Avitas

Here is the close-up of the party decal...

The NSDAP decal and right side...

Hello everyone, Here is my other pickup from the recent gun show (along with my m42 I just posted), a nearly mint M34 Fire Police helmet. It is almost untouched besides a few scrapes and scuffs, and the liner is beautiful as well. The neckguard (designating it as a fire helmet) is also totally intact with all the t prongs still there. The decals appear to be original as well, as can be confirmed later after I post the pics. All in all, I haven't seen many of these in this type of shape. It has the standard D.R.P. Thale marking with the lion and a giant capital "A" found on many of these civic helmets (forgot to get a pic of the marking, but it's the standard one seen on all originals of this type,can get one later if needed). Ok then, on with the pics! Thanks again, Pat

And final picture I have on this one, the chinstrap. Like I said, I am pretty confident in this one so I hope my confidence is warranted! Thanks for all help and comments! Pat

Here are the ET66 and 1831 markings on the shell..

Here is the inside with what's left of the liner...

The back..

And here is the right view of the M42, no trace of decal on this side, good view of the textured paint.

Here is another shot with the decal and the rivet, the decal is in the proper location on the ET helmet.

Here is a close up of the decal..

Hello everyone, Well, I did some studying of helmets over the last couple months and I think I picked up a real nice original example of a combat used M42 single-decal helmet. The maker is ET and the size is 66 (marked ET66 on inside of helmet). The batch number is 1831, so a relatively early M42 (early enough to have a decal I believe). It was definitely painted with the rough textured field paint to cut down on glare etc in the field. The Wehrmacht decal is still visible but very scuffed and gouged and partly painted over with the field paint. From what I have gathered this is a proper texture and colour for it to be a wartime repaint, so please confirm or deny this if possible as this was the main reason I bought it, as it appears to be a good combat worn helmet. The liner has been cut out but the liner fixture and traces of original leather remain intact. Also, the chinstrap catch is still there but the strap is long gone. Please feel free to comment and fill in more details if you have them. Here are a few pics.. Thanks for looking, Pat

Thanks for the responses! So it might be a pre-ww1 made sword then going by the Eickhorn logo, but still could have been worn ww1 era I assume? The engraving is what sold me on it as well and the steel is in great condition as well. Maybe someone has a little more info on this one? Thanks again, Pat

Any comments at all on this one? It has a beautiful engraving and any further info on it would be great! Thanks for looking! Pat

This would be a very fun area to collect, to try to get all the districts as one set. How many different eagles were made? There has to be 100's I would assume as every gau would have their names placed on these different types of eagles. Boggles the mind! Nice resource! Pat

Well the KVK1 is a civilian issue so it wouldn't belong on this tunic either, ah Hollywood! This one and a few other movie prop tunics (one Himmler, one Goering and a couple others) are all at an antique store here in BC (Western Canada, Hollywood north). Apparently they were all used in films and the Goering one is an especially nice repro. What would be a fair price to purchase an accurate Himmler or Goering movie prop uniform? I guess I'll have to re-watch my extensive collection of ww2 movies from the 60's and 70's to see if I can spot my Scandinavian artillery uniform! Thanks, Pat

I noticed it was missing the cockades as well, and the chinstrap looked in a little better condition than the rest of the leather so that makes sense. Is there any way to add the missing cockades to the helmet? Thanks, Pat

The grey finish actually looks like the original oxidization of the steel fittings after some closer research, it is hard to tell, but the colour and texture seems to match, it is definitely not paint. Any opinions? Thanks, Pat

I bought it for a low repro/reenacting price so no damage there, I found it in a random antique store and it was priced low, so I just thought it might have a chance of at least being partly original. It was a movie prop and I know sometimes originals are altered etc for the movie. What are some points to disprove this one if you don't mind me asking (to help out in the future). It is a nice display piece anyways. Thanks, Pat

And an overview of the inside of the coat (unfortunately the stamps are not in the picture, they would be in the bottom right corner on the folded over part) with the black various number markings on the left. Please comment on anything that would help out! Thanks, Pat

And a pic of the two stamps on the bottom left seam.

Here is the main size tag (or maker tag, I'm not sure, like I said this is my first tunic, not even sure if it is authentic!) Thanks for any comments, Pat

and the eagle and the KVK1...

Here is a view of the collars..

Hello all, I stumbled upon this artillery tunic for a decent price and was wondering if it was an original or not. I usually collect medals and badges and this is my first German uniform tunic, so I may be wrong on this one, but the marking etc seem to match from what I have seen. I was told it was an M43 Continental Cut German Artillery tunic that had been museum tailored (the pocket flaps have been detached and reattached for some reason). The KVK1 on it appears to be an original one that has a new pin attached to the back (a modern safety lock style pin, glued on to the cross) so I am not sure if it is original to the tunic. I know it is an artillery rank but I am not sure which rank for certain, but the collars are green to match the collar boards. There are some sewn on size stamps and a TR stamp of some kind over the sizes. Any info on this tunic would be great and I can take more specific pictures if needed. For what its worth the white thread used on the museum restore glows under blacklight but the original white thread does not, and neither do the size tags. Thanks for any help! Pat

Hello Gents, Thanks for all the help, for entry-level collectors like myself I really do appreciate the help (and if anyone knows of a good source of militaria books in Canada or who ships to Canada please let me know!) All this information helps people like me learn on the way to building a collection, and emphasizes how great it is to have a community that would like to maintain the honour of the hobby. Also to always buy from someone that will guarantee their merchandise. Speaking of which I returned this helmet and got full credit towards a Prussian ww1 Pickehaube (check it out in the Imperial Uniforms forum). Thanks again and case closed! Pat