DougB exposes "Champagne Rune" SS Decal Fraud and Adds a Coffin Nail to XRFacts

Peiper, Rev.,
I believe we've just witnessed the helmet collecting hobby completely sell out and trade integrity for swastika festooned trinkets and web traffic. Have we reached a point where the majority in the hobby would rather get a trinket fix than do what is right, moral, and honest? This level of almost open fraud and everyone is suppressing it so they can continue getting Nazi baubles and trinkets? What a disgusting situation. Why would anyone want to be involved in such a hobby?

And yes, Peiper, you and Hobo are marked for banning, and probably you to Rev. Mike.
Cheers,
HB
 
Hi Hambone,

Yeah, I think you could very much be right. I have been very supportive to Doug's cause, and seeing him suddenly disappear is quite extraordinary. Especially since Doug was planning to expose further information on ED when the thread "Champagne decal commentary" was reopened in a couple days after it got locked for allowing the debate to "cool down".

We are seeing the lapse of integrity of the german helmet community if what we suspect infact has actually happened.

I did not think GHW2 would sink to such a low level. Hopefully we will be provided with an explanation to Doug's disappearance.
 
Last edited:
You can detect fakes on forums like waf and GHW but you can't upset the business that the militaria hobby also is for some.
If you go that one step further and want to expose the network behind the fakes, you are a hobby anarchist!
 
OK - for about 20 minutes I have tried to post the question on GHW2, specifically what happened to the thread and what happened to DougB. For some reason I seem to not be able to post.
Hmmm! Perhaps I'm paranoid, but I suppose they could block input selectively, not that I'm a big fish in this sewage pond. I remember when this used to be fun even educational. It is just sad and depressing. Perhaps if someone here knows Doug Buhler they can invite him to join this group - or if not - to at least let us know what is really going on as GHW2 morphs into WAF2. I am tempted to use some words that the clergy do not commonly employ.....
-Mike

-
 
Very true Peter these guys at WAF run this hobby as a business. And its their livelihood of income. I realized when I went too Louisville yesterday and talked with a very good collector friend of mine that sets up there. Seeing his 15 WW2 rifles, 20 WW2 and WW1 pistols, cases of WW2 holsters, sniper scopes, hundreds of luger magazines and P38 magazines, cases of daggers, bayonets, fighting knifes, tons of military items you soon realized that there is over $100,000 plus were of stuff on his tables.

I did ask him about the SS helmet problem and he said that is why he never got involved in SS helmets. He also said if they think screwing folks out of $15,000 to $25,000 are going too go away quietly their very mistaken.

It really makes you wonder how much money these guys took all these people too support themselves. Really makes you sick. And Exposing them and calling them out is a risk ruining their income and not too mention all the other bad things with fraud involved.
 
Hi Rev.Mike,

It seems I was able to post a thread now in the german helmet section. Let us see if there is a logical explanation, or if I get banned for asking questions around Doug and the "Mythbusting the Champagne Rune Decal" threads disapperance.

If my account suddendly stops working, we will know for sure if something sinister is about. It could just be a system glitch, although I have my concerns. Something is not right IMO.
 
Last edited:
Rev., DougB knows he is always welcome here, he knows that. I look at his presence as an ASSET to our community, while the German lid collecting sites look at him as a liability. That should tell you something right there. Then again, I am a supermoderator here, and on German helmet sites I'm a "hobby anarchist", a "boogie man" of sorts. Most of the most respected and appreciated members here are banned and censored at German helmet forums. We are the same, so what is different? How many "problems" do we have here? How many times has anyone been censored or banned?

Frankly guys, they are destroying the hobby. Those running it, the ones making money, are $hitting in their own lunch boxes and those arrogant "Good Ole Boy" collectors/dealers are going to grow old and die with piles of helmets no one wants or cares about because they have presided over dishonest, immorality, fraud, and treating new hobby members like sheep to be sheared, not the future of their hobby. That is why we have many new guys, 20 somethings, involved in K98k collecting and a helmet collecting get together looks like a retirement home meeting. At this point, it's too late for them I believe without a serious cleanup.

Brother Peiper, you are as good as banned right now at GHW2 if you request an explanation. An explanation is warranted. If they do that, you will be banned to protect hucksters, crooks, and fraud IMHO. Also, IMHO, they will be then little more than WAF, Jr.
 
