They're back! After a few years of me not having time to do this, and back by popular demand, I've got a few of these puppies up for sale.
What these are: The best possible option for a WW2 German Reenactor. These are original Finnish contract M40 shells that were made either in Germany during WW2, or on German equipment shortly after WW2. I have removed the Finnish liners, plugged the extra rivet holes on the ones that had them, and primed and painted each helmet in historically accurate colors before adding an extremely high quality European-made liner. No reproduction German helmet comes even close to these, so if you're a reenactor, or just want a bad-ass example of the M40 helmet, this is just about as close you're going to get to an original without forking over several hundred/thousand dollars.
Actual helmet is pictured, size 64 shell, and 57 liner, and is unique in the pattern and colors, as I use a special blend created by me using original examples as a reference. Germans began painting their helmets early on when they realized that Shiny Apple Green and textured but Dark Gray weren't really the best camouflage in all environments, and could be seen easily from the air. On all fronts, German soldiers used their own vehicle/equipment paint to paint their helmets, or used locally acquired or captured paints. This led to an almost endless number of colors/schemes, no two of which were alike.
Wire is a commonly seen style to attach foliage or other camouflage from Normandy on to the end.
I don't really make a lot of cash on these, and they're more of a labor of love project, and I'm really glad to be able to offer these up to everyone! These shells are getting extremely hard for me to get, so don't wait too long!
NOTES: These are actual surplus and used shells, so expect them to have dents/dings and scuffs. I didn't strip these to add to the "field used" appearance, so there will be minor imperfections, but that's what makes these look like a newly-painted original during the 1940s. Make sure you ask any questions before buying.