Question on Ebay Japanese Helmet

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Is this one good so far as the paint? What is market value on one like this? Can a repro liner be added without any modifications?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=010

I've seen some choice japanese helmets on the estand and ebay. Are they really commanding prices from 1500 to 2000 dollars?

I want to pick something up original but at those prices I am willing to get a shell and add my own liner if it will make it affordable.

Anyone have anything like this to sell by all means let me know.

Wilhelm

[zachb]

Wilhelm,

First of all I wouldn't want this one for my collection. From the pictures it appears that this helmet doesn't have enough hardware to put a liner into it, i.e., all of the brackets (should be three) and the 2 liner attachment pins? Also that might be "original paint" however, it appears that the helmet was heavily rusted and then someone scrubbed the heck out of it. This is just my opinion based on the auction photos. Further if all the pins are there, it looks so rusted that any attempt to place a liner in it might break off a prong. This helmet you have linked has reached it's value in my estimation, but I'm sure it will climb a little higher. Most decent IJA Helmets (with pretty much all the hardware, liner, original star, chinstraps, rings) sell between $750.00-$900.00 these days. Obviously paint condition is a factor, my observations of the market trends however, seem to indicate completeness is now the priority. The prices you quoted above are helmets with covers and/or nets. By the way most people complain about the reproduction liners not fitting that well, even the ones considered to be the best out there. Shells with good paint and pins with no liner or straps seem to start around $200.00. Zach

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Thanks for that bit of information. I am gonna just keep watching helmets for a while till something good comes along.

Prongs, got to keep thos in mind.

W.

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Guys, if anyone's looking how does this helmet look?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=024


I got a PM from a WAF member who tells me you can add the hardware needed to add a liner and chin strap if the helmet is missing the stuff needed. I like this idea as i could then probably afford one.

W.

[Striking 9th]

Guys, if anyone's looking how does this helmet look?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=024


I got a PM from a WAF member who tells me you can add the hardware needed to add a liner and chin strap if the helmet is missing the stuff needed. I like this idea as i could then probably afford one.

W.

Hello William, this is a late war Naval helmet shell. I see nothing wrong with it. It is a better shell then the average e-bay offering. It only needs two liner split pins which can be found reproduced or sometimes original. These slip right through the slits in the shell then through the slits in the liner. They are then bent by hand to hold the liner in place. You will need the flat headed variety. This one still has the chin strap & mounting brackets so nothing else needed. I would go with this one over the ones needing repaint or bracket repair any day of the week. Those are a waste of time. This one is priced high Imo but a well known dealer has recently sold one for more and the paint was not as nice. I also see them on e-bay with considerable wear and liner issues going for premium prices. Sorry to be so vague but it is really up to the buyer with these to determine how high they want to go. It is a sellers market for IJN helmets. They are way way harder to find & more desirable then the IJA helmets.
Scott

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Thanks. I might bid. Not sure money is tight. But it looked ok to me.

W.

I bid and won. No other bidders. Not used to that since I mostly buy German helemts that are always contested.

W.

[Striking 9th]

Thanks. I might bid. Not sure money is tight. But it looked ok to me.

W.

I bid and won. No other bidders. Not used to that since I mostly buy German helemts that are always contested.

W.

Good pick up William. I was looking around earlier and ran across this offering from a dealer. He is one of the good guys out there. He has this one priced at $395. Yours is in much better shape hands down. Congrats on your new addition. Let us know what you think when you get it. Warning!!!! These are addictive.

http://www.hmsbrinmaric.com/images/h170.htm

Scott

[PlaceOfBayonets]

I'll post some pics. I suppose the paint on the one I won is better then the one on that site.

Japanese landing forces. Is that just Japanese navel marines or something else?
I wonder if this helmet was on a soldier's head who landed on Wake Island and got his A** kicked by the U.S. Marines there That is before they had to surrender

W.

[zachb]

This helmet is actually properly referred to as a Naval Helmet as Scott said, i.e., IJN. See this thread for discussion of a similar helmet, note post #36, etc.

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

[PlaceOfBayonets]

I was going to get a repro liner pin set with the anchor and did not understand the stencil. Now I see I will need something different.

Is the front pin the same as the two rear ones? So far as the other thread posted, I may or may not have a NLF helmet. Might just be navy. No big deal to me.

I think I still want an Amry one anyway

W.

[zachb]

The stencil if original, which it appears to be, simply means the helmet was used by the Navy after around 1943 when the anchor device was replaced. One wouldn't want to place an anchor on a stencil helmet and risk ruining the original stencil. Naval personal were used as ground combat forces in several campaigns in the pacific all the way to the end of the war (though they were not referred to as Naval Landing Forces, as far as we know at the present). A stencil helmet might be the bastard child of an "exclusive" NLF collector but it is still a nice historical artifact and helps to tell the story of the Japanese forces and changing conditions as the war progressed.
When you get the helmet carefully inspect the inside rim for size markings or remnants of this mark to determine if the helmet started off as an Army pot (Navy helmets did not have these size markings). Post closeups of the stencil on here for further evaluation. BTW, I personally like the helmet you found. Finding an original liner with a navy stamp, in my estimation, is going to be next to impossible. Again, however, this helmet appears to be a nice representative piece. The liner on all IJA and IJN helmets was held in place by two pins and the anchor, in the case of the IJN/NLF helmets, two pins and the star, in the case of the IJA helmets, and three pins in the case of the IJN stencil helmets. The 2 liner retaining pins you will be searching for are like the pin in the front of the stencil helmet. Again please remember that removing or obscuring the stencil on an original IJN helmet is the same as removing a decal on a German helmet.
Zach

[PlaceOfBayonets]

I don't look to alter helmets only add to them. I will want the three liner pins and will match the yellow and paint the pin. Should be easy.

Will get repros but will keep my eye out for originals.

[zachb]

I don't look to alter helmets only add to them. I will want the three liner pins and will match the yellow and paint the pin. Should be easy.

Will get repros but will keep my eye out for originals.

Sorry I may have misunderstood your post. It looks like this one has the front pin so you are a third of the way there. I think their are some links around here for repro liners. Best of luck, Zach

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Front pin?? I did not notice. I hope it has it. I guess I will find out when it gets here.
Flower Prairie has liners and pins.

W.

[PlaceOfBayonets]

I sent the helmet back. It was a repaint.

Wilhelm