A sad end to a a very long tale.

[SMP]

Many of our older members will have been involved in this:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=233454

I find it very sad.

[Gerd W.]

Many of our older members will have been involved in this:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=233454

I find it very sad.

What makes you feel sad Steve?

Based on all facts the decal was a fake (and I was wrong at first that it may be is a variation ). So it is logical, that SOMEONE would remove this "hot" decal and sell the lid without.

[Frank Schneider]

Well, I for one thing find it sad that somebody f*cked up a nice ND helmet by applying a fake decal..... And then this helmet got molested again by taking off the eagle in such an rough way. By the looks of it I can only guess how hard it must have been to get it removed, but I am not sure if the end result is much better than a helmet with a fake decal.

[Willi Z.]

I think it can be restored, if that is the right word to use in this case. Removing the decal would have removed the oils which have accumulated over the years. Not too tough to fix, to make the area where the decal was to blend with the helmet finish. As long as someone does not add another decal.

[SMP]

Gerd,
I am sad that no-one was honest enough to admit their mistake. Clearly someone finally came to the conclusion that the decal was wrong . It would have been the honourable thing to do, concidering all the things that were said in the original thread.

On a separate note - I would publicly like to thank Phillipe for opening my eyes to the world of fake Luft decals. I am staggered by the number of fakes that are out there now. I think the original thread was a watershed moment for many collectors.

Regards,
Steve

[Willi Z.]

Steve, yes that was one very long 14-page tale.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...hlight=mint+sd

Phillipe was correct and stuck to his guns. I see on page 9 that I thought it was not like any original I had seen before, but I was not yet ready to declare it was a fake without a hands on examination. Reviewing the thread sure brought back the memories of that helmet.....

Sadness though? The decal was removed. The ease in which it appears to have been removed indicates it was a fake.

[Gerd W.]

On a seperate note - I would publicly like to thank Phillipe for opening my eyes to the world of fake Luft decals. I am staggered by the number of fakes that are out there now. I think the original thread was a watershed moment for many collectors.

I'll second this

There was a lot of "behind the curtain" action with other guys (the French connection ) , so I could name a lot more fellow collectors.

[Niederlande]

Dear fellow forum members,

I strongly feel the need to reply to this thread.
That's why I will send a copy of a PM that I sended:


Quote:
Originally Posted by Niederlande
Dear fellow forum member SMP,

I am sending this personal message to you since you found out something very important about my helmet.

I was blown away by it and I am thanking you for that.
And I don't mean it in a septical way.
I didn't know anything about this and I can assure you that if I knew the history behind this helmet, I would think twice before buying it or posting the pictures of it on this forum.



Since the person is a WAF member and is out of the country for a couple of weeks, I am not able to comment on your thread.
I want to talk to him in person.

I want to give the seller a clear chance to work this question out with me.

I hope you will understand.

Kind regards,

Niederlande



Hi,
Thank you for your comments. I am sorry if I have caused you, or your seller, any embarrassment. For what it is worth I think you have a very beautiful late-war ND FJ helmet. I for one would be proud to own it. If you can remove the last traces of the decal it would be perfect.
Unless you bought it from W. Matchett himself, there is every chance the seller didn't know the history of the helmet.
I still think it is a fine helmet !

Best wishes,
Steve

And this is my answere to the PM send to me by Steve:

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your quick reply.

There's no need for being sorry for the fact that you caused me or the seller any embarrassment.
I'm happy with the sharpness of you and Francis006.

Without you guys I wouldn't know any of this. ( none of this was told to me by the seller )
But the reason why I'm sending this post is very simple; All I have in life as my word and reputation.
I can honestly say that I didn't buy it from mr. Matchett, he's not to blame for me not knowing anything about the background of this helmet.

I hope that every reader understands, that I want to talk to the seller in person before getting into details.

Regards,

Niederlande