RESTORED HELMETS FOR SALE

Original M42 Shell HKP64 Rear Lot 4544 Fully Restored as a KM Atlantic Wall Camo

This restoration was inspired from a known late war M42 KM (Kreigsmarine/Naval) helmet which was captured shortly after D-Day from a German solider whose regiment was part of  the Atlantic Wall formation.  From 1942-45 KM  M42 helmets typically were HKP or CKL and completed at the factory in a feld grau textured finish with a single metallic gold foil backed KM post war decal.  The backing is metallic gold and not tea toned silver so the decal really does look the part historically speaking.

Many KM helmets were later repainted while aboard the soldier’s assigned ship with a layer of smooth blue gray paint with the original factory decal either painted around or painted over.  In many cases a new field applied KM decal was actually applied over top this new layer of blue gray over paint which was done in the example below.

From 1943-44 the average front line German solider had no idea when D-Day was going to happen but did fully realize that a full scale Allied invasion from Southern England was imminent and so with lots of spare time on their hands would often supplement their helmet with their very own personal camo scheme.  In most Atlantic Wall camo examples the pattern most often seen tends to be a blue gray base paint followed by a simple geometric or angular pattern in green an attempt to blend in both with the grassy shoreline and concrete bunker fortifications they were occupying.  There known factors were the inspiration for the restoration you see below.

$200  helmet and matching split pins only
$300 helmet and matching split pins + fully installed aged reproduction liner

I have this pricing scheme because it gives my customers the option of buying with or without a liner.  About 1/3 of the time the customer has his own original liner or doesn’t want a liner at all so instead of having to remove a completed liner it’s most efficient for me to just give the customer both options from the get go.

Atlantikwall Background History
The Atlantic Wall (German: Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain. Many major ports and positions were made part of the Atlantic wall and received heavy fortifications, Hitler ordered them all to fight to the end and some of them remained in German hands until the unconditional surrender of Axis Forces on May 8, 1945.  Several of the port fortresses were resupplied by submarine after being surrounded by Allied forces. The defenders of these positions included Slavic soldiers and SS troops. Artillery and Flak units as well as members of the Kriegsmarine would often paint their helmets to match the concrete bunkers they were forced to stay and defend. An overwhelming Allied build up of airplanes and naval ships would have meant that the average German solider would have been an easy target for incoming forces if not well camouflaged. This helmet would have been field painted this pattern from what looks like must have been some crude form of masking tape used to create this geometric block pattern in a light battleship gray base paint followed by dark greens. This helmet is a size 64 which is size medium for the time as most German soldiers of this era were children during the years surrounding the Great Depression and therefore suffered from rampant malnutrition which is why both tunic and helmets sizes of this era seem so small for the men of today’s overfed generation.

 

 

 

 

This helmet came to me a few days ago as part of a package trade in but as soon as I opened the box it was a one look fake for a trained eye such as myself since I am familiar with nearly all restoration tricks since I myself am a restorer.  After breaking the bad news to the owner he agreed to toss it up on my site for what I felt it was worth i.e. a rock bottom blow out price of $250  Basically this helmet was created in order to fool a newer collector or a WW2 collector who doesn’t specialize in helmets.

Here is exactly what is right and what is wrong with this particular helmet.

RIGHT
- the shell is a desirable Quist large size 66 and 100% original
- the inside paint is feld grau and 100% original in my view
- the Heer decal is actually 100% original as well but was applied post war

WRONG
- the outside paint is one shade too dark and almost black instead of an extremely dark gray green or feld grau as it should be, the paint is also smooth and should be textured
- the inside liner is a standard Latvian fake chemically aged and designed to fool people.  I actually see these exact same liners selling on eBay for $99 each all the time being passed off as the real deal.  Again a note to all…NEVER BUY A HELMET FROM LATVIA or A CHINSTRAP FROM BULGARIA….everything from that part of the world is mostly fake.

$250  Tough to go wrong at that price….still looks great on a shelf since the decal is real!!!

SOLD Richard Brown

Extremely difficult to find all original droop-bill M18 shell exclusively used by Allgemine-SS up until 1932 later replaced by the M35 DD version in 1935.

