WWI German Helmet Paint Colour

[peregrinvs]

16 hours ago, Jools mckenna said:

I used  BS 278 spray paint

Interesting. BS381C 278 Light Olive Green doesn't look like a bad approximation of the so-called 'apple green' colour seen on some M16's and pre-war M35's.

[Gunner Bailey]

Question for the experts.

 

Were the WW1 German helmets hand painted or spray painted?

[peregrinvs]

Further developments... I have taken it out of the citric acid bath.

 

The exact details are that I took it out of the acid solution, washed and scrubbed it in some soapy water, dried it with an old cloth and then put it out in the sunshine. Due to the current heatwave, most of the water evaporated before much flash rusting could occur. When it was dry I buffed it with some wire wool and then wiped it over with white spirit.

 

[peregrinvs]

When the white spirit has dried, I gave it a good slathering in Kurust to stabilise and seal the metal. As you can see, it turns the metal a dark blue-black colour.

 

[peregrinvs]

Unfortunately the metal was less solid than I initially thought and a number of holes appeared in the crown and by the right hand chinstrap post as I cleaned it. Not that big a deal though as it merely meant there was more filling to do with metal epoxy than I initially thought. It's incredibly strong stuff and can be filed like metal when it's dry.

 

[JMB1943]

While we wait for Peregrinus' next set of photos I have to admit that, despite my protestations of preferring the "well-used" look, I have started a clean-up of my US-made Brodie.

It is a relic only, w/o liner or chinstrap, and very dreary-looking to boot with the rough texture, rust and very dirty sand-like colour.

After almost 3 weeks in molasses solution it has lost about 4 oz in weight, but is still about 50% covered in paint.

However, the hydrogen is just boiling off still and the bare metal is a black colour.

Due to the weight loss, I have transferred to a bath of tap water while I consider my options.

 

Dave, what colour is your Brodie ?  If you say "Khaki" you have to elaborate with brown/green or green/yellow etc because I am still not fixed on the repaint colour.

In "Journey's End" the Helmets appeared dark green, which I would assume to be correct.

I hope that Andrew Upton will chime in on this, since he was an extra in the movie.

 

Regards,

JMB

[Dave66]

6 hours ago, JMB1943 said:

Dave, what colour is your Brodie ?  If you say "Khaki" you have to elaborate with brown/green or green/yellow etc because I am still not fixed on the repaint colour.

In "Journey's End" the Helmets appeared dark green, which I would assume to be correct.

I hope that Andrew Upton will chime in on this, since he was an extra in the movie.

Hello JMB,

I'd say mine was a mid green, certainly not dark. its the British version without the rubber donut but best to let the pictures speak for themselves...hope these help.

first three under fluorescent light, last two natural light.

 

Dave.

[Andrew Upton]

14 hours ago, JMB1943 said:

Dave, what colour is your Brodie ?  If you say "Khaki" you have to elaborate with brown/green or green/yellow etc because I am still not fixed on the repaint colour.

In "Journey's End" the Helmets appeared dark green, which I would assume to be correct.

I hope that Andrew Upton will chime in on this, since he was an extra in the movie.

 

Most/all of the ones worn by the principals in Journey's End were supplied by Khaki Devil Ltd and, as mentioned, a dark green colour. For this, the image below is probably as good as any to illustrate this colour:

 

 

Other like me were of course using a mixture of Khaki Devil issue kit and our own living history kit, so there were more than few different shades of khaki on show. My own example is an original shell with original paint finish but this is of course considerably darkened now compared to when it would have been brand new. The example Dave has posted above is much more like the as-new mustard shade of khaki that is commonly found on late war Brodies. I have included a few photos from the filming below to illustrate the variations:

 

https://postimg.cc/image/ssmsf53qv/2f442b65/

 

 

https://postimg.cc/image/ge00eyp53/c451b504/

 

 

https://postimg.cc/image/u8yawy6k7/

 

Edited 23 July , 2018 by Andrew Upton

[JMB1943]

Dave,

Thank you for posting the photos of your helmet under natural & artificial light.

The light source does make quite a difference.

Congratulations on the very good-looking display of your other pieces of militaria!

 

Andrew,

Thank you for chiming in, and posting those extra clips from Journey’s End.

My relic shell did look like Dave’s helmet, but much more dirty and somehow less “crisp”, if that makes sense.

 

Rather than divert this thread any further, I may start a new thread to describe my experiences with rust removal.

 

Regards,

JMB

[Dave66]

1 hour ago, JMB1943 said:

Dave,

Thank you for posting the photos of your helmet under natural & artificial light.

