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About Restified Helmets
"Restified" is a grammatically questionable conjunction of modified + restored. The helmets on this page have all been painted and aged to appear original. These are not an attempt by ATF to defraud, assault or injure esteemed collectors or mere mortals, but rather they are an affordable and safe alternative to cruising the local military show and trusting the word of dealers who may or may not be in possession of scruples. We absolutely guarantee these decals, camo jobs and chinstraps NOT TO BE ORIGINAL.
If you want to argue about this like a few people at the last show, you're a blithering idiot. We stripped and painted them in our shop. Anyway, if you need a double decal SS helmet for your display, ours look as good as an original until they are inspected closely; about 6 inches. Sometimes better than that. Paint, decals and weathering are well cured and very durable.
Angry Collectors: We are catching some hell at shows and via our ebay auctions from collectors who feel that we are single handedly ruining their hobby. As nicely as I can say this, my response is: Get a fuckin' clue. (Yes, that word is appropriate in this context.) Repros have been around since the day the War ended and they're never going to go away. We simply happen to make them our business, and we are open and honest about that fact. You can buy similar articles at every show, advertised as "original". Most really good reproductions are marketed dishonestly. It seems that these characters are brave enough to send us huffy emails, or mutter that fakes should be illegal and we should be in jail, but they don't have the balls to confront the dozens of fraudulent dealers, tell them they are liars, cheats and so on to their faces. Why don't you people appreciate the fact that we openly, publicly, and clearly display our products, their markings and details and to make it easy to distinguish them from originals.
What's with our evil, mean, and nasty text?
Why do we sound so crass, tactless and downright rude? Because legions of militaria fans obviously don't know how to read, they don't listen, and badger us with the same question hundreds of times in the vain hope that our answer will change to one that they want to hear. Once in awhile they'll get sneaky and rephrase things, but inevitably it's like listening to a broken record over the telephone for 2 hours. After a few days of this (much less 10 years) one's patience can get frayed.
This trend goes triple when it comes to helmets. We're not sure what it is about helmets that drives otherwise semi-rational people nuts, but it's maddening to deal with. So, please, believe us when we tell you "no" or "we honestly don't know" or "we can't". It's nothing personal. We are running a business, and we have policies (yes, even being unnecessarily blunt) for reasons. They help us get our job done more effectively and ultimately protect you from getting even more disappointed than you are when we say "no" to many requests. "No" is better than months of false promises.
1. We will not paint your helmet.
2. We will not tell you how we paint, age or apply decals.
3. We do not sell paint.
4. No Custom Orders of any kind.
No Exceptions.
Before launching 10 pages of questions at us,
please read the FAQ.
Inventory and Availability
These helmets are done when we have time and we do whatever suits our whim(s). These are listed individually as each is unique. The helmet in the photo is the helmet you will receive if you purchase it.
Q: Will you paint my helmet?
A: No. Absolutely not. We do not do custom orders of any kind. That is a Pandora's box and we will never open it.
(See very bottom of this page for an in depth explanation if you wish.)
Q: How did you do that decal? How did you make it look old?
A: Sorry. We do not share that information.
Q: Sell me some paint.
A; Sorry. Most is mixed at the paint shop by the gallon, and we are not certified to ship paint. Yes, you now need a permit to ship paint; it is a hazardous material. Apparently OBL has found some way to make a TacNuke out of Porter's "Morning Glory Beige" or some crap. Don't argue with us.
No, no, and no.
Don't ask. Don't even dream of asking us to ship you paint.
Q: Is that German Paratrooper helmet original?
A; Yeah, sure. Originals are worth $3,000 but we only want $400. We're that stupid.
Q: Do you have a secret marking to help prevent fraud?
A: No. And if we did, it would defeat the purpose to tell everyone now wouldn't it?
Q: I missed the helmet I wanted. Make me one to order.
A: Sorry, we do not do custom orders. Period. These are done when and only when we have spare time.
NO CUSTOM ORDERS!
