Brodie and M1 helmet restoration

[DimensionPizza]

Before I get into it, I know that there's gonna be a number of people that will disapprove of what I'm doing. They're my helmets and I'm not planning on selling them or trying to pass them off as original paint or anything, or even reenacting with them. I just want nice helmets to go with my uniforms.

 

Anyway, I recently started on a journey to recondition a handful of helmets in my collection, beginning with a Brodie and a Nov. '44 rear seam Schlueter M1 helmet. The Brodie was given to me as a graduation gift by my aunt, whose grandfather (my great) served as coast artillery in California. The M1 is a 497A S stamp shell I got from a vendor mall a couple years ago.

 

I repainted both, pretty much at the same time, using Walmart spray paint and no texture (I was 17 at the time, cut me some slack). The M1 was painted using OD and the Brodie was painted flat black. The OD paint probably would have looked pretty okay if I didn't clear coat it, but alas.

 

Pictured below is the M1 before paint

 

And both after paint. The USAREUR and 529 on the M1 aren't accurate to my grandpa's own helmets but I thought it looked nice. I think the crest on the Brodie is 3rd coast artillery, which was a guess on what my great grandfather was in, and doesn't really look very good up close.

 

 

Yesterday my fiancee and I began stripping the paint off of both of these helmets to work towards better results. Only supplies included Citri-strip and brass and plastic brushes to remove the paint, and later steel wool.

 

Both helmets on their first round of stripper.

 

Both insides after stripping. The paint on the M1 was much more resilient than the Brodie's. The M1 was still a little wet in this photo, after a pressure wash.

 

Will continue in another post, phone doesn't want to upload any more pictures

[DimensionPizza]

Both helmets beginning exterior stripping

 

M1 after stripping and pressure wash

 

Brodie (still a little wet)

 

The helmets were then gone over with steel wool and then washed with 91% IPA and then dish soap to clean the steel wool and rust residue.

 

Both helmets after steel wool and wash.

 

The M1 has a dent in the top that I need to remove, which was present when I bought it. Weather permitting, I will try to get these primed this week.

 

I am planning on getting OD 319 from Quarter Ton and Military, they have the best shipping rates and I have heard good things about Rapco paint. I need suggestions for the WW1 paint, spray paint is preferred as I don't have a cup spray system.

 

The M1 is going to be restored to Korean War specs, as an MP helmet (529th MP Co, 1952-53). Should this receive a silica sand or cork finish? His pictures look like a pretty uniform texture all around so I am thinking sand.

 

Anyway, I will update this more once more progress is attained. Hope you guys like it so far.

[DimensionPizza]

Today I worked on the M1 a little bit. I decided to address the dents on the top of the helmet, there was one main big one and a couple smaller ones.

 

Before this afternoon's efforts, I previously worked on the dents when I first got this helmet a few years ago.

 

I used a plastic (nylon?) hammer and a wooden dowel to work the dents out. I then used some coarse sand paper to weed out low spots.

 

 

 

Working slowly, if not impatiently, I worked some of the dents out and ended up with an imperfect but, for the time being, satisfactory result.

 

 

While I was in the basement, I decided to use a dental pick to make the 497A-S heat stamp more legible. The 9 and 7 were not struck very deeply to begin with, the 9 being the better of them, so it was difficult trying to stay with the shape of the number. Before and after pics below.

 

I used the same pick to remove any leftover paint and cork/sand from around the brim (on the outside only), but I did not get any pictures of this. You might be able to tell in the finished dent picture above.

 

Debated priming the shells tonight, but ultimately decided against it. It's supposed to storm tomorrow so it's rather humid at 65%. Not great, not terrible, but also I don't exactly want to drive all the way to Walmart tonight as I have had a long day at work.

 

Nothing was done to the M1917 shell of note, I tried using steel wool around the underside of the brim yesterday to try to find any sort of stamp but there just isn't anything to be found.

 

That's all for today, next update soon hopefully. I'll be out of town this weekend so I won't be able to work on them.

 

Also, forgot to mention (no before picture) that the liner that I will be restoring in the future fits better now. It is a 1953 Westinghouse liner, so it fits the era I want this helmet in.

 

[DimensionPizza]

It won't let me edit my last post, but I just wanted to clarify some things. The sweatband is NOS, I think from the 80s, possibly from a PASGT but I don't have the packaging anymore. The liner is from 1953 and the webbing is falling apart inside of it.

