ET64 M17 Camo

[Hans K.]

Here I go again with my comparison pictures.

Top picture is your helmet Eric. The vent lugs are very important. This lug appears to have a thin layer of brown painted directly over bare metal. Again, there's no evidence of age to the paint. I have already discussed my concerns about the wear to the camo, but I would add that the paint itself looks utterly wrong. It looks new with no signs of age. I also find the way it's been applied totally unconvincing.

Bottom picture is a detail of another E.T. 64, this time an M18 with remarkably well preserved thickly applied camo. Even though the paint is nearly mint, it still shows wear from handling and laying it on its top in that the brush stokes have been rubbed smooth in certain areas. The few chips the camo paint does have shows nothing but aged bare metal - no clear signs of Feldgrau paint - until you look at the bottom edge of the helmet and the damaged areas of the vent lugs. The lug steps show lighter discolouration from dust and dirt collected over the decades.

[Hans K.]

....To continue, top pic yours, bottom mine.

The liner pin in this picture even looks like it's shiny bare metal underneath the ocher paint. The brown spots suggesting rust bleed-through (?) or whatever looks like paint. IF the liner pins have been popped out, you would expect at least a tiny amount of paint flaking or chipping. Someone has popped out the one on my example a long time ago and you can see clear evidence of this in the bottom picture.

I don't know what else to say other than I hope you see the light and please please please get your money back.

[C. Roelens]

Eric,

There is no comparison to the helmets Hans' posted and the ebay example you just posted to your helmet. Look also at the swipe mark across the front visor rim on your helmet... a clean swipe and all bare metal.

Your helmet was stripped to bare metal, repainted, and artificially aged. I wish to god I could find my documentation. I have a picture of a production line of helmets sitting on shelves in various stages of repaint from this guy. It's the same thick dirty looking paint.

Way back when on ebay you could message potential buyers of his crap, so he went down pretty quick. It has been close to a decade and I have two crashed hard drives sitting in the garage and a mound of paper work to sort through, and very little free time.

I would also recommend you send this helmet back for a refund.

Best of luck my friend.

Chuck

[PlaceOfBayonets]

I hope you can send it back for refund too Eric. Your Helmet violates too many rules on camo collecting.

There is no good reason for the bare metal to be bare and that shinny.

[Hoss]

Gents
So far no one has shown me any evidence this is a fake, only disbelieving comments after two weeks plus shipping two pieces of steel rubbing together can not appear 'shiny' and why is the helm 'rusty' underneath the camo which leaves me frankly aghast.

Chuck
My friend the helmet has not been stripped bare under strong mag. there is evidence of original finish but not over the entire piece, of course I am not going to chip away at the helmet to prove my point for the cameras. Is it beyond the painter to have wiped the front folded rim after.

Hans
Thank you for the pics but if you download and mag you may see better the shiny edge on a rivet is recent for sure, dont want to explain bleating on about it is starting to make me feel ill. The liner band is tight and never imo been out of the helmet, The bent prongs Chip eluded to one was done simply to attach some tag or other. Further your lug lol! appears just more corroded than mine if you look close even has traces of grey paint and importantly metal particles from the 'shipping'! [Hoss throws up all over the computer ].
The best pics of the helmet imo are the first but for whatever reason my camera will not display the true brighter colours on auto, believe me I've tried everything. Ochre is the hardest paint to originate imo one that collectors cannot post and say this what original should be.

Members who suggest the colours look wrong, or not old enough as a base for comment, I don't understand none of use know what the true paint colours looked like in 1918. There appears to be two camps over thick applied camo and more traditional accepted based on well worn, handled helms many that have been oiled and or polished in the last 95yrs.

I purchased the helmet because it reminded me of helms from the late 70's one off's one may have seen back then on a neighours book self described as 'my pop's from the war.'

1918 camoed only looked textbook for a short time even a matter of weeks below is a pic of a prisoner at Moyenneville august '18 (IWM) that as only recently been issued a fresh helmet and although a m16 appears from the picture to have a m18 liner his mutze resides inside the helm crown, a typical grunt favourite that accounts for many pillows missing today from pads imo. The sun highlighting the matte finish on the back of the helmet is interesting I cannot find the other picture mentioned last night oh well. imo this helm was painted at a repair shop not during camo fatigues.

Furthermore no longer have the helmet after I took the last pictures outside it was packaged carefully properly in bubble wrap and returned NOT because of the neg. comments which btw I still appreciate but because of the damage, believe what you will I am not convinced this helmet is a fake.
Hans I hope you don't get a headache.

Eric

[WalterB]

Hoss' helmet has post-war camo. Definitely NOT one I would have in my collection.

[C. Roelens]

Believe what you want Eric... you're way off base on this one.

You received constructive comments from a wealth of experience here, and not one of us flew off the handle with comments such as yours on that 4k camo not long ago, and the Garde helmet a few years ago.

I don't care why you sent the helmet back, but I'm glad you did.

Now drink another beer and relax!

Chuck

[Hans K.]

Wish you would have said earlier that you were going to return it Eric. For whatever reason. Would have kept me from wasting my time and batteries.

[Hoss]

The fact that it is returned doesn't mean we can't discuss the helmet. I am perfectly relaxed but not without some knowledge myself.
Search the net find images of similar fakes lets see them. Lets not get angry for crying out loud they are just steel lids.
Ok ok Hans I'll send you 5bucks for the cam batteries.

Eric

[C. Roelens]

I'm out...

[Hoss]

I'm out...

Me too but I still love you. no I am not a last word freak either.

Cheers
Eric

[PlaceOfBayonets]

I don't think anyone got mad here we're all friends and only look out for each other. Negative comments have saved me a bundle over the years.

take a look at this fake paint job. It looks so good Ken from German Helmets inc. told me he thought it was good even when I told him I did not think so.

[Kelly w]

I see you did look at the condition of paint under a mag loop. that paint should be night and day for something 95 years old and something repainted recently and aged. Age cracking shows up on WW2 lids so I'm sure it would help with this.

[Hoss]

I auto adjusted two photos from outside, better imo the surrounding and helmet look exact in hand for future reference one way or the other.

Regards
Eric

[PlaceOfBayonets]

I see some real age on your helmet Eric but all that means is that it was faked a while back. The yellow looks like the fakes coming out of England. The other colors look to be modern paint. More I see it the more I hate it.