Luftwaffe Pith Helmet (Tropenhelm) opinions please

[David H]

Hello
I am looking at this tan Luftwaffe tropenhelm on estand, can I confirm it is all original, looks ok to me and seems to be a nice example, I assume unissued, but best to get it checked.
I note it is not dated, was that common? Any comments greatly appreciated

Thank you

[David H]

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[David H]

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[Jos L C]

I personally think that this particular type of eagle is a fantasy item.
I've inspected one of these soft alloy eagles with their soft soldered prongs and my conclusion is that it is fake.
Loads of these popped up couple of years ago and were sold for 15 euro a piece, now you can find them on many pith helmets.
They can be found brand new, treated with acid, then there seems to be a 2nd run, improved, tougher silver/white finish and better prongs .. they keep trying..

I would go for a pith helmet with a textbook unquestionable eagle.

Jos.

[Tim O'Keefe]

Looks like another tropenhelm from the CZ horde years ago and re-badged recently. Eagle is a fake as Jos mentions.

[David H]

Thank you for the comments, Here are a couple closer pictures of the eagle that the seller has been kind enough to send me, he has been rather surprised at he comments.
'Both decals are made out from very strong zink not a soft alloy'
'not a brand new, treated with acid but a very detailed, from zink with strong copper prongs.'

I have no particular axe to grind here, seller believes he has a nice original and I don't want to make a mistake and I'd be nuts to go against opinions.

So any more comments most welcome

Thank you

[Jos L C]

They might look like zink, feel like zink etc, but they are made of some kinda funny alloy, which feels quite firm, but is quite soft compared to zink ..
Just put them in a flame for a few seconds and they mellt like butter, I know, because I've tried.., originals do not react like this.
Hence the soft soldered prongs, hard solder, which requires more heat would ruin the eagle, burn a hole in it.
I've tested 2 suspicious patterns of eagles this way, because I knew they were fake, just to confirm and this is one of them.
The copper prongs are no more than iron nails with a thin layer of copper, the ones you can buy in the hobby shop.
There're more red lights, but it all depends on how one likes to build his collection.
I've studied luft pith eagles for quite a while and how they are made etc, had many of them, but this one is a quite modern fake, not even a good fake.
So, I've had one in hands to study, ruined it to test, found out that it was bad in many ways, added the info that they popped up all of a sudden, boxes full and that they were sold for a song in the beginning, then..., when everyone had its share, the party started... you'll even find them on big dealer sites, while these guys know that these are fake, but that's the way to make this stuff original ..
The serious guys don't have any of these eagles in their collection, because they know..
The luft eagle is the most important part of the luft pith helmet and half its price, so why not study it more closer ?

Jos.

[giorgio]

Are you sure that the eagle is a fake ?
It seems zinc and very detailed and sharp....look at the feathers and details of the head....
Just to learn...
Regards
Giorgio

[Tim O'Keefe]

Are you sure that the eagle is a fake ?
It seems zinc and very detailed and sharp....look at the feathers and details of the head....
Just to learn...
Regards
Giorgio

Yes, the top of the swaz is filled in not hollow. Am aware of only one original eagle varient that has this feature but different prongs.

Also from the reverse angle the badges look like they were added recently.