 

I will be restoring either it as a parade liner, in gloss olive and a USAREUR shield on the front, or just a regular flat finish with "T.R. BROWN" stenciled on the front. I really want to do the parade liner, but I'm worried that the inside of the helmet will damage the finish. I might consider coating the inside of the shell with something but that seems like it might be a bad idea.

[DimensionPizza]

Just a small update, I actually did this pretty much immediately after my last post. I drilled out the rivets and tore out the old terrible webbing of the M1 liner. Replacements will be ordered from J. Murray and I will be going with Rapco paint for the M1 shell. Unfortunately they do not manufacture the WW1 shade Field Drab in a spray variety, only in a gallon. I came across a company called Crosslink that has a FS-30118 spray paint that I might get as I don't know of any other options.

 

Here is the stripped liner. It is a Westinghouse Micarta 1953 liner.

[DimensionPizza]

I got the shells primed today as I might be putting this project on hold for a while. I am about to get married in a few months, and I am trying to save every penny I can. My fiancee insists I can do a little at a time but I will probably just end up waiting until after we are married, in November. I'm actually going to be selling some of my uniforms this weekend that I don't really care about anymore.

 

Anyway, here are both shells hung up on a tree with some wire coat hangers, ready for priming.

 

After that picture was taken, I moved the M1917 away from the M1 as it seemed like a good idea to keep them separated during painting. I decided to tackle the insides first.

 

After that flashed off, about 15 minutes later I coated the outsides too.

 

 

I let them dry for a about an hour, after which I noticed some surface blemishes on the M1917 that I had missed and sanded them off with some sandpaper that was probably coarser than it should have been, but it's what I had on hand.

 

 

After respraying, the M1917 is currently drying outside as I write this post. I will bring it inside in about an hour when it is dry enough to handle.

 

The M1 seems well coated so I brought it inside for the night to continue curing. The dents are a lot more noticeable now that everything is a uniform color, so I will probably work on pounding those out and respraying afterwards in the coming days. It's supposed to be super nice all week, so I will keep at it.

 

 

Also, I am patting myself on the back for going over the heat stamp with a dental pick. It looks great. I will go over it again before I paint it green to make sure it stays legible. I'm actually kind of kicking myself too, because I can now see that it says 4*8*7A instead of 4*9*7. Looks great anyway though.

 

 

I will update next time I possibly can, I don't know when this project will continue. Hope this is interesting to somebody at least.

[gitana]

I am glad you're sharing your efforts with the community. If you're going to do it anyway, it's interesting to see the process. 

All I would suggest is that if the results are fantastic, that you mark the helmets in such a way so that the next person will know it's a repaint. 

 

I am a bit confused about the helmets. Did they have original insignia on them? Or did you try painting them before you stripped them? 

That M1 in the first pic looked pretty beat up, so if that's how you got it I don't blame you for using it as a project. 

Keep posting! 

 

[DimensionPizza]

2 minutes ago, gitana said:

I am a bit confused about the helmets. Did they have original insignia on them? Or did you try painting them before you stripped them? 

 

I painted them a few years ago, the Brodie was in similar condition to the M1 prior to painting. I painted them with Walmart spray paint and neither one looked very good. I never even painted the inside of the M1. The M1 did not have any original insignia, but the Brodie did. It was too far gone to tell what it was supposed to be.

 

I don't anticipate getting rid of any of the helmets, I will confess to being just a little bit of a hoarder. I will probably put some kind of label on the inside.

[DimensionPizza]

Got some sand for free from a coworker so I decided to go ahead and texture the helmets. It's a gorgeous day for it so, carpe diem!

 

I tested my technique on my liner first, which will also be stripped and repainted so I didn't mind it. It has some texture already but this was just practice and it will be repainted anyway, with no texture.

 

 

The technique? I grabbed a small handful of a and, sprayed a wet coat of primer and blew the sand onto the wet primer. Honestly it worked way better than I expected it to. Pretty much all of the sand stuck to the primer which meant more went on than I wanted.

 

 

My initial reaction to this was to try again, with less sand in my hand and further away. But that was before I realized that I could just brush off extra once it was dry. However the second version of the technique seemed like a good idea to stick with anyway.

