THE HELMET THREAD

here's some closer shots of my Czechoslovak vz 53 what i like about it is the fact that its an ex soviet lid ssh 40 the lower rivits dont serve any function ,it has a star stamp under the front rim the cover is a hood from a vz 60 strichtarn pattern cammo coat and also a camouflage foliage strap

sh4pak wrote:If y'all compiled & printed this thread, you could sell a book. Not kidding. Reference like this usually comes with a $42.00 price tag.

Absolutely , and here it's all free!!!!!!

I have spend a bloody fortune on reference books over the years, but the way I see it is , I get to share a little " Helmet love" with my fellow collectors

Great looking Czechoslovak vz 53 lid and disply James, nice one mate , the cover is particularly effective

Just dug this out of storage,any ideas please as i cannot find any markings/stamps etc?

Thanks

Another item just found after years of being stored away.

hi gulf is the riot helmet french spectra

my bulgarian m51/72 liner in xl size 59 and dated 1981 it has the 2nd pattern splinter cammo enjoy

Very nice James, I like this one, especially the cover.

Another fantastic addition to this thread

cheers gary i thought it was deserving a place on here i really like the ww2 german style cammo cover and the helmet is in like new condition ,thanks james

Totally agree James, I like the ref picture shows the camo pattern off nicely.

Thanks to you James for my latest Greek display,cheers Matey





Anyone able to Read greek?

it looks spot on gary much better displayed on your m1 than mine mate did you delve any deeper on the name in pen thanks for sharing

my late 60's dated belgium airforce m1 ive been told the liner might be dutch

my latest aquisition for my desert storm display a minty iraqi m1980 ive been after a complete one for a while the liner is in great shape and on the inside dome it says 21 theres loss of paint on the crown and some remenants of a green paint i would love it if somebody could identify the triangle emblem and black writing on the side my internet searches have had no result

Hi James.

Thanks again for the Greek cover, no idea re: the writing I'm afraid.

I really like your Belgium Air-force M-51, I have one somewhere in storage, I don't think the liner is Dutch unless there's poppers on the cradle it'self, the sweatband looks Dutch with the little wrap over leather snaps closures though.Is there any markings in the liner crown?

Goes without saying I love the Iraqi M-80, I have many , and still feel you can't have enough, each one is so unique, I have yet to find a decent book/site that gives info regarding Iraqi units and their tactical insignia...my hunch and it is just a hunch,An Armoured division of some sort. I know the Iraqi Republican Guard used a Red triangle on their lids, so maybe an armoured div of the RG.

Either way, more superb additions Mate, thanks for sharing

hey thanks gary on the belguim m1 im hoping the liner is original to the lid i will check out the stamp in better light and let you know and thanks for you honesty on the m80 emblem i just dont know who or where to ask ive put a thread on the gulf war section in hope of an answer fingers are crossed on a rg unit ive heard that most of these lids are missing the liner or is perished to some extent so im chuffed with it and its gonna look swell amongst my desert storm display cheers james

gary the belgium liner has 14 then below a small circle with a W over an elongated o my mk111 british turtle used in the israeli war of 1948

--FYI's. Don't know how many of you have invested in the Prairie Flower Leather Co.'s Brodie kit, but I was happy with mine. Took a $20.00 Dutch saucer, and turned it into a very nice costume piece, for under $80.00, total.:



Seemed to make more sense than trying it out on my M1917, which I am now content to leave in a state of arrested decay.

that brodie kit looks superb sh4pak was it easy enough to fit , oh and on a side note i have dug deeper on my belgium m51 i have been informed that i have a rare combination of belgium air force lid married up with us westinghouse liner refitted out in the netherlands for the VB (VerBliFa) the Dutch Air force so not a matching pair but i am more than pleased cheers james

--Jaycee,

Yep, it went along relatively smoothly. The only tricky parts are gluing in the felt pad (it would have helped to have had some kind of semi-circular bit to clamp into the lid while it dried), fitting the copper rivet (the hole on the Dutch helmet is smaller than the original British, and the steel is harder to bore through than one might expect), and getting the alignment right for the chin-strap (it is like a Moebius-strip, it threads through counter-intuitively). That said, I had the whole thing together in about an hour (after two glasses of wine).

Here's the company's website.: http://www.pflco.com/militaria1.htm
They could use an update, and a better camera, but you can get a good idea of the process from the instructions. I got their least-expensive kit, because I wanted to find out what the quality-level was, and I can say that it was impressive. I'm tempted to get their Kelly kit for my M1917, and make a "Bataan" helmet out of it-- I'm inclined to believe it would be worth it.

--Cheers!

Dan

thanks dan i didnt realise you had to do a bit of glueing but for an hours work its well worth it another great lid restored well done dan

Thank you!

jaycee wrote:that brodie kit looks superb sh4pak was it easy enough to fit , oh and on a side note i have dug deeper on my belgium m51 i have been informed that i have a rare combination of belgium air force lid married up with us westinghouse liner refitted out in the netherlands for the VB (VerBliFa) the Dutch Air force so not a matching pair but i am more than pleased cheers james

You beat me too it, I was going to say Westinghouse, nice one Mate, it is very unusual to have a US Liner fitted to a Belgium lid....super cool

Dan I agree with James the brodie kit looks very good, I have a Relic Brodie minus the liner, but the use of a Belgium lid with that lit looks cool Mate.

Liking your latest addition James , Not seen too many of these around!!

Keep em' coming guys, I will dig out some more of mine asap

--Thanks, Gary. =]

And James-- those Westinghouse liners aren't easy to come by here in US, either-- and often if you do find them, they've been messed with.