Paint Colour of Para Versuchshelm

[peregrinvs]

Paint colour comparison pics with RAL colour cards and an M40 I restored painted in modern RAL 7016 Anthrazitgrau.









Interestingly the colour of the para helmet and the colour of the restored M40 look less similar to my eye than they do to the camera.

[peregrinvs]

Hi,

I've just come across an old (2005) thread in the Fallschirmjager forum which made for interesting reading. It seems to suggest that these helmets are a commercial product made in Germany circa the late 1970's / early 1980's for reeanactor use and are a lookalike (rather than exact copy) of the M38 based on the existing GSG-9 helmet shell design.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...highlight=GsG9

Bad news from a collector perspective if true, but it occurred to me that it would explain a few things:

- They don't look that old.
- There seem to be no pictures of this specific type of helmet in use by the Bundeswehr, etc.
- The spanner bolts aren't very functional as the holes are too shallow and / or not parallel.
- The only marking is the size number on the liner. i.e. no military markings required.
- The build quality of the shell is excellent. i.e. possibly made to official quality by a military helmet shell contractor.

Also; whilst it's only a sample of two, both of mine had been modified by reenactors prior to my acquiring them. Another point is that both of mine seem to be factory painted in RAL 7016 and I cannot find any evidence that issued West German helmets were painted in this colour. It might be a colour someone making an M38 lookalike a long time ago might have picked though.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Cheers,
Mark