 

 

I went pretty liberal with the sand, especially on the Brodie helmet. I assumed that in WW1 they were not concerned with how much sand was on there, as long as it was. Photos seem to corroborate this anyway.

 

 

Yes, the dried sand on the side of the M1 does look like what you are thinking it looks like. It was all primered over anyway.

 

As for the M1, I did not want to use too much as I have an unissued (or reconditioned right before the M1 was phased out) post-Vietnam shell and liner, with a TON of sand on it, and I did not want my helmet to look like this one. Not only do I not really care for this look, but also I don't need two that look like this.

 

 

After the sand was blown on, I went inside and took a shower since I did this immediately when I got home. Once I was done with that I adjusted the sand levels on both helmets, trying to mitigate "hotspots" where there were small areas with lots of sand on them, and other areas which didn't have enough, using a wire brush and more primer/sand, respectively.

 

Once that process was done, I sprayed over all of it with one last light coat of primer and they are drying outside as I am writing this post.

 

 

Fingers crossed that the surplus store I am going to tomorrow will have the paint I need. They probably won't, but that would be pretty cool if I don't have to spend $13 on shipping.

 

That's all for today. Might post finished pics once the primer is dry later tonight.

[DimensionPizza]

Tonight I began the process of stripping the paint off the liner. I won't be able to paint it until I get the webbing installed as I will have to paint over the rivets, but I am glad I started it now. As everyone knows, G.I. paint will 100% reacts well to paint stripper and the paint will come off without any kind of fight at all.

 

Definitely.

 

Anyway, I used the same Citri-strip I have been using the whole time. It works well and is gentle enough to not to eat the liner or anything. The primer I sprayed on in Friday's experiment fell right off, and the top layer of paint came off easier than the shell paint did. 

 

 

What I want expecting was to find any kind of insignia under the paint, but lo and behold...

 

 

I thought I had scraped it out too much, but this was only the beginning.

 

 

Gentle scraping revealed an armored division insignia, but the number had yet to be revealed. There was one on each side of the liner. Spoiler alert, there was no name or rank present.

 

 

Continued removal revealed another armored insignia, under the other one. I guess this liner had been repainted twice. Still no sign of a number.

 

I kept at it, scraping paint off pretty aggressively. I have decided to make this into the parade liner, so I will have to remove ALL of the paint off of the liner to get it glossy smooth. I am going to paint it the same OD 319 as the helmet, applying the USAREUR decal, then applying a gloss clear coat over everything. That should give the paint a darker look, as I have had experience with doing the same thing in the past (see pictures of the M1 shell before stripping).

 

At last, the truth comes out --

 

 

40th Armored Division, a component of the CA National Guard, from 1954-67. They were called in to disperse riots in LA in August of 1965. A neat little bit of history I never knew this helmet had.

 

Anyway, unfortunately it has to go (and already has,) so work continued on stripping the paint. I ran out of sunlight long before my last coat of stripper went on so I will have to pick this up again tomorrow, or another day.

 

 

The paint has already been ordered and should be here before next Saturday when my fiancée and I will be painting the shells. I doubt the webbing will get here before then as I won't be ordering it until Friday. I ordered the 319 from QT&M on ebay, which is more convenient for me than ordering from a separate website.

 

I say that, but I had to order the field drab from Crosslink. I haven't seen any kind of review or experience with this on restorations, but it is a federal standard color so I am sure it will look okay. Better than primer anyway. They don't offer a shade 319 from what I could find, otherwise I would have ordered it from them to save on shipping, but I have heard good things about the Rapco paint, and I am more interested in the M1's accuracy than the M1917 as I do not have any other WW1 things in my collection, besides a bolo knife and my great grandpa's original issue 1911. Well, honestly my dad has the 1911, but it's still in the family.

 

Anyway, rant over. Paint is on the way, paint will continue to come off the liner, paint paint paint, paint. Paint? Paint. I'm gonna order the webbing and probably the liner for the M1917 on Friday, finances permitting. Like I said, more interested in seeing the M1 get done but my fiancée wants to get the other one done since she stripped the paint off of it for me while I worked on the M1.

 

Feedback appreciated, next update will probably be paint going on the shells. I plan on filming it and uploading it to YouTube since I haven't put anything out in a while.

