Questionable Camos

[mauser99]

ET M35 SD Medic

An interesting medic helmet on GHW2. It has some features not normally seen on most medic helmets such as; a wide variety of wear, faded red cross and white body, and crown heavily worn to bare metal patina.

Compare last photo of helmet and camo cover also on GHW2; bright white body, bright red cross, near 100% coverage as most red cross helmets appear today.

If I was ever to believe in one that would be the one.. The other shown looks like it as made yesterday and probably was.. These things started bringing stupid money then more and more started showing up. Funny how that happens !

Now they aren't selling well and dealers are blowing them out on ebay.. HHHmmmmm ???

 

[M45]

If I was ever to believe in one that would be the one.. The other show looks like it as made yesterday and probably was.. These things started bringing stupid money then more and more started showing up. Funny how that happens !

Now they are selling well and dealers are blowing them out on ebay.. HHHmmmmm ???

Yes it is funny how helmet demand precedes large stocks of desired helmets being "found" (re: RK helmets). Does C-SS fit into that category ? How about questionable camos ?


A Q64 M40 SD heer camo on GHW2 that has been shot down. And while agree the camo is questionable, that ET decal is probably a good one. These were occasionally factory applied to Q M40 helmets.

A damaged liner and heavily worn decal was a good choice for 'restoration'. Daubed-on paint that lacks age and believable combat wear.

EDIT: GHW2 claims that this is an HJ&K decal, which would indicate reissue, IMO.

 

[M45]

H-285b Army Model 1942 Camouflage Helmet

https://www.therupturedduck.com/collections/steel-helmets/products/army-model-1942-camouflage-helmet

Army Model 1942 Camouflage Helmet-This example has a fantastic green, tan and brown "Normandy" camo finish that remains a solid 85% intact. You can clearly see remnants of the army decal over on the left side. The interior features a brown leather, size 58 liner which has moderate wear and minor discoloration. There is a drawstring and a zinc liner band that is maker marked, dated 1943 and size stamped 66/58. The maker info is obscured but the steel lot number, seen at the rear skirt, is 35381. There is a brown leather chinstrap which has some wear but is complete. $ 2,750.00



What's not to love about this one ? Excellent wear, colors seem true although a bit bright and vibrant compared to known originals, although storage conditions could play a factor in that aspect.

If authentic, a very reasonable price IMO for such an excellent example of a Normandy camo.

But if not, a camo to keep us all awake at night.

Some possible issues: parallel scratches in several places on crown, paint popped off of decal area, rim appears to be bare steel in places (no dark patina).

 

[M45]

http://easygreengermanhelmets.weebly.com/wwii-german-replica-helmets.html

Some nice postwar camos to contrast with those being sold as authentic elsewhere. If he had used original shells/components, they would be selling on dealer's sites today as authentic.

 

[M45]

M35 heer dak

http://www.italianwarfront.com/?page_id=9

German WWII M-35 DAK Early double decal Wehrmacht helmet shell Q64 liner dated 1939 size 56. Complete with the original leather strap also dated 1939. The rear pin is missing. A great salty combat Africa campaign Deutsches Afrikakorps helmet with what looks like some kind of name painted probably by the American vet on the top.

$1,995



Comparison to DAK on GHW2:
http://www.ghw2.com/topic/53297-m35-lw-dak/

 

[M45]

GHW2: Mangos, anyone ? An approximation of the RAL 3 color camo, IMO.

Colors bright, vibrant; near 100% coverage, little believable combat wear, hard breaks where paint was popped off, RAL colors considerably off, overall the mango appearance does not fit a WWII German military theme, IMO.

EDIT: nickname - mango

 

[M45]

m42-3-tone-camo-netted-helmet-from-the-ardennes

http://www.ghw2.com/topic/53179-m42-3-tone-camo-netted-helmet-from-the-ardennes/

A horrible nightmare, covered with that same stuff as that creature that attacked Captain Kirk.

EDIT: nickname - salt vampire

 

[Frank F.]

http://www.ghw2.com/topic/53179-m42-3-tone-camo-netted-helmet-from-the-ardennes/

A horrible nightmare, covered with that same stuff as that creature that attacked Captain Kirk.

 

[Hambone]

Lol.........

 

[ebeeby]

Heh..........

 

[M45]

GHW2 concrete camo

GHW2 concrete camo.

 

[deadeye18]

COVERED with silicone sealant then rolled in sand I'm guessing.Horrible looking helmet.

 

[M45]

Normandy 3 color camo

GHW2: Normandy 3 color camo

This one scares me.

 

[Peiper]

GHW2 concrete camo.

That helmet is in fact original. I have a near identical one picked up by myself on an island in Norway. Both helmets are from Norway. The only difference is that mine received an olive drab paint ontop of the camo. it looks very strange, but is the real deal. The reason why you can see that they are identical, is the concrete mortar is poured over the helmets in the same fashion, and the Luftwaffe aircraft paint is also identical. You can see the paint scheme on mine in the damages on the olive drab paint. You could say that Scott's helmet was deemed questionable until mine was presented.

Both helmets was found in the rural parts of Norway, miles apart. Both helmets sold by persons not involved in militaria. Mine was a gift from the father of a previous girl friend. I will not get into the details, it is all in the GHW2 thread below.