The light source does make quite a difference.

Congratulations on the very good-looking display of your other pieces of militaria!

 

Andrew,

Thank you for chiming in, and posting those extra clips from Journey’s End.

My relic shell did look like Dave’s helmet, but much more dirty and somehow less “crisp”, if that makes sense.

 

Rather than divert this thread any further, I may start a new thread to describe my experiences with rust removal.

 

Regards,

JMB

Many thanks JMB, and more than happy to contribute, looking forward to seeing the results.

more outdoor pics available if needed, just holler!

 

Dave.

 

[Dave66]

1 hour ago, Andrew Upton said:

 

Most/all of the ones worn by the principals in Journey's End were supplied by Khaki Devil Ltd and, as mentioned, a dark green colour. For this, the image below is probably as good as any to illustrate this colour:

 

 

Other like me were of course using a mixture of Khaki Devil issue kit and our own living history kit, so there were more than few different shades of khaki on show. My own example is an original shell with original paint finish but this is of course considerably darkened now compared to when it would have been brand new. The example Dave has posted above is much more like the as-new mustard shade of khaki that is commonly found on late war Brodies. I have included a few photos from the filming below to illustrate the variations:

 

https://postimg.cc/image/ssmsf53qv/2f442b65/

 

 

https://postimg.cc/image/ge00eyp53/c451b504/

 

 

https://postimg.cc/image/u8yawy6k7/

 

Great images Andrew, must have been an interesting few days.

 

Dave.

[peregrinvs]

Apologies for the lack of updates. Grinding down the epoxy wasn't too difficult (using sandpaper, a file and a dremel) but I have had repeated problems trying to glue back the partially attached pieces of the rim either side of the brow. I assume this was a weak point created when the helmet was stamped out. I tried a couple of times with the metal epoxy, but when I ground it back flush, the join would fail. I'm now using "Extra Strong" Araldite and one side looks OK, but I haven't ground it flush yet. The other side is setting. The Araldite dries much more slowly than the epoxy, so I'm hoping it'll work it's way in better before it sets.

[peregrinvs]

Update 1 - I have completed the epoxy and Araldite repairs.

 

[peregrinvs]

Update 2 - I have slathered the exterior in car body filler.

 

Hopefully this is about 95% of the exterior pitting taken care of - when I have smoothed it down. However, it's always the last 1-2% that takes the longest. It's not as even as I'd like as the filler set really fast in the current heat.

 

[Bean tool]

Great thread, thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Dan

[peregrinvs]

14 hours ago, Bean tool said:

Great thread, thanks for taking the time to post.

You're welcome. Glad it's of interest.

 

Although expect a pause in the updates as I'm about to go on holiday for 3 weeks.

Edited 2 August , 2018 by peregrinvs

[JMB1943]

Mark,

 

Likewise with the positive comments on this thread.

Can we hope that an Adrian is next up for restoration?

 

Regards,

JMB

[Dave66]

Excellent so far Peregrinvs, coming on a treat.

 

Dave.

[themonsstar]

Very interesting thank you for posting as I have two German helmets and both look that they have been to a war

Edited 24 August , 2018 by themonsstar

[peregrinvs]

Now back from holiday and I've ground down the filler with some course grade sandpaper and an electric sander. (Other than a few fiddly bits) This is only a first pass and they'll be lots more work to get the exterior smooth, but that's the majority of the exterior pitting filled. Using a relatively harsh abrasive like this also helps smooth off the surface of the metal and well as levelling the filler. I've also sent off for a couple of cans of filler-primer spray which is a very useful tool for filling in light pitting.

 

[peregrinvs]

Now comes the slow and labourious bit - getting the exterior surface smooth. I’ve started painting on and smoothing down layers of emulsion paint as it doesn’t require too much effort physical effort.

 

In order not to drive myself mad, I’m not planning to get the interior equally perfect. I’ve started by blowing on a load of filler / primer spray and will smooth it off in due course.

[peregrinvs]

Nearly there...😉

 

[peregrinvs]

A final light coat of primer and a buff with fine wire wool. Then an initial coat of Revell 67. I have gone with the assumption that they were probably originally hand rather than spray painted, so it doesn’t matter if the paint isn’t perfectly even.

[depaor01]

The before and after will be very interesting. Thanks for the progress posts and info.

Dave

[peregrinvs]

After a few light coats of Revell 67. (Need to get more to do the interior)

 

Not terribly happy with the texture of the paint. Model paint isn’t really designed to go on large surfaces like this and it’s very uneven. I may take it off and invest in a can of RAL 7009.