[DimensionPizza]

Work continues on stripping the paint off the liner, I got the bulk of it done so I should be able to get all of the paint off today. I discovered yet another insignia under the paint, but it was too far gone to determine what it actually is. Looks like a red and gold coat of arms.

 

 

I also decided to paint the M1 to see what it would look like, and honestly I am not completely satisfied with the sand distribution and everything. I will probably strip this one down and try it again to try to get the sand more even.

 

 

This is what the liner looks like as of this morning. Should be completely stripped tonight. Will update.

 

 

I am going to order the webbing from J. Murray tomorrow, hopefully that gets installed by the time next Saturday rolls around. I also need to order a USAREUR decal, I don't want to hand paint it as I could never get it as good as a decal. As far as I know there isn't anything else on the helmet liner I need to account for.

 

Honestly the paint finish isn't quite what I expected, however I haven't done this before so I really didn't know what to expect. I thought it would have been flatter, like the unissued Vietnam M1 I have. However I think it looks great, the sand just needs some tweaking. I need to find a method to get it more consistent. I will get it stripped tonight and we will go from there.

 

 

[DimensionPizza]

I meant to make an update yesterday but I got busy making dinner.

 

Liner is now pretty much completely stripped, save a small, extremely stubborn patch on the brim of the liner that I am tempted to just sand off. It's going to be primed over anyway.

 

 

Might I add, the multiple shades of brown and brass hardware are quite a handsome sight. Reminds me of the pinks and greens.

 

I also decided to try spraying more green onto the helmet and blowing sand on, and adjusting on the fly. It worked but I think it needs another top coat as it comes on much easier than the primed sand. Either way, i have two cans of OD 319 so if I need to redo it I will.

 

 

I will say the sand is much more consistent now. I was worried about putting too much sand on that I didn't put enough on. This is more than I thought I would like but I think it actually looks pretty good in practice. I think I was hoping for more of a cork finish than the sand finish, which makes no sense but I don't know what I was going for. This looks great though. I am excited to see it with the MP markings.

 

Paint should be here for the M1917 soon Like, literally in the next hour or two. I am posting from work and I had it shipped here. However, my fiancée and I were planning on painting next weekend but the weather decided to get cold and wet on us. This weekend the high is 58, and next weekend it's 68 but it will be raining. Hopefully Sunday will be nice and sunny for us and we can try to get it painted then, and the insignia on the MP helmet can be done inside as it will just be brushed on.

 

I am considering making one of my Ingersoll M1s into late WW2 spec, as the paint on there, as far as I know, isn't original. It's too glossy and there is little to no finish. It was a good price for that and the liner that I am using on this project though. It might not make sense to make the actual 1944 helmet into a Korea helmet, and the Vietnam-era helmet into a WW2 helmet, and it kind of doesn't, but the MP helmet is more sentimental to me as it would have been exactly what my grandpa was issued, so I am more interested in the accuracy of that instead of just another plain helmet.

 

More updates are weather permitting, thanks for reading.

[Nickman983]

I've been loosely following along as you've been providing updates, let me start off by saying I've been enjoying watching you detail your progress thus far!

 

I was going to ask about why you decided to go with sand vs cork on the M1 but then I reread where you mentioned earlier that you're going after replicating your Grandfather's M1. It could have gone either way for that time period, brand new shells would have had silica finish while reissued shells could have had cork, silica, none, or both, all depending on how the shell was repainted. I think the M1 is looking pretty good so far. From here it looks like the sand texture might be a bit coarser than what would be expected, but you're working with the materials that are available to you, so it's hard to fine tune that. I'm half tempted to suggest doing another layer of paint to see if that makes the texture appear less coarse but I'm not sure if it's really worth risking it coming out bad and having to start the paint process over on the M1.

 

For the M1917, fine sawdust would have been a bit better of a choice for the texturing. If you happen to know someone who does woodworking and can get access to some it might be worth looking into, if not I think the texture you've shown on the M1917 will still turn out fairly well!

 

You asked about making the Ingersoll M1 into a late WWII spec helmet, you could do that and many wouldn't really notice but there is a slight difference in shape between those shells and WWII shells. If your goal was accuracy for the helmet you're restoring to represent your grandfather's I believe you made the right choice by going with the late WWII production M1. I don't think Ingersoll produced shells until after Korea. I guess what you decide to do with the Ingersoll M1 would really depend on what you intend to do with the helmet.

