New to German helmets and I could use some help with identifying please!!!!

[Noob Military collector]

i saw this supposed M40 helmet shell for a decent a price but i dont know if it is fake or if the Decal is fake or not. the decal is worn quite a bit so its hard to tell. i was told the person got it from a estate sale. also a lot of the heat stamps seem to be worn off or painted over. i tried to send more pictures but i dont know if i hit the limit or not. it would be my first German helmet i just wanted to know if i got a OK first helmet or not. Thanks for the help in advance. also sorry for potential blurriness but i tried to send better pics but like i said earlier i couldn't figure out if i hit a limit or what. i believe the band has been tampered with. im not looking for pristine condition bc most of my collection isnt pristine (i like it that way). i just want to know if its authentic or not

[Adravor]

Shell should be good, an M40 and not an M35 though. Cant see what the Makers Mark is from these pictures, would be important for decal authentification.

[Noob Military collector]

ok thanks. i decided to bite the bullet and buy it. i will get it in a week or two and ill look for a mark. where should it be?

[MAP]

ok thanks. i decided to bite the bullet and buy it. i will get it in a week or two and ill look for a mark. where should it be?

You should always be patient and wait for multiple views on a helmet. No helmet is so rare (especially one like this) that you need to rush and buy.

So...my view..but better photos are needed to really confirm.

Has a thick overpaint or camo as seen by the taping off of the decal. Appears to be painted under the skirt as well but I can not tell if it goes all the way into the inner dome (don't think it does). If it only goes up to the liner band, that is OK.

Decal may be a Huber Jordan so this might be a EF shell??

The Steel liner band has square bales. Maybe left over stocks of older square bales?

Still, I would like to see clearer photos.

[PaddyD00]

Looks like its just an M40... With an ET style decal and a messed with old liner in it to me. I don’t see the Camo MAPs talking bout (on phone disclaimer)
Z

[PaddyD00]

....maybe an overpaint type vibe in the inside

[AndyM35]

Agree with MAP. An overpaint. Can see what looks like brush strokes on the inner rear skirt too!

[Noob Military collector]

is this bad? what does it mean?

[Noob Military collector]

well i have been collecting for a decade and i have never had the chance to buy a German helmet with mostly (60ish%) intact Decal. i guess i got excited and wanted to jump on it before anyone else did. my fault. well i know it has its problems i was just hoping it was real. my collection isnt pristine condition stuff but i do strive for authenticity. someone has to buy the rougher items lol

[PaddyD00]

No man. Could be all good. A little “messed with” perhaps but paint (either original factory or the over paint) looks OG and period to the helmet. Decal looks like it will be good too. I know we are beating a dead horse here but quality photos are the key to this whole game. We don’t have the helmet. So we are at the mercy of the photos to make good judgement calls.

When helmet comes. Post it up .

And No. you did not blow it completely on some bogus helmet