just got another one, Army this time...

[luftwaffenkopf]

$115 shipped, looks all original and a large size... did i do OK? thank you!

[luftwaffenkopf]

could this be a reissue to Army from a Navy one? it looks like the kanji dai is both stamped and painted, and the paint seems brush applied...i'll confirm this when i receive it.

[Striking 9th]

could this be a reissue to Army from a Navy one? it looks like the kanji dai is both stamped and painted, and the paint seems brush applied...i'll confirm this when i receive it.

IJA helmets will sometimes have both stamp & painted size Kanji marks. IJN will only have the stamp. These shells left the factory with brush painted finishes as well as sprayed. Both of yours appear to have the original factory finish. Most IJN helmets I see have sprayed finishes. On that same note the majority of IJA helmets I have seen have brush applied finishes. Hope that helps and welcome to the Japanese board.
Scott

[luftwaffenkopf]

thank you, i'm learning a lot. were there sizes bigger than Dai/BIG?

[Striking 9th]

thank you, i'm learning a lot. were there sizes bigger than Dai/BIG?

I have only seen Large & small. The more common for both branches is the large size. IJA small helmets can be found while a small size Naval is extremely rare. Another member of this board needs to sell me his .
Scott

[luftwaffenkopf]

large being the most common is odd considering the size of Japanese people especially at that time. i would think that small size would be more common, just like a size 64 in German helmets with a 68 being rare... perhaps their thinking was a one size fits all hence the commonality of large shells with perhaps adjustable liners. and small shells were for really really small heads, like German size 60 shells which hold a 52-53 size liner, toddler size.

[luftwaffenkopf]

a few picture in hand...

there seems to be some 'orange' paint under the brushed on olive green. i'm not sure if it's some kind of primer or maybe this helmet has been repainted and the olive green is not original

[Striking 9th]

The orange is primer. That is the original factory finish.
Scott

[luftwaffenkopf]

thank you, i was worried there for a second. orange is an odd primer color for a war helmet, but then again it's a primer, not to be seen. glad they decided to pass on neon pink

this one doesn't seem to have any factory stamps like diamond/"S"... but i can clearly see the kanji dai character stamped under the painted one.