 

Either way, thank you for sharing your progress with this restoration, it's been a fun thread to follow along thus far! I'm excited to see the final results.

 

Last but not least, an early congratulations to you and your fiancee!

[DimensionPizza]

Thank you! I'm glad someone is getting any amount of enjoyment from me rambling on about helmets. I guess if there's anywhere to do that, it would be here.

 

27 minutes ago, Nickman983 said:

From here it looks like the sand texture might be a bit coarser than what would be expected, but you're working with the materials that are available to you, so it's hard to fine tune that. I'm half tempted to suggest doing another layer of paint to see if that makes the texture appear less coarse but I'm not sure if it's really worth risking it coming out bad and having to start the paint process over on the M1.

 

I'm actually planning on doing this. Areas where I touched the sand up yesterday are more, I guess you could say "fragile." If you touch it, at least a couple little sand flakes come off. I think the shell will benefit from another top coat to seal everything in. When I was trying to fine-tune the sand after primer, it actually took quite a bit of effort with a wire brush to get much of anything off. Stripping will probably be the best course of action, but I will see I can do with a "field repair".

 

29 minutes ago, Nickman983 said:

For the M1917, fine sawdust would have been a bit better of a choice for the texturing.

 

Yeah, I probably should have went with that but I read somewhere that sand was also used. It might have been on the Canadian or British helmets or something. I don't have any other use for the field drab paint I bought, so redoing it shouldn't be an issue. My uncle is actually a carpenter so I am sure he would be glad to give me some sawdust.

 

31 minutes ago, Nickman983 said:

I guess what you decide to do with the Ingersoll M1 would really depend on what you intend to do with the helmet.

 

Really just a display piece, I don't have any other WW2 helmets besides the one that I have been posting about here and I think it would be cool to have just a plain cork finish helmet. I don't do any sort of reenacting or anything, nor do I think there are any groups near me. I have a mint Ingersoll helmet and liner and a battle-worn Dana shell (maybe not really battle-worn, but it looks pretty cool), so I don't really feel the need to restore one to Vietnam-era specs. I have a repro M1943 field jacket and I want to get an M1941, once ATF gets a 44-Long back in stock, so I could wear it with those.

 

39 minutes ago, Nickman983 said:

Last but not least, an early congratulations to you and your fiancee!

 

Thank you! I'm glad I'm marrying someone who puts up with me talking about militaria nonstop. She has also been enthusiastically helping me out with these restorations and I love that I can share what I love with her. Couldn't have picked anyone better to make my Mrs. Brown.

 

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad to see the final results too.

[Nickman983]

Yea, see what it looks like with another coat and go from there. If you've got more than enough paint and sand sand then it's not the end of the world.

 

I believe sand and other texture material may have been used when repainting WWI helmets. It's been a while since I read that though so I can't say for certain that's accurate. To my knowledge though the US only ever used fine sawdust in the texture from the factory. The sawdust may be tricky to work with though.

 

I would definitely leave the nice condition Ingersoll alone. No reason to restore it if it's in good condition. The Dana might be an OK candidate but no matter how good of a restoration you do it'll always be "off" due to the post war production M1s being slightly different in shape than the war time ones. Might not be a bad option if you're looking to do a representation without wearing out period gear though, I would just double check how a WWII or KW liner fits in it first. 

[MrsDimensionPizza]

Just popped on here to say how proud I am of this guy! He is always putting 100% into these projects and he really enjoys it. I have had a blast sharing his love for military memorabilia and restoration! Keep up the good work honey, it looks great!! 

[dunmore1774]

Does your Brodie/M1917 have any markings?  There's something a little different about it- the rivets holding the chinstrap attachment seem larger/flatter than USGI rivets and as you probably noticed, the one bale is larger than the other (I'm guessing a replacement). 

I'm just trying to ID it as military or one of the non USGI helmets.  

 

Anyway, progress is looking nice :)

 

 

[DimensionPizza]

No markings. Rim is magnetic. I think it might be Canadian but I am not completely sure.

[DimensionPizza]

We got paint on the M1917 today, and I used up the last of the first can of OD 319 on the M1. Mrs. DimensionPizza helped out with the M1917.

