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WWI PAINTED HELMETS


BEAST
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  • 5 months later...

I am going to restore a M1917 helmet shell, and need help finding the right paint. Any suggestions on where to purchase historicaly correct paint?

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There is really no such thing available today as those paints had lead in them. I hope you aren't restoring a historical item…a rough painted or faded original helmet would be ruined historically and monetarily by a restoration. 

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5 minutes ago, warguy said:

There is really no such thing available today as those paints had lead in them. I hope you aren't restoring a historical item…a rough painted or faded original helmet would be ruined historically and monetarily by a restoration. 

They still make & sell  lead based oil paint, any good art shop will have it. A lot of artists still use it fundamentally because of it's drying qualities.....it's fast drying.

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3 hours ago, ispy said:

They still make & sell  lead based oil paint, any good art shop will have it. A lot of artists still use it fundamentally because of it's drying qualities.....it's fast drying.

Well now I learned something. I thought lead based paints went the way of asbestos. I guess artists are immune? Thanks for correcting me. I still would not re-paint an authentic painted WWI helmet myself though. 

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4 hours ago, warguy said:

Well now I learned something. I thought lead based paints went the way of asbestos. I guess artists are immune? Thanks for correcting me. I still would not re-paint an authentic painted WWI helmet myself though. 

It's down from the pre-ban levels of 50% lead for domestic paint to now 1% and it's expensive at $40 - $50 a tube of 12ml

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  • 2 months later...

Here is my one and only WWI helmet.  British Brodie that has been painted.  I can’t identify the symbol on the top.  I built the stand to compliment the helmet.

15D8256B-7072-4DFF-BA6A-54EE3A137822.jpeg

27DA5FC4-1A91-4742-AEFF-1EB73E4E296B.jpeg

83969D69-428F-4C0B-89CD-A7B5A9E253F9.jpeg

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  • 3 months later...

A British Mk1 that I picked up with a unit flash. I believe the flash is for the 103rd regiment of the 26th division. From what I have read about the 26th division suggestd that they were unique in painting insignia on helmets based on regiment rather than division.

 

The helmet mark chosen for the 103rd Infantry was a green pine tree on a white diamond in honor of Maine, “The Pine Tree State.” This heraldry clearly represented the Northern New England contingent of the “Yankee” Division, combining the Maine state military crest with the YD diamond insignia on a white field (for infantry).

C72BF636-8CFA-47BC-A2BF-3D5A9C1E9880.jpeg

70257DC2-6F31-430F-8809-5D12E787D1CF.jpeg

B88A2552-CAED-44A6-8802-7F282E508A9B.jpeg

073F0FE7-597E-48D6-A93B-C7EDCB77187A.jpeg

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  • 5 months later...

Being fairly new to this site, I'd like to share some of my collection.  Please feel free to correct any errors in descriptions. 

1st Inf Div.jpg

12th Inf  Co E Front.JPG

12th Inf Co E Detail.jpg

12th Inf Co E Name.jpg

26th Div 101st Ammo Train Front.JPG

26th Div 101st Ammo Train Detail.jpg

26th Div 101st Signal Btn Front.JPG

26th Div 101st Signal Btn.jpg

26 Div 103rd FA Regt Front.JPG

26th Div 103rd FA Regt Insignia.jpg

A039 Camo (5).jpg

A039 Camo (3).JPG

AA Units - Aerial Bomb Section Front.JPG

AA Units - Aerial Bomb Section Detail.jpg

26th Div 101st Field Artillery (1) Front.JPG

26th Div 101st Field Artillery (1) Insignia.jpg

Corps of Engineers Camo (2) Front.JPG

Corps of Engineers Camo (2) Left.JPG

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Opps, I didn't realize that the photo descriptions didn't show up.  The second and third photos, I'm not sure of and would welcome any comments.  Same for last camo helmet, I have it as  Second Corp Engineers because of the red castle superimposed over an 3-leaf clover.  That insignia was used during the Civil War by the Union Army for Second Corp. 

Corps of Engineers Camo (2) Detail.jpg

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29 minutes ago, M1942Helmet said:

Opps, I didn't realize that the photo descriptions didn't show up.  The second and third photos, I'm not sure of and would welcome any comments.  Same for last camo helmet, I have it as  Second Corp Engineers because of the red castle superimposed over an 3-leaf clover.  That insignia was used during the Civil War by the Union Army for Second Corp. 

Corps of Engineers Camo (2) Detail.jpg

The I Corps SSI is the white circle on a dark blue or black background when CC h and s often square. That's a possibility, too.

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  • 3 weeks later...

6th ID example I recently picked up

PXL_20231006_033909526.jpg.9f83ab35ceb80546a5a94246ea02d1b5.jpg

PXL_20231006_032613177.jpg.791f1fb8e56b89ad1d395bbbcd304fe3.jpg

 

And a bit of a funky camo job on this one. Colors are more vibrant in the light box than in hand. Unfortunately missing the liner/chinstrap though.

PXL_20230314_154824995.jpg.e0b39eb700798ac17667ae483fdee05d.jpgPXL_20230314_163308411.jpg.84144894340c1d6b3b9b97ada7bac960.jpgPXL_20230314_155248188.jpg.986417c3fbe295916989dddad4ee246f.jpgPXL_20230314_162906224.jpg.7713b43f749bf0771fdee26cdbb631cf.jpgPXL_20230314_164838631.jpg.98045c253402d9bf453f419e310fe741.jpg

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  • 2 months later...
  • 5 weeks later...

One of my latest.  ID'd to a Regular from North Carolina, who transferred from the 13th Infantry to Company K 27th for the trip to Siberia. 

image.png.9c844f61968856e19484a3637922dade.png

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