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Here is the finished product, I used period photos to get the straps as close as I could, but for a display it works good.

Here is the type 45, 1st Contract Siamese Mauser. It gets is name as it was based upon the Mauser 98 and has many similarities to this rifle. Siam, now Thailand was wanting to modernize its forces at the turn of the century and very much envied the Mauser rifles, however they could not afford them outright, but they did buy a license to produce them, so they had copies made by various companies, this rifle was made by the Koishikawa Arsenal arsenal in Tokyo, which is designated by the 4 stacked cannon ball emblem. The main parts for these rifles were made mainly in Japan, then were sent back to Bangkok for completion under technical advisors from Japan. These rifles were introduced in 1902 with modifications and carbines issued later, and were eventually discontinued in 1950, with over 50,000 being produced. It was originally chambered in 8x50mm rimmed cartridges, however these were later considered obsolete and the new spitzer bullet was introduced, resulting in the rifles being named the type 45/46 to the type 66, this was started in 1923. Easiest way to tell if this modification occurred is to look at the leaf sights and see if they have been ground down, which you can see in the pictures below. Of particular interest is the retractable dust cover, which was very popular with the Siamese soldiers and the swiveling butt stock plate cover. I am looking for the accompanying bayonet, and when I get it, I will add to this post. Interestingly, Siam declared war on the Central Powers in 1917, and imprisoned 2 crews of German vessels in its harbors, and sent an expeditionary force to the Western front. The forces sent were around 1200 with and additional 300 or so for pilot training. The soldiers did fairly well, received decorations and mentioned in dispatches, the pilots were not finished training before the war ended. These rifles were used by those troops in France during the war.

Excellent feed back Fritz.... very interesting read about the Holstein Rgt's history .....oh it would seem that my memory is getting soft with old age !.....So not 76th Hannover Fusslier's, but 73rd !.....l read about the 73rd Fusslier's along time ago, long enough to have made the historical boo boo of the regimental number ! And frankly the only thing's l remember about Holstein is that it was once under Danish rule and the other is that there was a Brau called Holstein that had a knight on horseback logo .. obviously not much help on topic !

Here is a nice complete WW1 liberty loan medal that was part of a money raising scheme during WW1 to help finance the war effort. The reverse of the medal says it was made from a captured German cannon, don't know if that was true or not, but these as well as pins, bonds and patches raised over $17 Billion during the war.

I once owned a replica P-08 , and now only some P-08 part's....as for that holster...l would also go with replica, but easy enough to make look like an original with leather stain's and sandpaper !, But l personally prefure to keep all my replica stuff in mint condition and let time and use age them ! As for the P-08 Luger Artillery model, you would have to rest it onto your elbow just to get that none accurate shot !, Just like that Kreigsmarine model..... "Gone Fishing"

My thoughts exactly fritz, looks too good for old leather, also very complicated system to work, would be better with a standard p08 or a rifle.

Here are some examples of the Dazzle Pattern on ships. Quite a bit of time and money went into this, the British painted over 2,000 ships in such patterns during the war. The data shows that ships painted in this fashion were sunk or damaged about 10% less than those without the paint.

Here is an interesting photo, of a US soldier wearing a dazzle pattern camouflage suit. I don't know how effective this may have been unless he was posted to Africa to blend in with the Zebras. Dazzle pattern was used mainly on ships in an attempt to confuse enemy submarines. Camouflage was another area that was undergoing a lot of experimentation during the great war.

Here is an interesting model, one that I have not seen an image of or in person, but is described in the period book titled: Helmets and body armor in Modern Warfare, and excellent reference book by the way. It describes a German helmet that was found in the Verdun region and called the Siege Helmet. It had sides that sloped down and weighed 14 pounds! If the report on this is true, I image it was a prototype being field tested, but with so much steel going into one helmet, I can understand why this was not mass produced or put into service.

