lach470

OK....Another quickie for now! Hee hee.... Here's an M42 that has a lot of character. It was brought back by a Canadian soldier out of Kitchener Ont. He landed in Normandy and was involved in the fighting thereafter...no other details I'm afraid. What I like is the 'pea dot' pattern that has been painted on this lid. It makes me think of the pea dot pattern found on the SS tunics of the time. Keep in mind the Canadians were fighting the 12th Hitler Jugend SS in Normandy. I looked up the name but had no 'hits' on the German war graves registration. I can't prove that this helmet was worn by a member of the 12th SS - it's just conjecture on my part...but there is always a chance given where the helmet came from and the 'look' of the camo on it. I really like this lid.... Cheers! Rob

Here's another helmet for now.....a big ET68....another Lufty example M40. This is my biggest helmet. Most of the ones I have are 64's and then 66's. This one is in real nice shape. Cheers! Rob

Hey Paul! Great question about the double decals and the tri-colour being removed. I'm not sure why some examples survived that order. As for the name on the DD lufty: It was because of the information that is included with the name that made it possible to get the info....Here is what I was able to gather.....this information was passed onto me from another collector who knows how to read these unit abbreviations.... This helmet belonged to a man who was with the Leichte Flak Batallion (71st). This unit was involved in WW2 from start to finish! Knowing that, I can tell you that this unit formed in 1938 in Konigsberg under Lt. General Johannes Lentzsch. In September 1939, it was dispatched to support the 10th Panzer Division in Poland. In May 1940, it was in France again with 10th Panzer. In April 1941, it was sent to the balkansIn June 1941 it was part of Barbarossa supporting the 11. Pz.Div. (Central Russia) This unit stayed in central Russia until 1944By 1944 it found it's way to BeresinaAnd ended the war in EastPrussia (Ostpreussen) Brandenburg in 1945. That being said.......I wonder how much travelling this helmet did???? Ahhh, if only these lids could talk. There you have it Greg.....amazing the amount of info you can get from simply looking inside the liner! hahahahaI love this hobby.......especially when a little work offers so much reward! Oh yeah - Here’s the next thing...I was also given info on the tag.... I now have this helmet belonging to one of about 10 men......let me explain:The "2." means 2d Battery. The "8." refers to something that was "within" or a "part of" 2d Battery, and the educated guess here would be a Trupp (squad). Since a Flakbatterie (usually around 160 men) rarely (if ever) had 8 Züüge (8 x c. 42 men = 336 men), then Trupp is the logical deduction. Each Trupp (flexible, but usually not more than 10 men) would have probably crewed one or two guns. With the info I have received, I first.I thought this was a heavy flak unit (88) but that's not the case.This is a leichte Flak-Abteilung, so we are talking about 20mm Flak, Vierling Flak (quad 20mm mounts) and 37mm Flak, all or most of which were vehicle-mounted. Anyways.....I do like this helmet quite a bit....lots of character....if only I could get it to talk! Will post more helmets as time allows! Cheers! Rob

I love helmets!! I have 24 in my collection at this time....all different in one way or another. I will start with my DD m35 lufty lid. It has the early drop tail eagle with the snake leg variant. This was actually the second helmet I ever acquired. With the name tag I was able to narrow it down to the a medium flak unit that served in Poland and went all the way into Russian and ended the war in Prussia....Neat stuff... Rob

Yes.....it's the Kyffhäuser monument:.... It looks like this....

This buckle is unfortunatlely a reproduction. The Rodo buckle has always had a "slanted" foot on the belt catch. If you just google SS RODO buckle reverse and check images, you'll see what I mean. You'll also notice that the buckle is a little smaller and as a result, the motto is too large (look at the front bottom of the buckle where the "rope" is on the bottom of the buckle box - there should be a small space there). The RODO stamping is also not quite correct in font and serif and the detail to the front is not as it should be. I'm sorry to have to offer you this news. Hopefully you can return it or hopefully it wasn't too expensive. Good luck. Cheers! Rob