 

 

If we were any good at this, we would have had to make a family business out of this. Thankfully this is amateur hour, and I don't have any pressure to make these look perfect.

 

The field drab is definitely lighter than I thought it would be. It's a very yellowy brown. I was expecting a darker brown, but also the only color pictures online are of 100 year old examples that have, well, aged 100 years. I assume this is correct and this is the shade I have seen these helmets are supposed to be painted in, so I guess it's fine.

 

We got the first coat sprayed on, then did some shopping. We came back home to put our things up, and sprayed another coat on, then went to lunch and shopped around some more. Came back, put paint on the inside of the M1917 and used the last of the first can of OD 319 to build up layers. They are currently drying in our spare bedroom.

 

 

 

The paint dries darker than it goes on, and the texture of the helmet also helps it look a bit darker. I am not unhappy with the color, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

 

 

The paint also went on very wet on the M1, and a bit pooled around the front of the brim. That's what we call operator error, so I don't have anyone else to blame but myself.

 

Might post pictures once they have dried after a while, maybe tomorrow morning. Thanks again for reading, and special thanks to my fiancée for her extensive help and support with this project.

[DimensionPizza]

As promised here are pictures of the dried helmet. The field drab continued to darken as it dried overnight.

[DimensionPizza]

Some photos would probably help, right? Thumb slipped and I can't delete that comment.

 

 

USPS says the liner should be delivered today for the M1917 but I will be waiting to install it for a nicer day. The missus wants to help with that too.I  am considering redoing it with the sawdust finish but I am unsure of what I want to do yet.

 

Also the field drab continued to darken as it dried over night and now looks more in line with what I was expecting. Maybe still a little lighter than I thought but the examples around today are all battle worn, dirty, and obviously aged as opposed to brand new.

 

Just a small update this time but hope this will work for the time being. I want to order M1 webbing materials this weekend but I have other things I need to prioritize so we will have to see. I am contemplating getting an ATF kit instead of J Murray as it will be cheaper and I am satisfied with their quality, but it won't be accurate for a Korean War liner.

 

As always feedback is appreciated, and thank you for reading.

[DimensionPizza]

The M1917 liner did arrive today, as well as a few other unrelated things. I decided to rummage for some nuts and bolts for a temporary installation, as I have had this helmet for three years now and have never been able to wear it before.

 

 

The liner kind is okay. Definitely not the most high quality thing ever but I got it for a good price secondhand from someone who never got around to using it. I don't have $115 lying around to buy one from PFLCo but this one will work just fine I think. Obviously being a 100 year old design it probably isn't designed for a bit melon like mine (7 1/2) but it sits okay when the chinstrap is used. Slides around on my head quite a bit, but for one I haven't showered yet and I also need a haircut. Just might work after that.

 

I made what probably wasn't the smartest decision. I got a little impatient and I put a heavy coat on each helmet to break up the texture some more. The M1917 is dry but the M1 is still a little tacky.

 

 

I will probably paint the MP insignia on soon and also get the M1917 liner permanently installed. The stud that holds the chinstrap on the bale is either partially missing, or broken, so I will need to figure something out. Currently it's held together with a small machine screw and nut, which I have an unfortunate premonition that this solution won't be as temporary as I am thinking it will be.

[DimensionPizza]

Today I decided to take initiative and paint the white onto the M1.

 

Masking was quite a chore, I don't know exactly how long it took, I think about 45 minutes to an hour.

 

 

Using this as a guide, incidentally sourced from USMF (thanks guys), I masked off the general dimensions for the lettering first.

 

 

I then started on the bottom of the stripe.

 

 

 

Then, I started on the top of the stripe but I did not get any more pictures of the process since my fiancée wanted to video chat for a bit.

 

After I finished the masking for the stripe I began painting it in white with satin finish acrylic. Definitely not the best choice but I don't think the tape would have held long enough to get flat white oil paint from the craft store. You know, because bright white paint needs that extra bit of light dispersion. It isn't too much shinier than the OD paint and it looks fine.

 

 

 

I then masked off the vertical parts of the MP and painted them, then did the other parts by hand. No pictures of this process, I was in the zone.

 

They looked pretty rough and needed some touch ups. The stripes also needed just a little bit of help. Here is before...

 

 

 

...and after.

