Winter Camo

[Spasm]

I seem to have been doing a few winter camo helmets of late:

Well worn Fallschirmjäger Luftwaffe DD

An M35 Waffen SS SD

And a Fallschirmjäger SS of 500/600 penal battalion

[Jock Auld]

Your getting better if that is possible!  Here is a technical question for you.  It appears on the WAF and German Helmets Walhalla that the SS Champagne Decals are alledged to be airbrushed onto blank helmets.  What is your take on that from a purely technical point of view would it be possible to do this with accuracy and consistancy?

[Laurence Strong]

Are those real helmets?

 

 

Cheers

Larry

[Spasm]

Larry - all the helmets are reproduction. All were straight out of the brand new box a couple of weeks ago with me then trying not to lose too much blood twisting up the wire baskets 

Jock - technically pretty easy to do with a bit of homework. Particularly SS runes as they are the easiest to reproduce. I believe these 'decals' runes were produced some years ago - like maybe the early 70s. In those days us custom sprayers were using cellulose paints, having to come out of garages full of fumes before we fell over. The paints mixed in thinners pretty well with flakes, metals and candies - just about anything would dissolve. The three or maybe four stencils could have been fairly easily measured and cut. Then basing on a couple of datum lines spraying the base, runes and lacquer could be lined up pretty accurately each and every time. The slightly blurred edges would be achieved by using a stencil that was placed and held with tape rather than a sticky (frisk) stencil. Given the simplicity of the design it wouldn't have needed an airbrush but was probably an old passche  as that's what we had then. The overspray seen in the pictures looks like a pretty thick mix which was probably not controlled too well as the faker was producing lots of them with the minimal of masking. Not having checked but I expect any chemical analysis would be a pretty close match. 

Accuracy would obviously be a lot easier these days with computer cutters sorting out the stencils once the design is done - and that design could be anything you like, cut more accurately than you could achieve by hand. Multi mixing of paint colours including metals and content could also be sorted with some homework.

Given that there's very accurate repro Fallschirmjager shells selling for £500 and that I've seen a DAK Fallschirmjager helmet advertised for $25,000 just recently I wouldn't touch any of them.  

Edited January 17, 2016 by Spasm
spelling spelling spelling

[Spasm]

Continuing with the winter camo theme. A resprayed 1/16th scale radio controlled (with engine sound, recoil, exhaust smoke etc) T34/85 medium Russian tank. Jolly hockey sticks what what.....

[Jock Auld]

Thanks for the detailed explanation.  It would on the face of it look like a lot of people have been taken to the cleaners.  I haven't looked at the thread in detail as I wouldn't touch a tin helmet for more than a 100 euro tops, so 25k to me is just stupid!  I am guessing that no one has found one of this type in the ground yet, which to me would be more damning.  Are you of the opinion that they are stencilled or have you not looked much at it yourself yet?

[Spasm]

I haven't really been to the forums to look other than a photo showing some overspray next to a supposed gap made by masking tape. I must go and have a closer look. 

 

[Laurence Strong]

Thanks for the reply. I like the T34.

 

Cheers

Larry

[Jock Auld]

The whole lot are impresive. I remain envious of your talent and a little afraid.  I am sure there are equally talented criminals out there somewhere.  I am glad you are a good guy!

[Spasm]

Jock - I very much agree with you, None of my helmets would fool anyone for long but they do look very nice on the shelf. 

There are indeed very talented people out there forging stuff and have been doing so for a very long time. Long enough for the fakes to be pretty old. Remember those very highly priced daggers a few years back that were made in German factories just after the war. Given the prices helmets are going for i would rather spend on a known reproduction rather than risking on a supposed real one as I neither have the knowledge or the money.