Yes Fritz, you are correct, it is almost identical to the US model 5 helmet, as it easily mistaken for it as well. The US was looking at all designs to see what worked and what did not and tried to incorporate that into its designs. The Swiss also experimented with helmets. They were trying to make helmets with attached visors to protect the wearers vision. Below is an example of this, the Le Platenier helmet. This model was tested from 1917-1918, however these were not adequately evaluated as they were not made of steel that would stand up to ballistics testing. Below is a rare image of the Swiss model 1918 helmet being made, sorry for the low resolution, but this is hard picture to find. (helmet photo source, internet)

Some of the helmets are reminiscent of the Swiss 1918 helmet, still worn till recently.

The DDR did not use surplus Wehrmacht items. The DDR was founded on 3.October 1949 on order of the Soviets. The DDR Streitkräfte - Nationale Volksarmee (no Wehrmacht) was raised in 1956 on order of the Soviets. It's predecessor had been the "Kasernierte Volkspolizei", which was under the direction of the Soviets and later under the Innenministerium der DDR. They received completely new uniforms, based on the "recommendations" of Soviet Generals, which had a slight similarity to the uniforms of the Wehrmacht, in order to keep a certain tradition of appearance. The helmet used was based on the original design of 1944, which had never been introduced. The new helmets were manufactured only by V.E.B. Hüttenwerke in Thale/Harz. NVA exercising at Bad Düben / Mulde The last uniform changes were in 1985-87, an open collar with shirt and tie, usually a silvergrey shirt, for special occasions, white. The old dark green closed collar had been abolished around 1972/73. In the photo, soldiers of the Wachregiment Friedrich Engels.

http://www.exulanten.com/monuments.html Destruction Of German Monuments~ Monumental Destruction Little would Friedrich have guessed that the name "Prussia" would be formally expunged from international language by order Number 46 of the Allied Control Commission on February 23,1945 because, as it incorrectly stated: "Since time immemorial it has been the pillar of militarism and reaction in Germany". The state of Prussia still legally existed for a time after war's end but proved to be an obstacle to the Allied division of Germany into four easily controlled zones of occupation structured to "stabilize political structures" in their concept of a new Germany since it was a large state with its various regions included in all four zones. Calling Friedrich the Great a "forerunner to Hitler", in February of 1947, in an act of remarkable arrogance and stupidity, and in total disregard of historical fact, the Allied powers issued a formal decree abolishing the ancient German State of Prussia. There was a spectacular monuments to Friedrich which once graced Marienburg, site of the old Teutonic Knights castle and revered symbol of German cultural history and national consciousness which was torn away and given to communist Poland. The monument was destroyed. A mass grave holding the remains of thousands of German Prussian civilians murdered in cold blood by the Red Army has recently been discovered nearby. Germany was a land of grand monuments dating from well before the Middle Ages. The US led MFA&A reported that in Germany alone, over 90 percent of the monuments had been hit by Allied bombings, and 60 percent had been destroyed. The rest were at the mercy of the occupying forces or new governments in lands taken from Germany. Allied directives issued in 1945, as part of the "re- education" process, demanded the destruction all German monuments and museums deemed "patriotic, nationalistic or idealizing German culture". The reasoning behind this process was based in theories propounded by World War One propagandists which concluded that Germans were genetically more violent than other ethnic groups and had to be "de-militarized" in such a manner that they would lose the "German Will to Wage Future War". Rampant cultural devastation then ensued by the occupying Allied forces all over Germany, and few objects were exempted from this crusade. (more under link above) Entirely destroyed and removed after 1945 - Kaiser Wilhelm Nationaldenkmal, Berlin

Managed to find a picture of the swatikas at Stormont ,looks like only one other person has noticed these and that's the guy who posted them on the net, as he says Stormont was refurbushed for the Northern Ireland assembly in 1997 so hardly ancient

That's a great Idea Greg

seeing it in scale like that it is seriously huge... maybe they should bring it back (the real thing) it would revive the aerospace industry.

The thing was massive. Much larger than the wee Flybe thing I'm travelling to France in tomorrow.

More pics to give you an Idea of size.

Model on display at the Bristol Aero Museum

thing is not only huge but look at the wing span, you'd have to specially design airports just to accept her. Similar issue when the Airbus A380 was released recently, it is such a massive aircraft they had to be careful that the airports it would fly into could accept the beast.

