Refurbishment > WW2 German M40 Waffen SS Helmet Refurbishment
WW2 German M40 Waffen SS Helmet Refurbishment:
This German WW2 M40 helmet has a replica eagle and a Norwegian liner and post war chinstrap . The shell is genuine but has been painted black with some light tan areas. There is also heavy corrosion on the inside and lighter corrosion on the outside shell. We know the paint is post WW2 because the pitted areas have been painted over! The liner has been attached with 5 fixing studs as opposed to the standard German liner studs.
06/Dec/2013: Our brief was to add a a name and convert it to a field grey double decal Waffen SS helmet and to make the shell look in 'as found' condition so all the pitting and corrosion can be seen and the whole liner and chinstrap look matched to the shell.
06/Dec/2013: Our brief was to add a a name and convert it to a field grey double decal Waffen SS helmet and to make the shell look in 'as found' condition so all the pitting and corrosion can be seen and the whole liner and chinstrap look matched to the shell.
German M40 Helmet
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German M40 Helmet Replica Eagle
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German M40 Helmet Rear View
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German M40 Helmet Notice removed decal - post war without doubt
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German M40 Helmet Post War Norwegian Liner
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German M40 Helmet Post War Chinstrap
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07/Dec/2013: The shell has now been stripped of all paint and our original diagnosis that the paint was post war proves to be true as there is no trace of any original paint underneath the black paint. The liner band is original and is dated 1944. This is fine as the German re-used many parts on their helmets, but is not original to this helmet!
Notice the heavy pitting on the inside of the helmet. This is less so on the outside so we think the shell must have been lying upwards and been more exposed to the elements on the inside, or buried in soil where is was more corrosive elements on the inside of the shell. This could be because the outside was protected by several layers of paint.
The liner has been stripped of the original red tone Norwegian colouring and we have reduces the thickness of the leather so it is more similar to the German leather. We have introduced some areas of wear and ageing including some small rips and holes. We have started to tone the leather and added some 'flaking' to the edge of the liner. quite a long way to go though.
Notice the heavy pitting on the inside of the helmet. This is less so on the outside so we think the shell must have been lying upwards and been more exposed to the elements on the inside, or buried in soil where is was more corrosive elements on the inside of the shell. This could be because the outside was protected by several layers of paint.
The liner has been stripped of the original red tone Norwegian colouring and we have reduces the thickness of the leather so it is more similar to the German leather. We have introduced some areas of wear and ageing including some small rips and holes. We have started to tone the leather and added some 'flaking' to the edge of the liner. quite a long way to go though.
M40 Helmet Stripped. Notice solid areas showing through.
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M40 Helmet Stripped. Notice heavy pitting on the inside.
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M40 less corrosion on the outside except around the vents
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1944 Dated liner band. Leather thinned down and first pass ageing.
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M40 Helmet Close up of ageing on upper liner
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Original 1944 Dated liner Band.
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11/Dec/2013: Shell has been coated with a 'pitting' compound which basically means the paint does not get into the pits. However it is not 100% accurate so each painted 'pit' or pock mark will need digging out. Paint has been applied and rubbed down in the area's where there is most corrosion.
The museum quality decals have been applied with lacquer and heat sealed. The swastica has been lightly 'flaked' and crazed in places but both decals will receive much more ageing to blend in with the rest of the shell. The SS runes are the pre-1940 version used on pre-1940 ET helmets (this is an ET64 M40) and occasionally post 1940 helmets.
Notice the lack of paint on the inside, this is because it is heavily corroded and most of the paint will have gone. We need to match this to the liner which is still undergoing more ageing. The paint is Field Grey which means it is grey but with a green tinge to it. It will also look much darker after restoration.
The museum quality decals have been applied with lacquer and heat sealed. The swastica has been lightly 'flaked' and crazed in places but both decals will receive much more ageing to blend in with the rest of the shell. The SS runes are the pre-1940 version used on pre-1940 ET helmets (this is an ET64 M40) and occasionally post 1940 helmets.
Notice the lack of paint on the inside, this is because it is heavily corroded and most of the paint will have gone. We need to match this to the liner which is still undergoing more ageing. The paint is Field Grey which means it is grey but with a green tinge to it. It will also look much darker after restoration.
'ET' (Eisenhuttenwerke Thale) Swastica Decal
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Inside of M40 Prior to blending and ageing
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ET (Eisenhuttenwerke Thale) M40 with SS Runes
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9/Jan/2014: The helmet is complete. The liner rivets have been swapped out with standard WW2 German rivets and the helmet has been aged fully. We have added a soft sheen to the outside to make it look as if it has been well cared for after being found, with plenty of oil and cleaning used.
Notice how there is still deep pitting but none of the paint is in the pits, a reflection on the time taken to get it 100% correct. Also notice the name on the rear which again is readable but does not fill any of the 'pit' holes - a dead give away for a refurbished helmet!
Anyway, lots of other stuff done to the helmet but we will let the pictures do the talking.
Notice how there is still deep pitting but none of the paint is in the pits, a reflection on the time taken to get it 100% correct. Also notice the name on the rear which again is readable but does not fill any of the 'pit' holes - a dead give away for a refurbished helmet!
Anyway, lots of other stuff done to the helmet but we will let the pictures do the talking.
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