I don't see a problem. There are some really good fakes out there - but I think this one is legit. More opinions are always needed though. I'll never profess to be an SS buckle expert. But - I think it's a good one. Good luck! Rob

A bit worn perhaps....but still such a great buckle! ....and original too! There are some very good reproductions out there at the moment! Your's is the real deal though! Looks great! Congrats! Rob

A great pickup!! Looks real nice! Congrats on finding the one you were looking for! As the buckle also includes the belt: you got a great deal! Cheers! Rob

Hi Alec....I did see your posts on the other forums. Always good to ask around! I think it's common to see real examples go from about $400 to $600US. They aren't cheap - that's for sure. Hope that helps! Cheers! Rob

Hi. Unfortunately - it's not an original piece but rather a well known reproduction. These buckles are hard to find....it took me about 10 years before I was finally able to land a real one - and they don't come cheap!! All have the Sieper and Son logo on them (M4/38) and all real ones are marked in one of two possible manners and are alum. made....not steel. I would stay away from the example you've shown....it's not good. I do have pics of my buckle - but they are too large to post on here at the moment. I'm short on time - will resize and post later as time allows.... Cheers! Rob

No worries with that one....looks like a good Overhoff to me. Rob

Very nice buckle - and SO very hard to find! Thanks for showing! Rob

Thanks for posting the extra pic....that's a cracker of a buckle! Looks great! Rob

That's a great example you have shown! Any pics of the back of the buckle? I agree that there are quite a few nice, minty examples out there. I'm sure it was a question of there being large numbers of unissued pieces gathered up after the war. Rob

The construction is correct on the first buckle shown - perhaps it's poor storage that brought about its appearance? Hard to tell...but it's somewhat salty. Rob

Thanks William! Glad you like it! THere's always room for more! Rob

That's a very nice display you have going there with some real nice items! It's very nicely put together! THanks for sharing! Rob

No dagger with this one.... Glad you like it!! Cheers! Rob

I just don't know for sure if the belt was with the buckle since the war. It could have been "paired" since. That happens a lot. It's a late war belt and a late war buckle - so they could be originally together - there's just no way of knowing for sure! Cheers! Rob

I believe the maker is Rudolf Fischer from Nixdorf. Hope that helps! Cheers! Rob

Those pics are perfect! Just what was needed to confirm these are good or not....and that said: I like what I see. As I had mentioned - I thought the SA might have a chance - just not used to seeing the feet like that. The NSBO (in the first pics posted) gave the impression of having the dreaded reverse cut prongs - these pics show that it isn't the case. Still have a bit of a sheared look - but that is fine. I appreciate seeing these pictures and putting any doubts to rest! Rob

I would like to see pics of the NSBO prongs up close.....if possible. Rob

Thanks for taking the extra shots Frank! That will help a lot! Rob

Hi guys....I just thought I'd start a thread on some buckles that are currently for sale in the "for sale" section. I recommended that we do this but the seller simply decided to diss me. I'm not here to start a fight....just to make sure that all is what is what. Don't get me wrong...I'll NEVER say that I know it all - I could be wrong...but I'll at least share my concerns with the buckles. The SA buckle - well, the "feet" on the belt catch don't look like any that I've seen and the colour of the buckle looks "off"....If it's a silver SA buckle - it should be shinier....I have many in my collection to show if need be. Again - I'm looking for more opinions. The NSBO buckle now: the prongs have that sheared cut seen on reproductions. The other thing that casts doubt withme is the inward angle cut on the prongs. That is NOT a good sign - again: are these not seen only on reproductions. I'd love to be proved wrong....I have no qualms about that. I would just like an open discussion on this. No harm - no foul, my friends! Those of you who know me - know that I don't "shoot off at the mouth"....I would just like to discuss these buckles. That said - the pictures are not mine....and again (you know me) I don't want to "take" them and post them here without the permission of the seller....so I'll just leave it up to you guys to have a look here: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=43031&view=getnewpost Thanks for any opinions and thoughts on this one....but let's keep in mind - these are just opnions and they only mean so much! Cheers! Rob