M42 SS Camo (Opinions)

[Matt M]

Would like to know what you guys think on this one.

Decal seems to display all the right characteristics, but its hard to say for sure there is just a little bit peeking out under the white wash.

[Matt M]

Whole helmet

[Matt M]

Inside

[Perry Floyd]

These can be tough and I've often wondered why fakers haven't covered the decal more often as it can hide the evidence.
I feel it's not original, the way the whitewash looks, the percentage of the decal underneath in relation to everything else. I don't get a good vibe at all with this one...

[Larry Marcella]

Matt,
The geometry of the decal looks good from what can be seen. Definitely displays the metallic background like it should. Looks like there was a wire or something at the base of the helmet. The helmet looks evenly aged from the pictures. This is a very tough bird to be sure on, but without uncovering the decal for detailed examination, I believe I would get opinions from some of the Big Boys. Personally, I like the looks of it.
Larry

[Perry Floyd]

Alot of collectors favor Bill Shea's opinion on helmets. Why don't you e-mail him the photo's and post his opinion?

[darryl-P]

Matt,
It doesn't look all that bad to me and as Larry says the decal itself conforms to standards. However, I have to agree with Perry...it just doesn't give me good vibes. And, on closer inspection...look at the top left hand side of the decal...is that some silver on the other (outer) side of the black border?

[Perry Floyd]

Just for note. There are fake SS decals that have the proper measurements...

[Matt M]

Guys
Thanks for the response
I will tell you what I just don't know about this one. I have the helmet now and have looked at it for quite a while.

Darryl:
I do not see any silver outside the black outline, not sure where you mean.

I have not handled many white wash helmets and SS decals are not my specialty, so I pretty much got it hanging out in the breeze on this one.

Personally I just do not think a definative opinion can come from photos alone.

I have e-mailed Bill Shea on this one, that lucky guy is on a 3 week scuba diving trip. I think I will just send him the helmet and get his take on it when he gets back.

I am under no pressure from the seller about a decision. I think I would buy it if it turns out to be good. I guess this one would be pretty rare if real and I like the camo's.

Any more comments are welcome and I could take additional photos.

Thanks,
Matt

[Matt M]

x

[Matt M]

xx

[Ty Smith]

SS helmet

Hi Matt,

Do you have any doubts about the white wash being original? I have no real experience with whitewash helmets. Most of the ones I have seen have had the wash removed and have just remains of the white. I'm just curious for my own info. This one looks to have had a wire around the bottom? Hope it turns out good for you, Matt.

[VincentC]

....or could the line on the skirt be from stacking. What I see is a circular depression at the midsection of the first S where it appears the underlying paint is gone, yet the decal is fully intact in this area. Were decals ever applied say in the field without undergoing refurbishment, which might explain this?

This would be a real score if all turns out.
Regards, Vince

[JohnB]

white SS camo

I do not like this helmet gents, sorry. I don't like the whitewash and I think it is being used to conceal a bad decal.

The whitewash is just too clean and has artificial wear on it. Also, I've only seen one helmet that had 80% or more whitewash on it in my life. Most have 20%-30%. Most importantly, the whitewash does not have that look of age (60 Years) about it, nor is it ingrained in the crevices of the factory paint.

White paint is a different story. The Germans consistently used a thick white paint on helmets, in my experience. Anyway, such is my view.
John

[JohnB]

bad white

Just one more thought Matt, It is nearly impossible to imagine a whitewashed helmet with that much paint remaining on the exterior dome of the helmet. There's barely a scratch on the dome.
John