I've been collecting US M1 helmets for years and decided I wanted to display some of them on my book shelves.
I used to collect helmets of all kinds but decided the field was to too wide so I specialized on American helmets.
I've seen helmet stands advertised on ebay but they look a little flimsy, so I built some myself last weekend using a 1 & 1/16 dowel as the support. I stained these with some ebony stain just because I had some already, but I think I'll use oak stain next time so the wood grain shows up better. These were just a first incarnation to see how they worked.
All generations of M1 helmets through modern times have a round loop in the suspension and I wanted a solid support that would fit through the loop so the weight would rest firmly on the inside and not stress the suspension.
After I made a few of the stands I took out an asortment of helmets to represent the designs through the years. I think they look better on stands than just sitting flat on a shelf.
I may make some that are about an inch taller for the deeper helmets from WWII onward.
Haven't decided yet, and I think I'll use oak stain. Do y'all think the ebony stain looks OK, or would oak probably look better? I already have enough wood stock to make another 20 or so stands.
Here's a closer shot of the last three. Starting from left is a 1943 vintage fixed bale, a 1967 M1 helmet from Vietnam era, and lastly a modern K-pot or 'Fritz' as our young soldiers nicknamed it because it looks a little like a vintage German helmet.
I also thought of painting the stands OD green instead of oak stain. Any opinions of what might look best? The ebony (black) I used just because I happened to have some is kind of growing on me, and since it's so dark it kind of disappears in the shadow and doesn't take away from the subject.
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