This droop-bill was a direct purchase from a dealer in Germany and originally had a thick layer of sky blue paint on the outside with what I believe to be original black paint on the remaining on the inside.  I  used some non-acetone nail polish remover a lot of elbow grease to remove the sky blue post war over paint.  When I got down to the original black paint I could see that most of it was already gone however there was still a lot of black paint under neath both lug vents where the SS and Party Shield decals would have been.  I looked at it very closely and could see no signs of decals ever being applied so I went ahead and restored the outside in period correct satin black paint.  Before adding the black paint you could see enough of the bare metal which was not rusted at all and only had spots of smooth brown metal so a very solid shell indeed (no pitting or cracks) most likely saved by the post war blue paint.  The helmet came with it’s original brass banded leather outer liner band and it’s transitional pre-war SS issued chinstrap which appears to be complete and fully in tact.  I most likely am going to continue to work on this one and try to hunt down an original size 66 WW1 liner to fully complete the piece leaving the original SS issued chinstrap still in place so in many ways this is a project not quite yet finished.  There is a small shallow dent at the top of the helmet which is very common among droop-bills since these shells have a rather thin gauge and were never meant for front line combat.  Every single original SS droop-bill I’ve seen online has 2-3 dents on the top so this one is comparatively in near perfect condition.

After staring at this nice finished 100% original SS droop-bill in a beautifully aged satin black finish I just couldn’t help myself but to continue with my restoration efforts and add a historically accurate C.A. Pocher style metallic white SS decal and historically accurate thick cross Party Shield decal.  So now I think it really looks the part and is a great tribute helmet in my view from the nasty mess it was when I first received it.

As you can see from the very last photo the real Allegmeine-SS droop-bill helmets had a very unique manufacturing technique whereby they were actually finished on lathes and not just press stamped like later models.  As a result the metal’s exterior finish has very fine evenly spaced grooves on the surface running horizontally much like you would see on an LP record.  This is a great indicator of authenticity and something impossible to fake so a great detection method however as of yet I have seen no evidence of any droop-bill repros being produced so for right now in 2014 I think we have nothing to fear from cheap imports.

$750.00

($12,000 is the going price one will see for an original Allegemeine-SS DD from a reputable dealer such as Kelly Hicks etc so $900 I feel is quite fair considering the shell, liner band and chinstrap are 100% period pre-war SS)

BACKGROUND HISTORY- Allgemeine-SS “Droop-Bill” M-18 D/D Helmet
Allgemeine-SS Commercially Produced “Droop-Bill” M-18 Double Decal Helmet. The helmet shell is a size 66 and is marked “D.R.P” “ang.” It is factory painted with a smooth, black finish. The shell retains approx. 90% of it’s finish, with most of the wear on the top portion. It also shows areas of small, scattered spots of light oxidation, and wear. The right side of the shell features a sig-rune decal which is approx. 96% with some small, scattered spots, and a small chip to the top portion of the right hand side rune. The left side of the helmet features a party decal, which is in similar condition to the runic decal, and is also approx. 96% or better. The helmet has a leather liner, which has three separate portions, with two fingers to each portion. The liner retains it’s original cord drawstring. The liner band is made of leather, and shows signs of where two M-18 type chinstrap D rings were once located. The two D rings are no longer present, leaving a small hole, and impression of where they once were attached to the liner band. The liner is complete with all three of the split rivets. The helmet is uncleaned. The overall condition is very good+ Please call of email for further information. Price upon request. GMA-6545

For all practical considerations, members serving with the General-SS (Allgemeine-SS) wore standard SS pattern helmets according to regulations held across the organization as a whole.  Members of the Allgemeine-SS were not intended to serve as military combatants like their cohorts in the Armed-SS (Waffen-SS).  However, membership generally dictated a period of military training upon acceptance to the organization.  During this time, members of the Allgemeine-SS were temporarily issued helmets for training purposes.  Those members who served in guard or security duties did so through active assignment with the elite life guard unit dedicated to Hitler’s personal protection (Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler-LAH), as well as with the SS Security Police (SS-Sicherheitspolizei).  Members of these organizations wore helmets configured according to the regulations within each of these groups1. During parade and ceremony functions, men of the Allgemeine-SS wore standard steel helmets in the configuration required by their unit.  During high level parades or special events this generally included black painted helmets until they were officially removed from general service in 1932.  A small number of black painted M1935 helmets (and possibly M1940 helmets3) remained in use by the elite guards serving in Hitler’s administrative buildings in Berlin.  These helmets are clearly seen in the many photographs which include the building guards standing at doors and entrance ways.  A clear example includes the guards who served at the Reichschancellery in Berlin.  These guards are in fact men of LAH wearing the ceremonial black uniforms and helmets normally associated with pre-war parades.

