there'... I know that people are busy and will not do such time consuming thing but that would be the perfect answer IMO... Anyway i don't want to insult anyone or be hostile with anybody because i truly love you guys! You are the only people that share my passion and help me get better about it!
Peace!!
Hey, I totally get your point AND I do agree... believe it or not. However, we do not live in a perfect world and I think, simply due to the sheer mass of helmet threads, that people should not feel obligated to dissect each and every one. In some "gray area" helmets that really deserve discussion, such as for example the recent medics helmet, yes... but in obvious fake helmet threads, no.
That said, I guess it's totally up to you if you want to start a thread with real to fake decal comparisons. I'm not saying it's definitely not needed or that it wouldn't be helpful at all --- it's just that, IMO, it's more rewarding piecing together this puzzle yourself and I believe that you actually learn more in such a process. Yes, peace and love
I can understand what you are saying, but there are many reference threads available that painstakingly describe the characteristics of decals. Doug B. has taken the time to post pictures of all SS decals, and some of the better fakes. It takes a lot of time to describe all of the issues that are involved in assessing a fake decal, time that many do not have. This one is an obvious fake, and when you compare the decal to the pictures of the originals posted by Doug for reference the imperfections will jump out at you. The members of this forum are always willing to help out, especially when it appears that someone is about to make a big mistake, but it is also the responsibility of the newer collectors to put in the time to learn about the hobby by studying the reference sources that have been made available on the forum, and picking up a good book or 2 (Ken N.'s and Kelly H.'s for starters). There simply aren't enough hours in the day to write a treatise on every helmet posted. Just my opinion. Jim G.
I agree that it is just hard to explain "age patina" just something you come to know after years of looking at them. Those decals can be problematic expecially when they have been altered there are plenty of places on forum to compare original examples. Those cammo's are a minefield and as Dan says there are some new paint techniques to make them look old I avoided them over 30 years ago as there were many then and twice as many now. Don't know if this would answer your question. timothy
I was lucky enough(or unlucky enough )to be born at a time when helmets of every description were literally two a penny and easily available, many garages, sheds and kids had them and we played with them in the streets, and yes even SS helmets, camos of every type and even then fakers were at work, so helmets that are or were ordinary plain lids had camo added within tweny odd years after wars end so the patina now would look authentic, albeit some were badly done they may easily pass as good ones even now, and as the types of paints used during wartime still existed many years after , even a microscopic examination or paint testing would pass now, really the only true means testing of a fully genuine camo would be to have solid provenance from the vet that took it, all others are based on an indepth knowledge of examination of originals and that gut reaction of someone who has taken the time and patience to learn, as many have said this subject is a minefield, not withstanding the inclusion of decals under a camo or scratched out, but again people like Doug, Jim and many others, have taken years to be able to differentiate the complexities involved, especially SS decals . Add those into the equation of camos and things get more complicated, but generally if the decal is suspect then its a sign that the camo is also under suspicion
Yes as the guys stated above its hard for us to keep typing out a ton of information on it and showing every little thing about it with little time but I understand, this site has a ton of info and examples you can look at and compare like Dougs threads he made and even some older threads we can learn from and compare and as the title says "opinions" we just give our opinions but if you have a specific question about something don't be afraid to ask!
This has been pinned for two and a half years.
SS Runic Decal Reference Section
There is also Kelly Hicks book SS Steel v2 , Ken N book, and many searchable threads on various fora plus a great fake and real decal database at my forum GHW2.
It would take a month of Sundays to do a decisive post on what to look for on fake SS decals vs real because there are so many fakes. Instead study the real items to discern the fakes. My thread pinned in the SS section and the books should be the basis for recognizing all but the most difficult of fakes.
When your eye is trained to spot them, you can discern very quickly - as in 2 seconds - most fakes from real.
I could not tell you a good SS dagger from a remedial fake however because I do not study SS daggers.
So the information you seek is right in front of you!
Cheers
Doug
Also if you ever want to do a thread on specifics of a decal posting the real and fake I would be happy to oblige a detailed rationale behind the differences. But if you read carefully and refer often to my thread, and the books mentioned, you will be good to go I believe.
Thank you for your answers guys! It just happened to have never ever seen any of the threads you said! So i'll just have to read and search more in this forum! As for the pinned thread you mentioned i haven't studied because SS helmets aren't of big interest to me due to their value! If i ever manage to be able to buy one i would read and post everything in this forum regarding SS decals!
Thanks again for your politeness!!
Similar Threads
Bookmarks