 

The letters look fine and are at least a bit accurate to the WW2 diagram (they are 2 inches tall, 1.5 inches wide, and 0.75 inches apart) and granted, in the field they were very lax about this. It doesn't take too long on Google to find very sloppy GI painted examples. However, 1944 and 1952, while.only 8 years apart, evidently make a difference.

 

 

In the photos of my grandfather's gear laying on his bunk, the letters on the steel pot are larger and closer together. I think maybe 3 inches tall and 2 inches wide but I am unsure. The P also looks less rounded and has more of a squared shape. Also seen in this photo is the parade liner with USAREUR insignia on the front. That is what I have planned for the liner.

 

I haven't been able to locate definitive specs for MP helmet specs for this era. The United States Army Military Police Corps Regimental Museum has specifications from 1956 on their Facebook page, and this is what I used for the stripe around the whole helmet. Of course, I also have the 1944 diagram from before.

 

The lettering is not final, I am going to spray over and redo the letters larger and in better shape. The stripe around the outside is fine.

 

While writing this post I decided to get the chinstraps installed, but in my absolute genius I set them on top of my dresser and promptly lost one of the halves. I was already looking at getting a replacement from J. Murray but it would have been nice to spare that expense. It's probably in my room somewhere but right now it is MIA. No chin strap on the helmet tonight. I think the world will go on.

 

Anyway, I will work on the lettering more tomorrow night, I cut the grass tonight and got a haircut which cut into project time significantly but I am glad I got what I did done.

 

[DimensionPizza]

Redone MP lettering. Now 2½" tall and 1⅞" wide.

 

 

 

Liner chinstrap in the first pic isn't final, it's a cheap POS that came with a Miltec liner that incidentally I bought when I got this shell a couple years ago. It never fit. Now I use it for paint testing. I didn't want to mess with the "good" liner chinstrap I bought as I didn't want to deform the garter clips. It's a long story, let's just say the liner (VN era) that's in here now is trying it's best. Weirdly fits pretty alright.

 

Second pic was my masking technique. I know it's not anything remarkable but I thought it was pretty ingenious. I placed the shell in a grocery bag, tied it, and cut out the area around the letters and taped, then sprayed over the lettering.

 

I reconsidered redoing the letters yet again to make them a little wider, but I am kind of worn out on fiddling with it and they dimensionally match up so I am finding it hard to justify trying to get it perfect. Especially when stuff like this was passable.

 

 

.M.P. is an interesting way of putting it.

 

Anyway, I found the other half of the chinstrap so I tried painting the hardware OD from the black it is, being a Vietnam era strap. It actually looked pretty good, but the problem came when reassembly began.

 

 

Pretty sure that's supposed to be in one piece. At least, it was one piece this morning.

 

An unissued Vietnam strap that I would have to disassemble and paint is $20 on ebay plus shipping. A reproduction strap that is already painted OD is $25 from J. Murray, who I am already buying liner supplies from anyway, so I think I have my choice. I wish I didn't have to buy a new one to begin with, but it can't be said that I didn't try. I like trying to DIY what I can, one because I can save a buck or two but also because I take a lot of pride in making things myself.

 

I guess that's it for now. I won't have anything else to share until my order from J. Murray arrives, and my fiancée's birthday is next week, so I probably won't have updates for a bit.

 

I did a sort of cost analysis at work today and I have spent more on this project than I thought, but all things considered it has been cheaper than buying other helmets in fair condition. If you are interested in hearing the results of that let me know, otherwise that info will be shared at the end of the project.

 

As always, any feedback is appreciated, as are questions. Next update coming soon! Thanks for reading.

[DimensionPizza]

I ordered the liner webbing and chinstrap from J. Murray this morning. I don't have tracking on it yet but I assume it will get here sometime next week. Unfortunately, I have a busy month ahead of me, but also I will have time after work most days to work on it. Webbing should only take one night but I have never done it before so some trial and error will be expected. I will buy paint for the liner this weekend, hopefully. It will just be the Walmart special but I have an idea of what color I am looking for.

 

Mrs. DP and I took some pictures with our helmets since hers is 99% done and mine is getting there.

 

 

She kept laughing because it "looked like she was going on a safari." I will just take her word for it, I guess.

 

Anyway, once the liner stuff and the chinstrap shows up I will post another update. Chinstrap is the last thing for the shell and it will be complete.