Thats what you call a kite.

Too much slagging of the DDR on here. They are now faking the high end awards from the DDR as well as the parade swords. The easiest way to tell a real sword from a fake one is that the fakes have a coloured DDR emblem on the hilt and the real ones don't. The real swords were handed out before the parade and then had to handed in after the parade,so no one had a sword to themselves.When you look at the Jingling Johnnies as well these fetch a very high price as well as some of the state flags and other pieces. The low end stuff is crap,but then again has anyone seen the UN medals?? The guys on here are correct though,buy quality in whatever field you decide to collect. I've seen a lot of Graeme's stuff and British medals have always fascinated me,maybe because of my fathers and brothers medals,and the fact that with a bit of research you can get to the man behind the bits of tin. Most people when you tell them what you collect think you are nuts anyway,so don't care what they think of you as long as you enjoy it.

My turn. I have always been interested in History…My family also has a military Back ground. Four great uncles in ww1. My dad was a rezerbest .His oldest brother was in w11 and his other brother had over 30 years in army. Started out in ww2 then Korea and on. Favourite studies were war of 1812 AND American civil war. Favourite Generals were Isaac Brock and U.S Grant. Back around 1990 I went to Gun show with a friend. He collected German stuff. After that I was hooked. Back in those days collecting German Medals here were hard. That stuff was frowned on. Only a few shows a year. No info And no books. I really come from the wastelands when dealing with German medals. Around 2000 the same guy introduced me to the computer. Old guys like me did not play with computers, my kids did. Anyways, it was a dream for me. I now could talk to other collectors and buy on line. A real dream. I learned to type and do photo essays. A few years back I got into wound badges as the main study. Might go back to medal Bars.Anyways…. Not bad for a old guy from the wastelands don info ISAAC Brock http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Brock#Early_life U.s Grant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant

Always had an interest in collecting and was close to joining up when I left school after my highers, luckily enough I was decent at footy and had a contract till I was about 20. Back to school, the curriculum never covered WWII and I liked to listen to the guys I ran around with grandfathers talking about experiences etc, mainly my grandfathers own. I'm far better at history now that I ever was at school. Prices were to steep and in my early 20's I started to find bits and bobs in car boot sales, charity shops of all places and people giving me items. Managed to get a start on the old TR stuff, then found the Bunker. Also had a friend in Germany who sent me lots of items once every two months or so in exchange for tartan biscuit tins etc (no joke), he, God rest his soul is now dead. Still have a few decent bits left in a backpack at my parents. Had to sell a few pieces to make the mortgage for a few months when my ex took everything we owned before the house was sold (still not sold) that really stings. Going on a Euro-tour for a few months next year, so hope to pick up a few items when touring, aiming high: St. Petersburg. Don't have the spare cash to throw around at the moment due to studying and working p/t (even though I am going away for a bit), but will return to collecting at some point.

yeah . Well after the iron cross im gonna start to save alot of money to hopefully get a german helemt may take along time to save but im defentley going to save every penny

Recently I dug out of storage a DDR NVA officers travel bag set I picked up 10 years ago for $10 surplus. It was a nice attache case and garment bag set back then. However the rubberized canvas already has begun to break down and I had to toss the stuff out because it essentially had melted at room temperature Still, some NVA stuff in interesting. I've been in/on several NVA vehicles and they still run if properly cared for and are quite impressive to operate.

I need to visit the Doc's I am agreeing with Newlyn and Steve again. If you buy then buy quality. DDR stuff is not quality. It's mass produced ugly crap with no intrinsic value whatsoever.

And Kenny, why are my postings stuck at '47' ? I should be at least a Grossfeldmarshall mit swords diamonds and kitchen sink by now ?

Kenny, I think you know only too well my opinion of DDR items. Apart from the fact that they are products of a very nasty regime, the designs are pretty repetitive, (Looks like they were designed by the same guy, or team ). I dislike anodised finishes, cheap and nasty. And yes, there must be warehouses full of it, just can't see the investment potential. The only thing I find interesting about the situation was when the wall came tumbling down. The DDR air force Migs joined the West German Luftwaffe for a while, intriguing but I wonder how long they stayed in service alongside the American Phantoms etc. ?