Have a look:
http://www.ghw2.com/topic/39161-unbelivable-luftwaffe-dd-m35-concrete-camo-helmet-ii/

Cheers,
Rune

 

[M45]

That helmet is in fact original. I have a near identical one picked up by myself on an island in Norway. Both helmets are from Norway. The only difference is that mine received an olive drab paint ontop of the camo. it looks very strange, but is the real deal. The reason why you can see that they are identical, is the concrete mortar is poured over the helmets in the same fashion, and the Luftwaffe aircraft paint is also identical. You can see the paint scheme on mine in the damages on the olive drab paint. You could say that Scott's helmet was deemed questionable until mine was presented.

Both helmets was found in the rural parts of Norway, miles apart. Both helmets sold by persons not involved in militaria. Mine was a gift from the father of a previous girl friend. I will not get into the details, it is all in the GHW2 thread below.

Have a look:
http://www.ghw2.com/topic/39161-unbelivable-luftwaffe-dd-m35-concrete-camo-helmet-ii/

Cheers,
Rune

I will say this Rune, I collect a lot of strange late war helmets, dark green and black overpaints and such that most collectors would deem postwar. So I see your point.

A number of concerns I have is the lack of serious wear after the application of the rough material, the bright colors, and the idea that wet concrete has its own sticking properties that would not need an adhesive as it appears that this material used had; a sticking material possibly applied by a tube first, and then the rough material placed on top of that.

I once saw what I believed to be a concrete camo at a show, and it was a somewhat horrid looking thing; a rough gray crud slopped on, no fancy colors, no fancy patterns and such.

Of course we are all aware that German helmets were used in Norway until the '70s ? when large numbers came to the USA as surplus. Is it possible that some Norwegian troops camoed their German helmets during the postwar years ?

 

[Nzef1940]

I have followed this helmet elsewhere and believe it to be a wartime original camo.

I think this thread is getting a tad lame, started well though.

 

[ZF41 K98k]

I see no problem with the so-called concrete camos. They're a known variant.... why they should show up on this thread now is anyones guess?

I might as well not go on GHW anymore, and just look at this thread every few days

 

[M45]

COVERED with silicone sealant then rolled in sand I'm guessing.Horrible looking helmet.

This helmet was camo painted prior to the sandy material being applied. Some of the squiggly, curvy lines indicate to me that something very thin was squirted out of a tube onto the camo painted surface, which then had the rough material (modeling sand?) applied (rolled, sprinkled on). A very fine, neat job (a work of art actually).

When I think of concrete/grout, I think of a gray/green soupy or thick pasty mixture that applies in gobs and is very messy and goes everywhere; not something to perform fine work with at all. Anyone who has mixed/poured concrete or grout knows what a messy job it its. It is splashing around and running where it wants to go. A big clean-up is required afterwards. It is heavy and runny.

Although termed 'concrete camo', it is clear to me that concrete was not used. It would be impossible to maintain the integrity of the camo painted finish underneath.

The lime-green spray paint doesn't do anything for me either.

 

[Peiper]

This helmet was camo painted prior to the sandy material being applied. Some of the squiggly, curvy lines indicate to me that something very thin was squirted out of a tube onto the camo painted surface, which then had the rough material (modeling sand?) applied (rolled, sprinkled on). A very fine, neat job (a work of art actually).

When I think of concrete/grout, I think of a gray/green soupy or thick pasty mixture that applies in gobs and is very messy and goes everywhere; not something to perform fine work with at all. Anyone who has mixed/poured concrete or grout knows what a messy job it its. It is splashing around and running where it wants to go. A big clean-up is required afterwards. It is heavy and runny.

Although termed 'concrete camo', it is clear to me that concrete was not used. It would be impossible to maintain the integrity of the camo painted finish underneath.

The lime-green spray paint doesn't do anything for me either.

Hi Brian,

Thank you for the input. It seems that the concrete slurry (or whatever the substance used is. It is at least sand in it) was applied first, and then the colors. I agree that the color are a bit unconventional, but the colors are Luftwaffe aircraft colors. Both helmets are Luftwaffe issue. Potentially ground troops who utilized aircraft paint as it was available. Concerning post war use by the Norwegian armed forces, there is a clear distinction between these camo helmets and those paint schemes used by the Norwegian forces post war. The olive drab on my helmet is not correlating to any of the khaki, tan og green colors used post war.

There has been a discussion if some of the camo helmets found have been in use postwar by the Norwegan armed forces, and the concensus is that the Norwegian military was very conforme in the paint schemes on post war used german helmets. There is a lot of questionable camo helmets originating from Norway as they break from the "standard camo patterns" found on helmets in other theaters. I personally own a helmet in "seagreen" color, which has been confirmed as a RAL issued color used during the war. There is more info on my helmet in this thread: http://www.ghw2.com/topic/47771-sea-green-reunion/

The Mango camo also posted here is inspite of it looking very questionable, also original. I have handled the helmet, and the collector who owns it is a renownd helmet picker here in Norway. He picks up factory issue and re-issue helmets most of the time (many/most of the helmets are salty due to poor storage) compared to the number of camo helmets he finds as they are scarce even in Norway. So I understand that you are skeptical to the camo's from Norway, but you have to review these from the context of the Norwegian theatre.

Cheers,
Rune

 

[M45]

http://www.ghw2.com/topic/53370-m42-camo-helmet/

Some work of a French 'restorer'.