1st patern ss helmet

[Stephen Revill]

To be honest Nick, I'm just guessing. As far as SS decals go, I just don't know anymore. I think the repro SS decals are just so good now that personally, I would never pay top price for one. Even if it was genuine, you would have trouble convincing others.

[Ty Smith]

Don't think I would use the Branislav Radovic's book as a guide. In my opinion it has some bad decals in there.
The only issue I have with this decal is the general shape of the decal especially the bottom.
There may be some originals that look like this, but I'm not sure. This particular decal is slighly different than other SS 1st patterns but I think this one might be ok.

[Perry Floyd]

I agree with Ty about using those books for refernce. Many repo decals in there...

[Edelweiss]

May I ask for the exact width of the decal (in millimeters) ? I dont have serious concerns about the paint / liner, Brian...

[SgtB]

OK, Ed!

First of all, while the paint appears to be a nice slate-gray, it
looks way too pristine for the extremely age-toned decal or the
very heavily used liner. In fact the interior shot looks like a
different helmet. Even the chinstrap looks well-worn inside but
minty outside - at least from these photos.

The texture of the decal looks good, but I don't like the blunt
corners of the runes on a 1st pattern.I don't like the chubbier
left rune - at least not when it's immediately noticeable upon
first glance. I don't like the sharp break on the left side and the
rounded one on the right.I don't like the strange indentation on
the lower right side.It's not like there is some missing here as
the border follows it around.I don't like the way that there appears to be more chips and scratches on the decal than the
surrounding paint. I don't like the way that the curvy,quarter-mile
long scratch is nearly entirely on the decal.I don't like the way
that the decal doesn't seem layered where it is chipped.I've never
seen one this deeply and completely gold-toned, either.

I could go on and on. Any one or two of these hits wouldn't
bother me, but not all of them together. If this helmet is real, it is the first SS helmet I've seen that I don't want to own.

[Perry Floyd]

Brian that's what is often called the "collectors eye" in many antique fields..
Something that's original but not very desirable, many never get this

[Ty Smith]

What would bother me most about owning this one is that so many people tend to disagree it,
I couldn't agree more with Brian that once a helmet has too many red flags it becomes undesirable.
I do not have a problem with the blunt runes or that they do not match one another.

In my opinion this one does have some strange characteristics,
As Brian said the wear looks odd in some places, especially the border.
Most importantly the shape looks slightly different than my first patterns along with the runes themselves. But, I also don't have a first pattern on a Q shell to compare it to. This decal is definitely different but is not necessarily bad in my opinion.

[SgtB]

Thanks Perry and Ty...

...and it's not like I have a shelf full of SS helmets and can afford
to be a choosy mother...but this helmet really bugs the heck out
of me...

[Perry Floyd]

It's my opinion the decal is a repo..

[Ty Smith]

Hi Perry, Curious what was the basis of your conclusion, Runes? shape? patina? color? a little of everything?

[Perry Floyd]

Correct, it was lacking in every area of originals of this 1st pattern variant..
I would actually like to hold this one 1st hand as I suspect the outer paint maybe postwar..not sure there..

[Ty Smith]

Hi Darryl - you might be interested in this thread. It had some good comments and was mentioned on the other forum too.
- Ty

[darryl-P]

Hello Ty and everyone,
It's good to be back again after about 24 days away in the UK. Regarding this decal...I guess I have to go against the grain here and say I like it. To me, this is a classic factory repaint (outer only) and re-issue...Quist to be exact. The decal is the tell-tale Q first pattern variant, complete with skinny right rune and bottom left of the left rune slightly lower than the break point of the shield. The decal looks to have been applied in haste as it is slightly distorted and has chipped signifigantly around the border edges. It's not your stereotypical SS helmet but if I was still collecting waffen examples I would like to own it. My opinion only.

[Perry Floyd]

I respect Darryls opinion but will still have to disagree in a cordial way if I may..
When it's compared to known originals of this variant the "distortion" is just to great for me. I've seen them creased, folded over, overlaped with another, cracked but never out of proportion like this...My opinion though..