I frequent both forums and for those who missed it there was a major going on @ GHW and this forum as one member M45 about posting links from GHW to his camo thread. That's where it started. David C. wouldn't let it go then Doug was getting madder and more pissed in his tone. Then I assumed he was banned as I saw his status changed. Doug was on there @ that point. Now I see he has left the building. Maybe that whole tirade was the last straw ??? I can see where he is fed up and fighting on an online forum Im sure is the last thing he wants to do.. SO the last bitch fest was enough for him to say f*ck it and pull out 100% ? I have his personal email but I don't think this is the best time to ask questions. Now its up to who is left that wants to carry the torch for those who got burned and don't seem to care...:facepalm:
 
mauser99 said:
I frequent both forums and for those who missed it there was a major going on @ GHW and this forum as one member M45 about posting links from GHW to his camo thread. That's where it started. David C. wouldn't let it go then Doug was getting madder and more pissed in his tone. Then I assumed he was banned as I saw his status changed. Doug was on there @ that point. Now I see he has left the building. Maybe that whole tirade was the last straw ??? I can see where he is fed up and fighting on an online forum Im sure is the last thing he wants to do.. SO the last bitch fest was enough for him to say f*ck it and pull out 100% ? I have his personal email but I don't think this is the best time to ask questions. Now its up to who is left that wants to carry the torch for those who got burned and don't seem to care...:facepalm:
Click to expand...

The reason this was all eliminated is GWH wants to get on with growing a site now that DougB sold it and does not want the controversy of discussion of the biggest fraud in militaria collecting history, a fraud which directly involves German helmet collecting and the big shots in it. Move along, nothing to see. Your "analysis" seems more slanted toward excusing the status quo and new powers that be than it is objective and reality based. To me it looks like you're guessing and shooting angles in a biased manner, about things you don't know, to defend GWH and advance the idea that all of this is about "keeping the peace" and "civility". That's about the only argument that appears somewhat sane from an ethics and integrity standpoint, but it's also mighty weak. I know you rely upon that site to discuss and sell helmets and such, but what is more important, disclosing fraud, advancing honesty and integrity, and cleaning up a dirty hobby, or buying and selling trinkets with swastikas on them?

David C's argument was that our site "lacked integrity" because it allowed discussion of helmets posted and sold elsewhere, namely by M45. David C said he was going to come here and post to sort some people out and reveal some facts of some kind which would apparently put the people posting here in a negative light. He was told to come here, address his problems and whatever he wanted to say in an open and transparent, uncensored forum. How much of that did you see? Sounds to me like alligator mouth / mockingbird a$$ syndrome, which the internets forums are famous for. It's also why none of your buddies at WAF post here and why you won't see any of your buddies at GWH2 post here either. There are no good reasons for the censorship and they know here the playing field is level and the most logical and factually supported argument will prevail.

Think of it like this: I disagree with you. How about I start smearing you, censoring your posts, then ban you when you respond in order to "keep the peace" and "make the site civil"? We're all adult men here and if anyone gets so butthurt that they need a forum censored to make their butthurt go away, well, this is not a place for them. The difference is that any of them and anyone else is free to make their points and defend themselves here. That is not true at WAF and now GHW.

Your argument that no one has stepped forward for refunds, so discussion of the biggest and longest lasting, $250k+ fraud in militaria collecting history should just be dropped or swept under the rug is, to me, outrageous. It's why when people do crimes, sometimes even if they don't want to press charges the DA prosecutes. That's why criminal matters are the "State vs. Smith". It is because crimes are bad and they hurt everyone, not just the direct victims. It is to let criminals know that criminal conduct is not tolerated. It is to not only solve crimes but deter them. Here, the helmet forums have a massive fraud in their lap and they are not only doing nothing to get to the bottom of the crimes (fraud is a crime) and the culprits, but they are silencing others who wish to discuss it and eliminating the deterrent effect. Do you want to live in a neighborhood where the neighbors don't report burglaries and crimes if it isn't their house and the cops don't investigate and the DAs don't prosecute? So why do you want to be in a hobby which does (or does not do) this?
 
