please help with correct style of M42 helmet

[Glenn Barbaritz]

hey Guys. its Glenn. I am on the hunt for the "perfect" helmet for my mannequin. he is a full front line Heer infantry Schultz circa autumn 1943. I know he would be wearing an M42 helmet. but I was wondering if they camo'd these puppies at this time or was that done more in '44 (like the commonly called Normandy camo) I want it to be a correct helmet for the time frame and even though I like the camo ones if they didnt utilize this style at this point then I will just look for a standard factory finish. any information/thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated as I do not wish to upgrade down the road. thanks, Glenn

[jerryrehr]

hey Guys. its Glenn. I am on the hunt for the "perfect" helmet for my mannequin. he is a full front line Heer infantry Schultz circa autumn 1943. I know he would be wearing an M42 helmet. but I was wondering if they camo'd these puppies at this time or was that done more in '44 (like the commonly called Normandy camo) I want it to be a correct helmet for the time frame and even though I like the camo ones if they didnt utilize this style at this point then I will just look for a standard factory finish. any information/thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated as I do not wish to upgrade down the road. thGlenn; Invest in both types of helmets .That way any opinions you recieve will be covered. Jerry anks, Glenn

Helmets are good investments.

[jerryrehr]

Sorry you will have to read between the lines but I hope you get my thoughts. Again both types of helmets would be proper for you display. Jerry

[Perry Floyd]

hey Guys. its Glenn. I am on the hunt for the "perfect" helmet for my mannequin. he is a full front line Heer infantry Schultz circa autumn 1943. I know he would be wearing an M42 helmet. but I was wondering if they camo'd these puppies at this time or was that done more in '44 (like the commonly called Normandy camo) I want it to be a correct helmet for the time frame and even though I like the camo ones if they didnt utilize this style at this point then I will just look for a standard factory finish. any information/thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated as I do not wish to upgrade down the road. thanks, Glenn

He could be wearing a M35 M40 or M42.
As far as camo at this time I feel it would greatly depend on the location in Aut. of '43 for your grenadier.

[Glenn Barbaritz]

thanks for the info Guys, as far as where he would be fighting... I didnt really think of that. but then it would be safe to say that a camo helmet could be seen at this point in time in lets say the "Euopean" theatre? Glenn

[Perry Floyd]

European is broad too, Western France?, Norway?, Italy? and so on. The spectrum can be very broad.

Camo helmets were being used/made early on but more so later in the war.

[arjan]

Look for some periode pictures and see what kind of camo they had,
early in the war most of them just used materials which they attached to a rubber band to their helmets, while lateron chickenwire and camo paint were used

just pick a location and seach for pics etc

Arjan

and ofcourse show the result

[Glenn Barbaritz]

well Guys, I can see this is a deeper subject than I was anticipating. I guess I have to figure out where the most common area of fighting took place in the autumn of '43 and then go from there. thanks for all the help. Glenn

[Perry Floyd]

Russia, Italy

[Glenn Barbaritz]

hi Perry. if I were to go with the Russian theme, then would I want a factory paint or a camo. Glenn

[Perry Floyd]

It's really a price issue. You can go with a factory painted M42/40 SD or no decal and be correct and the most common and save considerable $. Or a M35SD, no decal reissue would work.

If you went with Italian front the same would work and be correct. When you start looking for a correct camo helmet you can spend alot of money and will have to wait for a nice example to surface.
If money and time are a big factor I would go with a factory M40/42 SD or no decal.

[Glenn Barbaritz]

good deal Perry. well, one thing I learned is that if money is an issue then your never going to get what you really want. I know it will cost me but I think I am going to be on the lookout for a nice M42 camo S/D Heer helmet. keep me in mind if you see a nice one with/ without a chinstrap. I could go either way as far as what front he would be fighting. I'm sure youll see me posting pontential helmet pics in the future as I will not purchase anything without the opinions of you and the other specialists in this area. I look over this section of the forum regularly and see all to often people getting taken on bogus helmets that even I think are alright. bunch of jackasses (the sellers I mean) out there. thanks again for everybodys comments. Glenn

[Chris Stewart]

Glenn,

Just to give an example from my collection for you. This helmet is an M-35 and is what I believe to be an autumn camo:

[Glenn Barbaritz]

outstanding! is it a S/D? also what colors make it an autumn camo instead of a spring/summer. Glenn

[Chris Stewart]

Hey Glenn,

While I can't see any decals under the paint, I can see some very faint cracking of the paint on both sides where the decals would have been. It also has a 1939 dome stamp and does not look to be a reissued, so I assume it was a DD before being camo'd.

As for the colours - I'm no expert, but I see the nice red/orange with the green and assume this may be an indication of the colours of autumn! It depends on where it was found, and what time it was found I guess - niether of which I have information on with this lid.

Chris

outstanding! is it a S/D? also what colors make it an autumn camo instead of a spring/summer. Glenn