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Just got done refurbished a nice M42 helmet, which was a veteran bring back. I found this item at a local flea market. The helmet came with the original wood box used to mail it home. When I got the helmet, the leather parts were long gone, the helmet band and split pins were present. The paint was almost gone and it was mainly rust covered, however you could make out the remnants of the SS decal that was once on the helmet. Although I do not collect SS items, I decided to put the helmet back to its original look. So I added some aluminum oxide powder to the cleaned outer shell then applied a decent period looking paint. The helmet is stamped E.F. 68 for Emaillerwerke, Fulda, 68 being the size of the shell which is a large one. There is an additional lot number stamp on the skirt below the rivet on the backside of the helmet, looks like "388". I eventually found a suitable replacement liner from an auction site, which was for this size helmet.

I understand Fritz, but the paint was virtually gone, and was concerned about the rust. I was more interested in preservation of the helmet itself.

Should never repaint helmets. Value of an original SS helmet today around 3000 - 4000 Euros! I doubt if you will ever find an original.

Very nice! Thanks alot, you guys are very helpful i will consider to become gold member! I cannot express my gratitude, thanks!

I usually do that, but some of the older pictures are unclear, so have made many new photos.

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.

Something no serious collector should ever do. This video shows how an original bayonet is ruined and rendered as worthless as a cheap modern copy. The result is a completely worthless hunk of steel with new wooden grips made of oak! Original service bayonets never looked like this

Excellent Fritz, looks much better now, I have deleted the two small older pictures in the first post for you. With the old smaller pictures you don't actually need to take new pictures, just save the old picture then re-post it again and it appears in the new large format. I do that allot with the older posts but there are so many of them it can be quite time consuming, but it is worth it as they look much better.

Hi Miguel, here is a similar one for sale in the US at the moment for $229 which is about 189 Euro, hope this helps. If you want to sell it we have a classifieds section in the forum details below To sell in the Classifieds area you need to be a Gold member. Gold membership can be bought via the top menu by clicking 'Store' then 'Subscriptions' then 'Gold member' where you can pay using the shopping cart via PayPal. Gold membership costs £15 for the first year which can be renewed subsequently for £10 per year. This allows Gold members to post their items for sale for one year, with a maximum of ten items at any one time. Please ensure that you read the Forum rules for the full disclaimer before using the classifieds area.

Thanks for responde, i alredy did but i cannt find this particular model, can someone help me?

New improved pictures added throughout, 19th Century, WW1 and WW2

Foundation of the German Empire In a simple ceremony in the Hall of mirrors in Versailles, König Wilhelm (I.) of Prussia was proclaimed as the German Emperor, 150 years to this day Painting by Anton von Werner Naming of those present at the ceremony The 18. January 1701 had been the birth of the Prussian state as Friedrich III. of Brandenburg was proclaimed King of Prussia in Königsberg. (320 years to the day) 2 paintings by Anton von Werner of the Coronation in Königsberg in 1701. These paintings hung in the Ruhmeshalle in Berlin, which was destroyed in World War 2 2-Mark piece commemorating the 200th anniversary of the foundation of Prussia in 1701 (1901) A commemorative postage stamp of 2001

Können Sie einige Bilder davon posten? Can you post a few pictures please?

Since we have a few members that are getting into wound badges I am going to post a picture of Imperial types.The picture is from Ronny R.The cut outs were not awarded and a private purchase badge...There are five types of Imperials...You can tell by the helmets...Type five is the one most go after....The one most faked also...Yes there are Imperial fakes also.Now in a group,you can see the types don

are the badges with a disc back rather than a pin back only seen on the private purchase badges?

I have one...It is in a group shot don

M16/17 helmets all had the same shell shape so it must be different makers or periods of manufacture. I didn't realise either there were 5 patterns , again I've probably had loads of pattern 5's in without noticing them, I agree they are a much cooler design , have you got a pattern 5 Don ?

I've seen a lot of Type 2 and 3 lately looking about. The Type 1 actually looks similiar to the 1957 without swastika, I think some un-aware dealers may be selling them as such.

As far as I know it was makers.(The types are recorded from Hamelins book}I am not sure when the makers started making....Alot of type 1 don

Cheers Don! Are helmet types a design based on period of the war they were released during and the changes in either the stamping used or even German helmet design or was it merely differences in the stamp from various makers?