P.P.S. Graeme, thanks for the kind words, you are right of course !

Reece, German helmets can come damned expensive, particulary WWII models, even those without decals. German medals can be quite reasonable, but do beware of Third Reich fakes, many of them are just too good to tell from the original, particularly those that are die-struck just like the original. Why not get to know something about Imperial German medals, (I love them) ? If you buy a group of three, with an Iron Cross, you have something with solid investment potential, and they can be damned interesting and tell a story. Usually you can find an Iron Cross group, together with a Hindenburg cross, and a German 1914-18 state service medal for about a hundred quid or less. A few years back you could have found dozens around the £70 mark, that's how well they are holding their value. OR, you can find good genuine 1914-18 groups with a common, but genuine, Third Reich medal stuck on the end, gives the service life of a veteran of the First War. Just a thought, hope it helps. P.S. Do yourself a favour and forget about SS and other 'Glamour' units for a while. If I had all the money inexperienced collectors have spent on repro SS, I could buy a small island !

Reese, don't buy postwar or east German crap don't waste your money.As Kenny said helmets and medals is a good start.I know its how i started over 20 years ago in the Bunker.

thanx

DDR NVA helmets are easy to find on army surplus sites, etc. You'll find them are Army Navy stores around as well. Same for post-war DDR badges. The facinating thing with East Germany was when the wall came down the entire Army and government essentially stopped, flooded the world with the surplus for an entire national army. I remember the mid-90s as a time you could get an entire NVA airborne outfit with full kit, dress and jump for about £100.

But where could i find them

Yeah greg i think i will start off with post ww2 helemets just as a starting point and spend more as i go along

Yeah well im thinking of collecting german medals and different types of helmets

Yeah well at the momnet i collect anything and everything but i want to stick to one thing but i dont know what its a REAL hard disision.

Graeme is right! I started collecting at 15 and here I am 11 years later with a bayonet collection valued around $8,000 USD and growing. I originally began collecting anything and everything before starting to fill out niche areas. I use to acquire 12 items a year when prices still were ok. Now I am down to 2-3 items a year hard sought out but I can ensure are original. Plus, many of the usual places I would go are now picked clean (there is a antiques market in Gettysburg PA that will proudly vouch that I stripped of every good bayonet they had... it was an undiscovered source by collectors till then). When I began collecting I believed having items was the most important thing.. this is FALSE. THE most important thing for collectors is books, guides and networks. Collecting forums like this, Armourer magazine (ok I ended my subscription after their bungle of SS dinnerware) etc are crucial to know the market. You NEED you collection guides. I have several bayonet books and they are heavy and bulky but without them I could never ID what it original and what is junk. If you become super obsessed, to study the stuff. Get an internship with a museum or get to know curators. Or, go get a Masters degree in warfare studies or battlefield archeology and do it professionally (both are available in Scotland)

Reece, As much as Newlyn and I disagree on many things he is someone to listen to when talking about collecting (and specifically on German items). You will spend much money over the years and some of it will be wasted on fakes and crap. We all have. Never be put off by that. On the last version of the forum I posted 2 or 3 items that I had spent money on only to discover at a later date they were dogs. Never let your mistakes put you off. No-one on this forum has not made mistakes that have cost them money. It's part of the game. As Newlyn says - buy quality. In the last year I have bought 2 groups only. That's not down to lack of money it's down to lack of quality from what I wanted. I have bought a WWI Trio to a 15 year old at a snip of about £80 because the other guy was too lazy to research the Group and a Group of 7 to a chap in the RMLI that stretched from 1890-1945. He started with an RN LS&GC in 1905 and ended with a WWII Defence in 1945 for his work in the ARP. That is a whole life time!!! It also has a 1st and 3rd Class Corps LS&GC. 1st Class are common but 3rd Class!!!!! I have been collecting these items for 4 or 5 years and have never seen a 3rd Class for sale either in a single or a Group. Hen's teeth are more common. That's 2/3 the value of the Group alone. Research. Know what you are looking for. Learn. It's better than school. I collect to the KOSB. Just now I have seen an MM & Trio. I want a Group like this. But I won't buy it. There is no MM Citation for this and his service papers were destroyed. All there is, is a MIC and a LG Entry. Where is the research? Where is the man's life? You have to know when to let an item go. You are young and have time on your side. Be careful and decide what way you want to go in your collecting field early. And stick to it. The odd branch offs are fine but remember your main field of collecting.

yep but i think that my coleccting will never stop until i stop and wehn my old i MEAN OLD OLD ww2 will be ancient history to kids hope people will still honour the sldiers of all sides who fought in ww1 and ww2 i defonetley will

Apart from pigeon-fanciers, and bus spotters we are the most misunderstood set of folk on the planet ! That's why we cluster like lost beasts on forums such as this ! Reece, try explaining that it's like reaching back into the past and bringing back a piece of history with you. That 25 year service medal represents a large percentage of a guy's life. You are slowly but surely assembling a whole load of stories. Don't be too hasty though, there is an awful lot of rubbish out there, not just repro, but stuff which when you want to trade it in for better things will be hard to off load for a decent exchange. Oh ! Do remember condition is very important, if you have to pay a bit more for something in fine fettle, 'twill be worth it in the long run

well my great grandad (ww1) my gran says he dident speak about the war he was in . ino he was at the somme but she says thats one thing he dident talk about and well my gran remembers the bombings and in when she went to germany she was called an english pig mabe thats why and her cousain was killed in the war

What sort of stuff you collected so far Reece? I started off with a West Wall medal my Grandfather brought back from his time in Germany during the war. Once I started earning money I started buying cheaper end medals and badges. Now there is no really cheap stuff around but I still love campaign badges, medals, the odd SS item and bits of fieldgear.

I just dont understand my mum calls my colecction bits of metal and well if its german my gran just nags i mean im not doing anything so why r do they seem to disagree with coleccting

Yeah i watch alot of history and love it at school and try to save as much as possible for my colecction ive got about 10 things at the moment but ive got alot of colecctiong years ahead. But historys always been my thing even from an earley age. but it takes me about 2 to 3 weeks to earn 100 or more and its gone soon as i get it for colectiong

Well yes, I guess I was about 13 or 14 when I obtained a percussion pocket pistol. No hammer but it was brass, so polished up nicely. I saw a name engraved on it, plus some proof marks. Some library books told me when and where it was made. I was truly hooked. Since then I have had many collections come and go, but it remains a life-long fascination . Just a bit of advice from one of the ancients, read as much as you can, watch the History channels, and don't become a lone collector, try to get out to fairs and shows, and handle the goods if possible. Try to get to know other collectors, (Avoid those who know-it-all, nobody does ). Don't be hasty with your purchases, it's a bit early to specialise, but something will light a spark and get you into a definite period or subject. Finally, watch out, there are piles and piles of really attractive, impressive stuff out there, and a lot of it is pure fake, and those making the fakes are very, very clever, like foxes. (Mind you, as the saying goes, a fox in a hen coop signifies nothing, unless he is cleaning the feathers out of his teeth, nothing to do with the above, but a clever saying). And good luck !

Well I'm only 15 and I've been collecting for just over 2 years I've always been interested in ww1 and ww2 mainly ww2 .but it started with my friend giving me an anti-aircraft gun shell or bullet .and it just started from their then i got a job and i bought more and still continue collecting

Sounds daft but when I think about it I probably started when I bought a badge as a kid that was shaped like an Iron Cross. This was more Hell's Angels than Nazi and I had to ask my dad about the background. Interest in military subjects started with the packets of 1/76th figures by Airfix bought in the Woolworth's store in Dalkeith. Collecting really began for me in the early 70's when a lot of British stuff was sold off cheaply by the then goverments, greatcoats, helmets, gasmasks, bayonets, tunics etc. I still have some of these items. After that I have collected on several themes.

good to be back. I'll try to keep posting,honest guvnor!!