Last edited:
I disagree on a few points. Doug had been very active on GHw the last few weeks. Nothing major and then the whole cross forum topic was brought up. He didn't give a rats a$$ about what was being posted here. He didn't want threads disrupted with banter. There is an off topic section and he invited all that wanted to comment to use that sub-section. That didn't happen. David c I assume was banned ? As he didn't follow the rules. I'm not sure what transpired over the last day as I wasn't online. Something set Doug off ??? Looks like he pulled out completely..? I never thought and still don't think that GHW has a hidden agenda. They are not sponsor driven. They are member driven. That forum will not be the same without Doug's personality being part of it though. The whole thing is a damn shame.
 
mauser99 said:
I disagree on a few points. Doug had been very active on GHw the last few weeks. Nothing major and then the whole cross forum topic was brought up. He didn't give a rats a$$ about what was being posted here. He didn't want threads disrupted with banter. There is an off topic section and he invited all that wanted to comment to use that sub-section. That didn't happen. David c I assume was banned ? As he didn't follow the rules. I'm not sure what transpired over the last day as I wasn't online. Something set Doug off ??? Looks like he pulled out completely..? I never thought and still don't think that GHW has a hidden agenda. They are not sponsor driven. They are member driven. That forum will not be the same without Doug's personality being part of it though. The whole thing is a damn shame.
Click to expand...

I didn't say GWH is hiding anything. I said they just want this to go away because they are trying to grow a forum and traffic and go along to get along. I'm not speaking from guessing. That's not our style here, obviously. We care more here about the fully vetted quality of the information, the truth, and the integrity of the hobby here and the way we do things here attracts those types of people. The easily butthurt, trinket whores, big time hucksters, and their buddies, won't like it here. That's fine because there are plenty of places for them on the internets where they can thrive like lemmings and be protected from the truth, butthurt, and embarrassment.
 
Last edited:
Peiper said:
Hi Hambone,

I just learned the awful truth about the removal of DougB from GHW2. His account has dissapeared in its entirety (almost, as quotes from his posts still exists in other peoples posts). Either he has himself asked to be removed from GHW2, or he has been removed against his own will. Since he was an forum admin up to at least two days ago makes me think the latter rather than the former. I noticed as his avatar was no longer on my friend list. This also means that the thread "Mythbusting the Champagne rune decal" is now gone from GHW2. This is shocking to say the least.

Also, a respected collector named David C. was also removed a couple days ago. It almost seem that there is some sort of shakedown ongoing at GHW2. Wonder who is next...??

I guess that Hobo and myself could potentially be targets as we are here discussing this scandal on the K98K forum. Lets see what happens. I do not believe that the "Champagne rune discussion" thread will ever be reopened now with these disturbing change of events at GHW2. I must admit that I am a bit shocked that this is being surpressed in the manner that seems to be.

I think sadly that you are correct that this will never be fully exposed at all, except for here at this forum were one does not censor, ban or delete members.
Click to expand...




From my own perspective, this latest eruption seems to have started with my criticisms of that Q66 M35 camo. David C. was upset with my negative feedback and began to complain on GHW2 (he also made a few posts here as well). He was blasting my books and suggesting I was a member over there under another name. He also said I was an "iconic figure", I think speaking negatively. Some members were defending my books (especially the lot# book) as valid material.

Ultimately, Doug appears and makes a long post, which a short while later deleted along with David C.s posts. I was not able to save Doug's last post, but I read it and recall the high points.


EDIT: Doug identified E.D. as the source of C-SS

Doug was saying how these helmet books have become "law" in the hobby, referring mainly to Kelly H.'s books on SS helmets. He mentioned that the evolution of champagne SS started off slowly in Kelly's books with few examples in print, gradually increasing in number in his later books to have many photos and explanations about C-SS in his final updated edition of SS Steel. He was 'upset' because Kelly's increased inclusion of C-SS seems to have made it authentic by being in print.

Doug also took the opportunity to bring up the 'historical' lot# disagreement in which I had supposedly 'stolen' lot# info from GHW1 to use in my lot# book. This has long been a sore topic for Doug and Frank ever since I first published the lot# book back in 2011. They somehow think they were done wrong by my gathering lot# information from their website without being given credit. I think they had some 'pipe-dream' of producing their own lot# book and were offended when I beat them to it.

Doug also brought up my use of the 'M45' moniker when I describe ventless helmets (another sore spot) as though I have no business using it without his permission.

In short, it seemed as though Doug's final forum rant was his farewell F.U. to the hobby.

According to Roy A., it was Doug's idea to remove all of his posts from the forum. So Doug took his 'Mythbusting the Champagne Decal' research with him. Is that selfish, or what?
 
Last edited:
I think there is a problem with some of these lid picture books that proclaim a lid's authenticity without supporting evidence. How else do you explain the CSS lid pictures published in Hicks' lid book with comments that they are legit.
 
