Posted 12 years ago
Driewer
(31 items)
Hello! This is my M1916 German helmet. That someone chromed to use as a motorcycle helmet. Pictured next to it, Is the other German helmet they used in WWI. The Pickelhaube.
QUESTION, Restore, to original condition, Camo it, Or Make it a early Heer transitional helmet.
Sell it to another biker. It's historical value is ruined.
I will agree, its history is has been washed away, but its a real shell, and is better then a reproduction.
Its still a very cool item to hold.
Alot of Museum's use reproduction items, As originals are extremely expensive. Or Original restored helmets.
Thanks Bellin68 :)
If I owned it, I'd give it a good going over with steel wool, then paint a WWI camo pattern on it, and try to be as accurate with pattern and color as I could. When an historical item is this badly altered, you can't loose any more historical value (or cash value) with a coat of paint, and it could be both a learning process and you'd have an M1916 to display untill you got something better.
I bet after trying to authentically match paint and design on a project like this, you'd probaly not get fooled by a someone else's repainted helmet. Working with color helps develop a memory for it.
Good point Petey. Some people already are expressing interest in the "Surfer's Cross" (German Iron Cross copies that were a fad with surfers and bikers) along with "Rat Fink" cartoons by Ed Roth.
I'd keep it as is. Get a liner for it so it can be worn and then wear or use it as a gimmick or trade mark item at gun shows flea markets etc.