Notes:
1 It should be mentioned that a common misperception that continues to persist to this day is one that involves the supposed use of black helmets by members of the Allgemeine-SS.  Unfortunately, this mistake is often made on the false assumption that some or all members of the SS wore black painted helmets.  In truth, black SS helmets did exist but only for the purpose of elite guard and parade duty among all members of the SS. The most recognized of these helmets is the black M1935 helmet bearing the standard first pattern SS decals. However early transitional model helmets included the M1917, M1918, M1918 Ear Cut-Out, RZM, and Austrian pattern World War I models as well.  These helmets are erroneously referred to by most collectors as Allgemeine-SS helmets simply because of their black color.
2 The myth that all SS troops wore black helmets (including those in combat roles) has been largely propagated by Hollywood films dating back as far as the 1940′s.  Even to this day, many historians refer to Hitler’s SS as “black shirts.”  This is yet another example of the  misconception brought about by false information.  In fact, the earliest Allgemeine-SS formations wore standard Storm Trooper (Sturmabteilungen-SA) uniforms with black highlights.  These uniforms were initially brown in color.
3 The existence of the black double decal M1940 SS helmet remains in serious doubt by most modern collectors.  Only a handful of known examples exist whose owners claim them to be authentic.
In 1934 the SS had grown to more than 250,000 members serving in a variety of military and administrative functions.  It was decided that the total organization was best administered by dividing it into two distinct groups.  The General SS (Allgemeine-SS) was the first of these groups and was reserved for men who served in administrative roles on a full and part-time basis.  The second group was known as the Armed SS (Bewaffnete-SS) which was later renamed the Waffen-SS in July 1940.  The Bewaffnete-SS encompassed all the SS units that were designated military by nature, and it included only men who were able to serve on a full-time basis like those serving in the German Armed Services (Wehrmacht).  Both branches were totally integral to one another and their members swore loyalty only to Adolf Hitler.
Members of the Allgemeine-SS served in administrative units assigned to legal, race, economic, personnel, and security matters.  Most of the Allgemeine-SS were concentrated on matters of State security for the purpose of enforcing National Socialist ideology including matters of racial purity.  Members were trained to counter any type of political or civil unrest and were prepared to seize control of the national infrastructure if needed.  This effort resulted in a close working relationship with State, local, and rural police organizations that provided day-to-day order among the civilian population.  Many police officers were granted membership in the SS and the ties between the two organizations resulted in the eventual merging of several police related activities.
During wartime, members of the Allgemeine-SS contributed to home front activities related to Germany’s economy.  This included working with leading industrialists, organizing, controlling, and directing foreign labor, and supporting groups such as the Air Protection Warning Service (Luftschutzwarndienst).  In addition, the Allgemeine-SS played a foremost role in enforcing racial purity laws to include overseeing the operation of concentration camps in Germany and occupied countries.  Near the war’s end, Home Guard units of Germany’s People’s Army (Volksturm) were organized by the Allgemeine-SS as a last ditch effort to provide defense against invading Allied armies.

1 The LAH independently fielded combat troops during the campaign against Poland.  Elements later joined the SS-VT prior to the invasion of Russia in 1941.

 

Recent DAK Lufwaffe SD done for a client who requested light aging and a nicely tea toned eagle.  Historically accurate RAL 8000 paint was used so the color is a dead on match to how it would have originally looked during the war.

$150 shipping included if shell is supplied as was done in this case
$300 if I supply the original WW2 shell

Please ask about a similar DAK custom made to your very own specs.

 

This is a restored M38 early war double decal German paratrooper helmet painted exactly like the original period examples.  The shell is a repro as is the inside liner with historically accurate RAL7016 blu grau (blue gray) enamel paint applied.  The decals are bang on to the originals in nearly every detail and aspect and have been tea tone aged to perfection in an effort to simulate the oxidization effect of the natural resins used at the factory to seal and protect each decal once applied.  Price includes all painting, decals and aging of both the outside shell and inside liner.  The amount of aging can vary from light as in this example to extreme depending on the customer’s wishes
$250

$295

This is a restored M38 early war double decal German paratrooper helmet painted exactly like the original period examples.  The shell is a European made repro as is the inside liner with historically accurate RAL7016 blu grau (blue gray) enamel paint applied with a rust bleed through effect that most restorer’s wouldn’t bother with but which I feel gives it a much more battle hardened look.  The decals are bang on to the originals in nearly every detail and aspect and have been tea tone aged to perfection in an effort to simulate the oxidization effect of the natural resins used at the factory to seal and protect each decal once applied.  Less detailed Luftwaffe eagles will have an almost cartoonish appearance so getting the details right is essential with any high level restoration.  Price includes all painting, decals and aging of both the outside shell and inside liner.  The amount of aging can vary from light as in this example to extreme depending on the customer’s wishes.
$250

 

This helmet was made due to a customer request that I create for him an Anzio style camo using his own original shell.  Based on the climate and Italian terrain I created this spotchy pattern for him in WW2 accurate paint colors.  The SS decal is a typical C.A. Pocher style and is white metallic in nature and so very authentic looking.  I can create this exact same or a similar pattern for you, so please don’t hesitate to ask more about having a personal camo paint job done for you.

$400 includes a professionally aged chinstrap and liner system

$300  (for shell and matching split pins only)

Price includes the following:
1 original WW2 German shell in a large size 66
1 set of matching split pins and back washers
1 set of metallic based decals
1 fine paint job in a textured hard finish with appropriate aging

Original black paint and WW2 liner.   Re-done professionally by myself with one Pocher style white metallic SS decal and matching period accurate party shield both aged to perfection.

$125 SOLD

Considered to be the holy grail of German helmet collecting this Normandy Camo Waffen SS double decal was restored using the correct apple green smooth paint finish and a light patina of rust for a newer collector looking for a shelf queen with not a lot of aging.  The wire cage is home made by myself and was taken from a local abandoned farmer’s field not too far away from my house and reworked using some crude pliars so the wire is actually very old and naturally aged.

The SS decal is metallic white and actually shimmers simulating the natural aluminum oxide layer that forms over time and is how almost all original SS decals appear today. Most reproduction decals on the market today are white or silver mine are white metallic much like an oyster shell which is exactly how the original SS decal truly appear today.  The ET SS decals had a slightly thicker black border so I made sure that this particular decal has the same characteristic. The swastika party shield is the thin cross design and typical of early war Waffen-SS decals which had slightly thicker crosses later on in the war.  I used an experimental tree resin on the party shield decal which end up cracking on me over night.  The effect is very similar to similar real decals you see on Kelly Hick’s SS website so I’m quite pleased with the tiny cracking effect.

As with all of my restored helmets I use only original WW2 German shells and in this case used an M35 ET66 with rear lot number 4731 original made by Eisenwerke factory in Thale, Germany sometime in 1939.

This particular piece has no liner because I wanted to give the buyer the option of adding an original one later or an aged reproduction liner and so left all three split pins straight for a future flawless liner installation.  I  highly recommend post war liners coming out of the Czech Republic as those are the most accurate I  have found.  It’s really not that difficult to age a reproduction liner so send me an email and I’ll tell you how if you should end up buying this shell.

Priced to sell at only $250 – SOLD – Vickie G 01/29/14

 

 

$375  + $15 shipping

Price includes the following:
1 original WW2 German shell in a large size 66
1 historically accurate and aged reproduction liner
1 reproduction dated chinstraps
1 set of matching split pins and back washers
1 set of metallic based decals
1 fine paint job in a textured hard finish with appropriate aging

 

Description to come….
$300

SOLD but please ask about another one being made for you in the same style or a variation there of.

Description to follow…
$300

SOLD (Please email us at helmetsofwar@gmail.com to see about having a similar helmet made for you – since I do all the work myself I can duplicate this one quite easily)

Finally my repro SS decals are ready for full time production. This all original M42 shell was painted in the traditional late war Feld Grau (Field Gray) and features a stunningly beautiful Pocher SS decal in metallic white exactly like the originals.  The photos I took were meant to mainly show you the decal as I only lightly aged the outside shell should really speak for themselves on this one as I wasn’t all that interested in the overall aging of the paint but rather the aging of the decal which in my opinion comes extremely close to the originals. I have recently perfected a technique whereby I take actual metallic aluminum SS decals and by hooking them up to a battery can speed up the oxidization process producing a thin layer of AL03- Aluminum Oxide which has a unique metallic white color just like the originals do.  Since I work with a local lithographer to create these in house you just cannot find these decals anywhere online and so other than being able to get your hands on an original un-applied decal I believe that my SS decals are the very next best thing.

One can see from the very last photo a “real” SS decal sold on Kelly Hick’s website a while back.  This will highlight how close the decals I use match up to the real deal!!!

Price only $150 for the paint job, metallic white SS decal and appropriate aging.  The customer supplies the actual shell to be worked on unless I have some in stock in the size and model you are after.  I have included two sets of photos to show the difference between a white oxidized decal verses one that has been tea toned aged depending in customer preference.

Use your imagination SS-Normandy Camo, DD Waffen SS M35 etc…I can create any SS type helmet you can dream up.

$150 includes paint job, SS decal and appropriate aging if customer supplies the shell
$300 includes M42 shell, historically accurate paint job, metallic SS decal, aging
$395 same as above plus aged reproduction liner and chinstrap

Shipping: $15/USA   $20/Canada   $55/International

 

All original early war M35 ET64 helmet shell used in this painstaking restoration of the holy grail of the German helmet collecting world.  Why pay $15k for a real Waffen-SS DD when you can pick up this beauty for only a fraction of the cost.  Great item to add as a showcase piece for your shelves plus most guests won’t be able to tell the difference.  Metallic SS decal used and aged appropriately.  The liner and chinstrap are both professionally aged reproductions. Not a bad job if I do say so myself.  Please email me at helmetsofwar@gmail.com if you would like this or a similar helmet made for you.

$450

This represents my latest experimental camouflaged helmet whereby I’m basically just messing around with some new aging and painting techniques to see what I can come up with.  The helmet is basically done to show the kinds of brush work that can be achieved by creating a more geometric style camo scheme often see in the Italian and North African theaters of war which had a lot of beige soil with patches of green vegetation and small shrubs.   I also wanted to highlight how a nicely aged Waffen-SS decal in metallic white ink actually looks once given the once over twice.  Just use this helmet to imagine a similar creation for yourself as I am most likely going to strip this one back down to bare metal and start trying out some urban tortoise shell camos.

$300 gets you any paint job including shell and split pins.

This particular restoration is in tribute to the holy grail of WW2 collecting the rarely seen M40 Waffen-SS double decal helmet. In 1940 the Wehrmacht ordered the removal of both the tri-color national shield as well as the swastika party shield decals from all future production.  Most soldiers and factories complied with this order however there was some over runs in production and an overlap between the time the order was received verses when it was actually executed.  As a result some M40 DD-Waffen SS helmets were produced and are now the most highly prized German helmet from WW2.

The helmet as seen here has long since been sold however I have many original M40 size 66 shells with which to make another one and can age it in the exactly the same fashion as you see here.  My apologies as I just don’t have the room to store dozens of restored helmets and so I just make them as they are needed by the customer.

SOLD: However; I can reproduce this for the same cost so please drop us a line.

$100 (plus decals if you supply the shell includes matching aged split pins)
$300 (no liner or chinstrap but split pins in place)
$375 (aged liner and chinstrap)

$450

Here is a classic example of the highly sought after holy grail of the German helmet market the early pre-war model 1935 Heer/Army helmet with both decals, professionally aged inner liner and marked chinstrap.  Both decals are high level reproductions that come from a dealer I know in Belgium who uses his own lithography to print small batches for me every once and a while. Why pay $4000+ when you can get this post war create beauty at a fraction of the price. As with all of my restored helmets only all original shells are used and in certain cases even original liners if requested. For special requests please email me at helmetsofwar@gmail.com or give us a call directly at 450-724-3018

$399 SOLD – However another one can be made upon request.

$300 SOLD….but please ask as I can easily make a similar helmet for you.

Here is wonderfully produced and nicely aged Luftwaffe single decal helmet in a classic Normandy pattern spray.  As with all of my restored helmets I use only oil based flat enamel paints professionally sprayed on by pneumatic guns just like the originals. Only RAL specified colors are used so this is exactly the same colors that the average German soldier would have had access to during the war. The LW decal is a high level reproduction that come from a supplier I know in Belgium who uses his own lithography to print small batches for his customers every once and a while. I have left the paint split pins straightened and in place so all you need do is install a liner of your choice ensuring that the pins will only be bent once.  Why pay $4000+ when you can get this post war create beauty at a fraction of the price. As with all of my restored helmets only all original shells are used and in certain cases even original liners if requested. For special requests please email me at helmetsofwar@gmail.com or give us a call directly at 450-724-3018.
$350.00 SOLD (but another can be custom made)

I haven’t had time to take fresh photos however there is no liner in this helmet and no chinstrap only the 3 matching split pins and rivets but again an all original large size 66 M35 shell.

$449

PLEASE SEND US AN EMAIL IF YOU WOULD LIKE A SIMILAR ONE MADE FOR YOU.

helmetsofwar@gmail.com

$395
JUST ASK IF YOU’D LIKE A SIMILAR HELMET RECREATED FOR YOUR VERY OWN COLLECTION AT A MERE FRACTION OF WHAT AN ORIGINAL WOULD BE