Layered vs. Unlayered KM Decals

[Stephan Wahl]

Recently, I've seen a couple threads revolving around Kriegsmarine decals. Quite honestly, they have left me with only more questions than answers. I was under the impression that all KM decals (the eagle at least) were layered. You know, a gold transpartent layer over an original silver Adler. Nevertheless, I've been seeing a lot of 's on unlayered KM decals. Can someone elaborate?

[T. Steiner]

Hi Stephen, I hate to see your thread die, so I will give my thoughts and observations. The most common Kriegs. is the ET style eagle. It is the one that is layered. Holding the helmet with the light just right, it is very obvious. It looks as if a broad outline of the eagle is printed in gold onto a bonding layer, then the black is printed on top. This is important, because scratches through the gold should not reveal any silver. The Heer decal is a silver sheet, the whole size of the shield, then printed with the black. If it is has a thick yellowed laquer on top, scratches through the yellow laquer will reveal the silver. All DD m35's that I have run into, and most all M40's have this style. If the decal is layered your in great shape. The second style of Kriegs. is the "thin winged". I have never seen a thin winged bird that was layered, and they usually show up on later helmets. The one big problem with these is that they are easier to fake. In the last two weeks at least 4 of these thin winged Kriegs. have come up for sale....hmhm? Whats more frustrating is that they are all slightly different.....hmhm? Are they all fake? Are they all real? Are some real and some Fake? I just don't know, but I do look these helmets over very carefully.... very scratch, chip and dent! Personally, if the picture picks up the layering, I feel pretty good. If no layering, than it is best to get it in hand. I will try to get some pictures up of the layered decal. It is hard to capture on camera though. Another big problem is that digital photos tend to wash out the gold color, making some very real decals look light in color. These are my observations, and I hope others will add or subtract......Tom.

[T. Steiner]

Picture 1

[T. Steiner]

Picture 2

[Ken B.]

Tom

Good analogy and good birdy.

[Perry Floyd]

Heres one, notice the white under the gold.

[T. Steiner]

Perry, just for my own reference, that is white and not silver, correct? I know all the ones I have seen are white backed. I have run into early Quist tri color decals, though, that were printed on the silver backing.....Tom.

[william r match]

Stephen,


Good points, like Tom I always am comforted by a Kriegsmarine that is layered, it puts the identification of service branch to bed straight off. A lot of collectors in the USA refer to it as a 2 piece decal. A Heer decal will not have this quality!

Kriegsmarine decals not found with this trait are that much trickier to call. Uniformity & solidity of colour is an important determing factor in these instances. They are found in a number of variations, the thin wing adler being one.

Billy

[Glenn McInnes]

If any of you guys have a blacklight or UV light, blacklight your KM decals and tell me what you see.


Glenn

[Blindpew]

Here is a Fake I own! - Unless I'm mistaking!

[Perry Floyd]

Perry, just for my own reference, that is white and not silver, correct? I know all the ones I have seen are white backed. I have run into early Quist tri color decals, though, that were printed on the silver backing.....Tom.

Yes that's correct it's white.

[Larry Marcella]

There are several KM decals out there. I believe the decal that people refer to as layered is actually the bordered decal typically found on E.T. helmets. This decal shows a black raised border around the bird and swastika. I have about 7 KM helmets with 4 different style decals in my collection, all sharing the true gold color. There are foil back KM decals out there along with the white backed ones.
Larry

[Rich G]

Larry

Just want to clarify... when you say foil backed you mean in gold or in silver?

Rich

ps. I have 2 KM 'ET' helmets, 1 M35 and 1 M40. The M35 has the thick raised border, the M40 doesn't. Are these thick bordered decals only found on M35's?

[Larry Marcella]

Rich,
Typically the bordered decals are encountered on the 35s mainly. I don't know if they are typical of M40s. The foil I am refering to is the silver backing or base like the early national decals. I have a couple KM decals with the silver base, then the gold layer and finally the black.
Larry

[Stephan Wahl]

A lot of good information on these quite confusing decals. Hopefully the guys at Wehrmacht-Awards will keep this thread up for some time after it becomes "inactive" so those looking to buy a good KM helmet can come back to it and reference it. Then again, it probably prints pretty well too.

PS. Yea, Blindpew. The lines on that decal you posted give it away. Way too thick. Plus, what is that on the eagles throat,a turkey waddle?