Quick Question for FJ camos?

[Dan T]

Is it true that no period photos exist of FJ camo helmets being worn with the eagle painted around?
Thanks in anticipation.

[John Hodgin]

Hi Dan,

Fj did paint around eagles, and national shields, but most often they were over painted. When helmets were sprayed, often care was taken to overspray lightly the eagle and the colors so they were not totally obscured, while elsewhere the spray was applied thickly.

As to period photos illustrating this, look at the Feldwebel on p.54 in 'Paratroopers in the Med.' by Bruce Quarrie.

Regards,
John

[Willi Z.]

MY comments would mirror John's. The majority were just painted over......some were lightly oversprayed, some were painted around. Recently many, and I do mean many, of the Czech repros have appeared on the market with the decals nicely painted around, as if by the use of masking tape. You see them this way on bad winter white camos, trop tan camos and some others. The presence of so many of these Czech repros makes it appear that painted around decals were common. I would not dismiss a helmet that could be real solely by the presence of a painted around decal.

In fact, here is one of my camos that has a painted around decal......

Willi

[Eric Queen]

Willi,

That is a beauty !! I just started to salivate.........

[Chris]

Willi,

I remember seeing that great camo in person when you showed it to me at the Allentown Show a few years ago. Terrific helmet. The distinction to be made for newer collectors on this forum is that your helmet is hand painted, not spray painted. It's not unlikely that an individual trooper would hand paint around his eagle.

However, spray painted helmets with masked-out eagles are rare, because the contemporary means and desire to do so were both limited. Contemporary photos of masked-around photos are rarer still.

Jonnie, one posed photograph in one book is the exception that proves this rule. The same Feldwebel on page 54 turns up in a lot of photos and I think he was a Kriegsberichter. That's him again on page 65, wearing somebody else's helmet with a liner that doesn't fit him for another posed photo. I saw him on at least a dozen contact sheets in the 50,000+ photos at the Bundesarchiv in Koblenz, and he's proof they staged a lot of these photos for propaganda purposes.

That's probably not his own helmet in the highly posed photo on page 54 either ("OK, you guys all look down this road, and lieutenant, you point at something in a manly way, and Hans, you jump in there with your silly gaiters on and put this helmet on your head, it looks good...")

I'll look forward to seeing more contemporary photos of camos with spray-around decals on this forum. In the meantime, I contend that para camos with spray-around decals need to be treated with a lot more than the usual degree of skeptism. Chris

[Willi Z.]

I agree Chris..........more likely to see a hand painted camo around the eagle than a spray around the eagle. Some spray camos may be lightly sprayed over the eagle.....but the majority are just sprayed over. Have only seen one trop camo were it looked like an effort was made to spray aorund the eagle.

Willi

[John Hodgin]

Agree with you both. Masked and sprayed around decals are very rare, this practice was seldom done, but the photo proves that it was done, as does a helmet that I've photographed.

As Dick Lafayette is fond of saying, just remember to "never say never."

Best,
JH

[JohnB]

painted around eagles

I agree with you all Willi, John H., Chris et al. I have owned no fewer than a dozen legit m-35 style luft camos with painted around decals, all hand painted I believe. But the para camo Willi has posted is the only one I have ever seen with a legit painted around bird. Supposedly Russ sold one at a Max show several years ago that was also legit. Chris is correct, a painted around luft eagle on a para camo demands extreme scrutiny. In general, I am so skeptical/fearful about excavated decals I prefer to see a painted over army or luft decal.
John