UBB.threads Forums Uniform & Accessories Helmet Forum Army Or Navy Decal?

One of my pals has a M42 single decal helmet. He thinks its a Army. I think it may be a Navy due to the gold tint in it. Opinions?

Hi
I believe it is a army cause navy has darker gold colore in it.

Thats a Heer eagle...in my opinion.

Robert

looks like an army to me too, and judging
from what I can see of the venthole I might guess the shell is marked hkp.(could be wrong though)
ciao mario

Dow,

True KM decals do not have a "gold tint" to them...they are a deep and very rich gold colour. Once you see one in the flesh there will be no mistaking it. Do a search here on the Helmet Forum and you will see some nice examples.

Cheers,

Here's one of mine ...even at a distance the Gold jumps out at you --

60+ years and they way they've been stored over the years seems to affect the Police Decals more often ...I've heard many collectors swear they found a Water Police Helmet because of that gold tint.
Here's a close up of mine --

Here is a gold water police eagle on an NS M.35.

Robert

That's a toned Polizei decal, the party shield will show the same toning.
In my opinion there were no special decals for water Polizei, they used the standard Polizei decal.

Sorry, you're wrong about this one...it's gold and beautiful-- revealed quite clearly with a jewelers loupe. These are mentioned distinctly in Baers book too...p.261--Marine coastal police and water protection--gold eagles, bordered and unbordered.

Robert

IMO it is a toned Heer. Side by side the difference is pretty apparent on M-40's or 42's. Here is a single decal M-40 EF 64 thin wing KM decal from my collection. The M-35 style KM eagle is normally more easily distinguishable from the heer by its layered black outlined appearance.

2

Nice one Dem but ...did you enhance the Color or something ? Because , I've never seen a Gold Eagle with that much Yellow in it ...maybe it's just the way the picture came out?
The second overall shot has more of a Gold look to it.

Thanks Mike, Yes I manipulated the color a little on the close up. I'll post another pic in a few. The second pic is normal.

That's a relief ...it really had that Yellow Submarine thing going on ..

this pic is raw. The flash might have washed out the color slighlty.

last one

I had the same problem so I shut off the flash , that's why my picture was so dark.
Funny thing ...I spent $350 for a New Cybershot with a Zeiss lense and ..I end up using my old Mavica that takes the Floppy Disks to get a decent close up.
Anyway ...back to the Adlers .
These Decals "turning" Gold with old age really create problems ..it's not easy to tell someone they don't have a Gold Eagle ..it's easier to Post a pic of what a REAL Gold Eagle looks like so they can see ..this way nobody gets insulted

Thanks for the many replys. I think I have learn something here,

Hi Dow ...I have another type of "GOLD" situation...it's with an AntiPartisan Badge I've had for at least 40 years. When I first got it (didn't have a clue what it was back then...I was 10) but it had about 1/3'd of the finish still on it ...it was Gold.
BUT ..years go by , it get's played with whatever ...now the only place you can still see any Gold is around the Pin. Someday when or if I ever sell it ...I'll never be able to get the price a "Gold" Badge will sell for ..even though I know it WAS a Gold one.....once.
Luckily the KM Decals don't fade from Gold to Silver ...they seem to keep that deep color

quote:

Originally posted by RGD51:
Sorry, you're wrong about this one...it's gold and beautiful-- revealed quite clearly with a jewelers loupe. These are mentioned distinctly in Baers book too...p.261--Marine coastal police and water protection--gold eagles, bordered and unbordered.

Robert

I guess we will have to agree to disagree but I'll leave these points. The quote from the book lends itself more to a authors opinion rather than quoting a directive. Also a picture of the other side of the Polizei helmet in question shows the true age toning, which keep in mind is also over the Polizei decal(pic below).
Here are a couple of decals of various branches showing age toning to compare. Not the same as the deep luster of a yellow/gold KM decal.

No, its not a General's decal, just toned

3

Robert

In my opinion thats a toned decal.
Matter of fact I think thats the same helmet you purchased at the SOS which I personally handled.

There are two sides to the the water police decal theory.

I have always felt they were toned decals.

Robert
I'm going to have to take Perry's side on this one. I for one have never believed in the Water Polizei decals. The photo you posted of the Polizei shield and the corresponding Party shield Perry posted of the same helmet are clearly defined as heavily toned decals of the regular Polizei Divisions.

Sorry for hijacking the thread on the initial decal.

Gents we'll just have to disagree on the Police decal. I thought it was toned too upon first inspection but when louped it is indeed gold pigmented. It has since been sold and resides elsewhere or I'd try to provide better shots. Sorry too for the hijack of this thread, it was unintended.

Robert

This must be a toned army but looks gold.Why do some decals turn yello and some stay white?

better pic

I bet Nicotine would contribute ..and also heat (attics get hot) combined maybe with a ,Chemical reaction from some cleaners ? or , it could have had a coat of oil put on it years ago thinking that would help preserve it while in storage ..
I don't think it's random ..I think it's a result of something they were either exposed to -or was done to the Helmet/Decal

The best method for telling a true Navy decal is to look at Mike Peter's decal close-up. On the upper left wing near the top of the decal, you will notice that there appears to be a shaded area right next to the gold on the wing. This edging, that runs all the way around the decal eagle, is the best way to tell a true Navy. All the originals that I have ever seen have this edging.
JMO,
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria