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Real ARVN Ranger Helmet Liner?


m1a2u2
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I just picked this up from IMA. They guarantee their items as authentic but to me that's only worth a refund. Anyway, I wanted to get your guys opinion on this liner. It came with an ARVN dog tag.

Here's a link to the sale page.

https://www.ima-usa.com/products/original-u-s-vietnam-war-arvn-rangers-painted-helmet-liner-with-dog-tag?variant=19215417802821

 

 

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Also havent seen where they scratched the design in the liner and then painted it but stranger things have happened.Im still not in the "like" crowd.

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Do you have an example of a liner where they scratched the shape in first? Never seen one.

Read that again. Doyler is saying he has not seen one done that way. You are both saying the same thing.

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Whats suspension and sweat band look like?

Click on the sales link.

 

Just a plain liner, missing the sweatband as well

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Cap Camouflage Pattern I

Hate it. Intentional scratches on forehead. To see a liner with the outlines scratched in just look at the one you bought. There is a reason IMA didnt ask full price.

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vintageproductions

Without some incredibly rock solid provenance I would stay away from it.

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Hate it. Intentional scratches on forehead. To see a liner with the outlines scratched in just look at the one you bought. There is a reason IMA didnt ask full price.

 

Wow, I never would have thought IMA to intentionally sell an item they knew was fake and hold it out as original.

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ludwigh1980

Though I think a large amount of IMA's newer militaria venue (uniforms, groupings, etc) is often of questionable authenticity, I do not believe they knowingly traffic in fakes. They specialized primarily in old surplus weaponry and gear (deactivated machine gun parts as well as the great NEPAL weapon hoard) . A lot of their inventory has been drying up and I am guessing to stay afloat they are moving into the more traditional areas of militaria of which I don't think they know a whole lot about. I am not excusing them however I have never regarded them as experts in the field historical helmets, uniforms, or groupings. I also think they are the dumping ground of a lot of assembled groups and outright fakes as they actively buy militaria and I am guessing it is from at least one unscrupulous seller. I like the dummy machine guns and that is the only things that I have bought from them.

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Without some incredibly rock solid provenance I would stay away from it.

 

I have been looking at this and trying to remember if I've ever seen an ARVN Ranger painted helmet liner as opposed to a helmet.

 

Having said that, I think I have seen some ARVN Ranger training NCO's wearing helmet lines in an instructional setting, but they looked nothing like this.

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vintageproductions

If you look at Owen's threads on BDQ helmets you will see painted liners

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Have you found any history on the name printed on the dog tag? Perhaps that can get you more information on the unit the paint sceme would be tied to

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Have you found any history on the name printed on the dog tag? Perhaps that can get you more information on the unit the paint sceme would be tied to

 

All it says is:

 

NGUYEN VAN UT

SQ. 70/107361

LM

 

Not sure what it means besides his name.

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All it says is:

 

NGUYEN VAN UT

SQ. 70/107361

LM

 

Not sure what it means besides his name.

 

This looks to be the vet, assuming multiple people didn't have that name, although I can't make out what insignia he is wearing.

http://vnchtoday.blogspot.com/2015/03/thuong-phe-binh-tqlc-nguyen-van-ut.html

 

Doesnt look like Ranger. I don't think it was ever claimed the tag and helmet came from same person. It looks as though SQ is year: "70" and ID number "107361"

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vintageproductions

He's South Vietnamese Marine Corps, and would not have had that helmet.

 

The fact that someone stuck a random ARVN dog tag with this helmet should be a major red flag.

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Forum Manager

Please pay attention to this post.

 

If you are going to slander a business make sure you have rock solid provenance before you state they are crooks and are intentionally defrauding their customers.

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Took some more, is it just me or do these look like stress lines from where the helmet curves to the brim? Scratches from when it was inserted into the shell? Anyway, I've asked to speak to IMA's expert about any provenance it might have.

 

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IMA was extremely gracious and told me they would refund me the full cost. They had no reason to believe this was a fake, but given that they can't produce provenance, they fully understand why something like this could be questioned. It was refreshing to deal with someone in this industry that doesn't take a offense to customers questioning provenance. I can truly say there was no malice on the part of IMA here.

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