Repro German Paratrooper helmet

[Aragorn243]

I don't usually go in for repros much but found this at a flea market today and it was pretty cheap even as repros go. Quality also seems pretty decent. It's like new so I'm debating what I want to do with it. No decals on it so that's the first consideration. Maybe some camo paint or a net. Not trying to pass it off as an original, doubt the quality is that good anyway. Any good sites for finding this kind of stuff?

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[Aragorn243]

Decals seem easy enough. They sell pairs for $3. Covers cost more than I paid for the helmet, haven't found a net yet. Any why would you pay 800 British pounds for a repro helmet?

[browningautorifle]

Any why would you pay 800 British pounds for a repro helmet?

I saw a repro in my local militaria shop recently and mentioned the price of originals...I guess a guy could trade his house for one...frightening. Repros were bad enough.

[BEAR]

If you are looking for examples of actual M38s try this site... German Helmet Vault Collecting German WW2 helmets

[Aragorn243]

Well I know I am extremely unlikely to ever own an original one and this one was $40. I just can't decide if I'd rather have a new looking example or a battle used looking one. Probably leaning toward newer but with decals.

[GeeRam]

No decals on it so that's the first consideration. Maybe some camo paint or a net. Not trying to pass it off as an original, doubt the quality is that good anyway. Any good sites for finding this kind of stuff?

Camo paint in tri-colour vehicle colours (Dunkelgelb base with Olivgrün & Rotbraun camo patterns) was very much the norm for the Fallschirmjager units during the Normandy campaign (with or without side decals).
There is a company in UK that sells repro nets for the Fallscirmjager helmets (about GB£20) but from friends that used to be involved in reenactment here in UK that did Fallscrimjager, nets were not as common as they were used by USA/British Para's. Material helmet covers for normal helmets as well as the para helmets were far more commonly seen, usually of the same splinter pattern camo as per the Zeltbahn.
Soldier of Fortune in the UK sell those as well.....

https://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/m38-pa...er-by-fab.html

There must be places in the US selling similar, but the only one I remember is At The Front, and they strangely don't list one anymore?

[Flying10uk]

I purchased a similar para helmet for about £50 and I am very pleased with it. The previous owner had already put the decals on it but left the helmet in new condition. Putting the decals on another German helmet proved to be a bit of a nightmare. It looked easy when someone else was demonstrating on Youtube but not so easy when trying to do it yourself.

I did buy a 2nd similar helmet for a similar price that had been sprayed in camo finish but somehow that doesn't quite look as good.

[Aragorn243]

I’ve seen the covers but don’t care for the look, plus they cost more than I paid for the helmet. Camo paint I like but need to pick a style. Good to know about the nets. I haven’t found one for this helmet, maybe that’s why. I’ve only seen a couple of photos of repro helmets with them and I did like how they looked. I see a lot that seem to have one string of wire running around about an inch off the base.

[GeeRam]

I’ve seen the covers but don’t care for the look, plus they cost more than I paid for the helmet. Camo paint I like but need to pick a style. Good to know about the nets. I haven’t found one for this helmet, maybe that’s why. I’ve only seen a couple of photos of repro helmets with them and I did like how they looked. I see a lot that seem to have one string of wire running around about an inch off the base.

Like I said, the Germans rarely used a net. I can think of only a couple of original photo's that show Fallschy's wearing a net on a helmet.
There's pretty much only two camo styles to choose from, either a all over wash of Dunkelgelb over the grey, commonly seen in the Med and Italian theatre's, or the tri-colour adopted in Normandy in the summer and autumn of '44.
The splinter pattern covers that you don't like were by far the most adopted means of camo used by the Fallschirmjager.

[Aragorn243]

I found a better source for the splinter covers. That would be the easiest way to go and keep the helmet "new". There seem to be several variations of the splinter camo. IMA offers one which they claim is correct as opposed to the majority on the market being incorrect. Yet in researching IMA's looks to be the Army version of splinter with the Luftwaffe being a darker color.

IMA https://www.ima-usa.com/collections/...th-metal-hooks

Ebay offers: Replica Fallschirmjager Paratrooper M38 Helmet Cover Splinter Camo Color | eBay

This is getting frustrating. I have numerous very detailed books on the Luftwaffe and the Army uniforms. Neither book includes the paratroopers. I have three other books which are on German and/or WWII uniforms. Two photos of the paratroopers, no splinter pattern camo.

Found another book with color photos of several paratroopers. I am now thinking IMA is full of crap, no example anywhere near this color combination. The other example isn't a whole lot better however, it's a little too dark.

Looking again, IMA may be the best after all. Starting to hate German camo. Trying to judge a photo on a screen to a photo in a book is apples and oranges.