Brodie Helmet Refurbishment - The Repair Shop

[Black]

FOR ATTENTION: All Brodie Helmet Experts

I've just watched The Repair Shop UK, Series 4 Episode 30 here in Sydney (PM local time in Oz).  One of the items brought in for repair was Brodie helmet, allegedly worn in both WW1 and WW2.  The story just didn't ring true for me.  The other items were a pair of cavalry sours worn in WW2 with period photos to authenticate.

The current owner claimed his grandfather wore the Brodie helmet at Gallipoli where it suffered shrapnel damage.  He quoted from the grandfather's diary, which is fair enough, but my alarm bells were ringing very loudly! By my understanding, Brodie helmets were never issued at Gallipoli and were only introduced on the Western Front in early 1916 (date please?) initially as trench stores before later becoming an individual issue item.  Perhaps the diary entry refers to a Wolseley pith helmet being damaged?

In addition, the helmet being repaired has a faux black leather liner which indicates WW2 origin.  My refurbished WW1 Brodie has a brown leather liner and a brown chinstrap.  The repair item has no chinstrap (except for old string) and Susie the leather expert makes an excellent reproduction black leather chinstrap with the correct WW1 brass buckle.  But I can't help but think that claiming this was a WW1 and Gallipoli relic is all Wrong.

Also, to help with identification, the helmet has a red isosceles triangle on the front with the widest angle uppermost (UK unit or formation please?) and also if you can pause the play at the right place where the helmet is being displayed before being handed back to the current owner, the helmet surface seems 'ribbed', almost like a Portuguese model.

I'm confused, mainly because I have examples of Brodies from both WW1 (brown liner and chinstrap) and WW2 (black liner and elastic canvas chinstrap) here in my collection.

Can someone with a better handle on this topic please watch Series 4 Ep 30 of Repair Shop and comment.  I'll happily stand corrected, but alarm bells are still ringing.  It's a great show, but I think in this particular instance the information given is way off the mark.

Regards,

Black

 

 

[Andrew Upton]

2 hours ago, Black said:

FOR ATTENTION: All Brodie Helmet Experts

I've just watched The Repair Shop UK, Series 4 Episode 30 here in Sydney (PM local time in Oz)....

This previous thread should be of use:

 

[Black]

Thanks Mark,

An interesting previous thread there.  I thought someone in the UK would have picked have picked up on it - way back in 2019, so obviously there's a huge time delay for re-screening here in Oz, not to mention change of episode numbers.

Regards,

Black

 

[JWM72]

Has anyone ever scanned a Brodie with an intact portion of original Apple Green paint? Can you help on ascertaining the correct color?

 

I’m curious what the color composition would be for trying to match a modern paint. A paint store can do this easily. You can also scan an actual helmet with a device to give you an RBG or Hex code, that’s fine too, but there is a little distortion in trying to match those to real paint. 
 

Thank you.

 

J

[Spaceman]

One of my passions is restoring classic motorcycles and reproducing original colours can be one of the challenges. First off, there is no such thing as a universal paint colour code - when paint shops scan a colour that only works with the paint colour mixing system they are using - it may not work with a different paint shop's system.

The best approach in this case is probably to match an original helmet colour with a paint sample card. An obvious starting point would be using RAL colour cards or BS381 military colour cards. If these do not give a close enough match then there are other colour card sets that a paint shop will have.

However, inevitably with anything military, it's possible that the original colour varied between manufacturers and, since the helmet will be more than 100 years old, it's colour may well have faded over time. Therefore, determining exactly what the original colour is probably an almost impossible task!

[peregrinvs]

Having tinkered with restoring helmets and ordnance over the years, my advice would be not to get too hung up on what the ‘exact’ or ‘correct’ colour was. Firstly period paint batches would have varied in colour far more than they do now and secondly the colour of a period paint will almost inevitably have changed to some extent over time.

My approach is to look for as many images of original paint as possible and build up in my mind what a ‘in the ballpark’ colour would be. Then I either look for an off the shelf paint colour that is close, or give it some thought and experimentation to blend my own. Model paints or paint sample pots are very useful in this regard.

It so happens that I am currently tinkering with an M17 Stielhandgranate and am trying to come up with a WWI type Feldgrau. An idea I currently have is to start with some Revell Olive Green and add in a smidgeon of Revell Greenish Grey.

[Spaceman]

I have restored a number of WW2 helmets both British and US and it is very difficult in practice to achieve the correct colour. As indicated, the colour probably varied between manufacturers and, even now, buying what is nominally the same shade of military paint tends to vary significantly between suppliers. In the end, I mix my own variation of the nominally correct colour until I arrive at a shade that I think is correct comparing it with available authentic coloured images. Obviously, it is more difficult to take this approach for WW1 helmets because the availability of coloured images from that time is a big issue.

[JWM72]

Spaceman and Peregrivns, thank you for your feedback. Now if someone would just give me a Brodie with a mint strip of original Apple Green in order to assess with my eyes ….

Nevertheless, if anyone has opinions on any Apple Greenish paint brands, codes, shades etc., please advise. 

Spaceman and Peregrivns, thank you for your feedback. Now if someone would just give me a Brodie with a mint strip of original Apple Green in order to assess with my eyes ….

Nevertheless, if anyone has opinions on any Apple Greenish paint brands, codes, shades etc., please advise. 

[peregrinvs]

I have a dim recollection of reading somewhere (possibly this forum) that someone used a Revell model paint as a green colour to restore an early Brodie. Sadly I can’t find it and I don’t remember what colour it was. A glance at the Revell paint chart leads me towards Aqua Green Silk as a possibility - albeit as ‘apple green’ may have appeared when new rather than after 100 years of fading.