Guys,

My thread got answered by RoyA, and promptly locked. The "Mythbusting the Champagne Decal" thread is forever gone, but the research will according to Roy be in the new book on decals.

Since Doug has requested that his whole history on GHW to be deleted, this is most likely him closing the german helmet collecting chapter fully. Based on my discussions with Doug, I guessed he has finally had it with the hobby, even if he intended to have the truth fully revealed. I guess it is just to difficult for the german helmet collecting community to come clean as too many important people are implicit (and to many "original and vetted" camo helmets are indeed fakes made by ED). I now firmly believe what Doug has informed to me personally and on forums that the german helmet collecting community with its "old boys club" is corrupt as hell. The last drama confirms this to me personally. This whole thing seems to have happened after David saw the camo helmet posted by KenB on GHW2 being questioned here by Brian.

I think there is a strong link between the Shampain Ruin scandal and the camo helmet controversy. Where probably ED is the spider in a web of fraud were also major players in the helmet collecting community are implicit. This web seems to be so intricate that exposing the hideous truth will tear down the whole community. Which possibly could be why there is such a strong resistance to have the truth uncovered and also have litigation on COA's prevented at all cost.

I believe that I have already been singled out as part of the "group" who have "fabricated" indignation towards Kelly Hicks for not honoring his COA's, I presume Hambone is right concerning my possible status on GHW2. I presume that I am marked for being banned, but the GHW2 forum lacks a valid reason to ban me. But I am certain that my writings on GHW2 and this forum has firmly put me as an outcast in the german helmet community and that I might also be blacklisted by certain members. Which is fine, as I have never been a "big player" who have had the need to accummulate lots of helmets or the most exotic helmets. I do not buy a lot of helmets neither (to my wife's satisfaction. She will love the idea of me being banned and blacklisted.....LOL!).

To sum up, the german helmet community will never be the same. Even if Doug does not feel this way now, his exposure of the Shampain Ruin scandal is a mortal blow to the corrupt parts of the german helmet collecting community. The truth is there right infront of us (and in this thread), even if the community is desperately trying to cover up in order to keep the status quo. Once the camo helmet scandal starts to become apparant, even more renowned collectors and dealers will be exposed in this web earlier mentioned I believe.

It is just a question of time. How long it will take is difficult to say. Certainly longer than Doug anticipated when he released his analysis. Who can tell...?
 
Last edited:
I believe that DougB was pushing further with the Shampain Ruin fraud discussion and GHW 2.0 didn't want to go there. His frustration is the same as some of us here had when the discussion of XRFacts was consistently shut down at WAF. If I had to bet money I would say that there are more than a few "Ole Boys" who want his shampain ruin line of inquiry to stop. WAF and War Relics would have stopped the inquiry before it really went anywhere and GHW wants nothing more to do with it.

The bigger integrity hit to the hobby to me is how the revelations were handled, not the revelations themselves. It's pretty disgusting.

Edit: Peiper, I just read your post. I agree completely, well said.
 
tjg79 said:
I hope that Doug B doesn't decide to quit the lid hobby completely.
Click to expand...

He sold 98% of his seven figure collection and kept a few key pieces. He also collects ww1/2 Canadian stuff and ww1 Imperial. So I don't think it will ever leave him 100%. This last fight seems to be his last. I watched it all go down and he did try his best to make it work IMHO. Then said F*ck it and pulled out.
 
mauser99 said:
He sold 98% of his seven figure collection and kept a few key pieces. He also collects ww1/2 Canadian stuff and ww1 Imperial. So I don't think it will ever leave him 100%. This last fight seems to be his last. I watched it all go down and he did try his best to make it work IMHO. Then said F*ck it and pulled out.
Click to expand...

My opinions: The last hope for German helmet collecting on the internet was DougB and his operation of GHW. We shall see what the new owners of GHW 2.0 do, but more of WAF, "WAF Jr.", is, IMHO, deleterious. It's too far gone and the reaction to this monolithic fraud and scam revealed by DougB shows me that we'll watch this hobby start to crash. You'll see it first with dropping prices, which is already happening, with the same ole same ole trafficking amongst each other. I believe the shampain ruin fraud is the tip of the iceberg with "camos" being the large part under the surface. If you were a young guy just getting into this, who do you trust? Where and who do you look to for the truth and good objective, uncensored and un-manipulated information?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top