German M43 helmet.

[Anzac15]

Picked up this German M43 helmet over the weekend, appears to be in pretty good shape, albeit some surface rust. Also appears to have a bit of original paint on it. Two coats, it looks like, a dark green below, and a somewhat lighter shade of green on top. Would these have been a standard German Heer shade? Not a huge expert on these helmets, any thoughts are appreciated!

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[Clash77]

The green paint was fairly promenant early in the war if I remember correctly. It's likely the Germans were simply using up old paint stocks by 1943. And FWIW, my M42 had that color underneath the feldgrau coat and tan topcoat

[Anzac15]

Interesting. I bought a straight up relic M35 along with this one, no finish left at all, but still a pretty nice helmet considering it's condition. I also had to pass up a very nice M43 that still had it's original paint and decals, but some lunatic had begun sanding it down some time ago. Made me sick!

[Clash77]

Mine unfortunately is "restored". It was a gift from a friend who'd acquired a nicer one. Whoever had mine before my friend got it let their kid paint all over it with finger paints or something, or made a very poor attempt to camouflage it, so roughly 1/3 of the helmet was covered with cheap craft store paint. So I went about removing it all the normal ways, and then I discovered a Luftwaffe eagle underneath the first couple layers. I almost lost it at that point. Anyways at that point the finish was almost completely destroyed and I still hadn't go all of the cheap paint off, so I had a batch of enamel mixed up to match the finish on the rest of the helmet and repainted it. Definitely a knock to it's value, but it's better now than when I got it.

[Mongo40]

that is a M42 helmet, the lighter color appears to be Krigsmarine but hard to tell really, majority of these were painted a dark ruff coat green, or Dunkle Grun, but who knows with it being as old as they are getting to be. With so many variations in paint an being exposed to what ever caused that heavy rust on it. Every mint condition 42 I've seen has been the dark green though, I use to collect german helmets an had about 70 at one time, with two kids in college now I've gotten rid of most of them an had to stop the collecting, I do have a mint 42 I bought in 1989 in Berlin at a flea market when me an the wife spent a week there for New Years after the wall came down, was a very cool time to be there an will never sell that helmet.
Chris

[Anzac15]

Thanks, Chris! Yep, shortly after I got this one I found out it was indeed a '42, not a '43.
70 helmets! Sounds like me and firearms!