Rant: You guys suck. I want my helmet fantasy fulfilled. Gimme a double decal SS Fallshirmjager Normandy Camo medic helmet or I'll tell the BBB and my Mom.
A: Check our links page. There are several helmet painting services available. We are not one of them. If your Mommy calls us to complain about the way we're treating her baby boy, we'll inform her that her offspring can't read and then she'll kick your ass for wasting all of her dough on nazi helmets when she should have invested in "hooked on phonics".
All German Infantry helmets shown on this page are assembled with the following components:
Shell: Original WWII (M35, M40 or M42)
Liner: 100% Reproduction.
Chinstrap: 100% Reproduction
Paint: 100% New
Decals: 100% Reproduction
German Paratrooper Helmets
All German Paratrooper helmets shown on this page are assembled with the following components:
Shell: Reproduction M38 FJ helmet, size 71
Liner: 100% Reproduction.
Chinstrap: 100% Reproduction
Paint: 100% New
Decals: 100% Reproduction
Yes, we are absolutely, positively certain of this!
| SS Helmets |
C308 Original Material SS Helmet Cover
Oak A, 2nd pattern helmet cover. Made with original fabric, thread and rivets. The springs are the correct length and diameter. Clips are the correct size and have been aged. All three main panels match, but the spring covers and camo loops were made with other shades of Oak A. By some divine miracle, it actually fits a 64, 66, or a 68 shell quite well. A 62 or 70 wouldn't fly.
SOLD
SS Overseas Cap, original material: Made from original wool (greatcoat) and lining. Insignia is high quality BeVo from SM's early run in the mid-1990's. Size 59. Unmarked. SOLD
Army Helmets
Rough textured tan camo over field gray base. No decal. M40 size 66 shell (the code is covered by texture, I think it is a Q66), size 58 liner. Original shell, with reproduction liner. Lightly aged.
Sold
H307B M42 Camo w/ Net
Size 64 M42 shell, size 56 liner. Tan/ green sprayed camo over field gray. Green camo net affixed with wire hooks.
$375.00
Luftwaffe Helmets
F307A Normandy Camo Paratrooper Helmet: Sprayed tan/green/brown camo. Light texture. Lightly aged. Liner is as new. Size 71 shell/ 59 liner. This is one of our early shells, that is the correct weight and thickness, but has no markings of any kind.
SOLD
Why won't we do custom orders?
I was warned about custom orders by Joe Covais, who used to own New Columbia. When he closed shop in 1992(?) I bought his patterns. He was in business for about 15 years, and he tried to give me as much advice as possible. We talked at length and he was very clear on one point. One that contributed to the failure of his company.
Custom orders.
They are a loser.
Every time.
Basically, it goes like this:
You make a guy a set of special order trousers, send them out, and;
"They're too small. I want a refund".
"They measure exactly as you ordered."
"Too small. Don't want'em. I changed my mind, changed units, etc., etc. "
Now you're stuck with size 50X26 FJ trousers that your sewers spent 6 hours making up all special for Pvt. Snuffy. Apparently Pvt. Snuffy gains weight faster than you can sew.
"Custom Orders" start out innocently enough as essentially taking requests, which rapidly morph into demands, which finally hatch as a full blown "Fulfill My Fantasy" situation. (No sick jokes intended. Just this once.)
The problem here, (OK the biggest problem) is trying to decipher what somebody has pictured in their mind, then creating it.
The major problems with filling custom orders are:
Indecision: These guys go crazy and call daily wanting to tweak the shade of green on their helmet or change the color of thread used on their M43 cap. It's bad enough to offer helmets, but when you have their personal helmet, people get very cagey and go nuts if they have any suspicion that their helmet is not being treated with the respect it deserves.
Handicaps: Many types go deaf the moment you accept the job. The results are threats of lawsuits and complaints to the Better Business Bureau because they couldn't reach you on the phone for 3 days. (The fact that you told the moron that you would be gone to a show 500 miles away for those 3 days is not important.)
Rudeness: Custom orders inspire people to find your home telephone number and call you at 3 am to check on their helmet. They're afraid it might be cold or need it's litter box changed. And to remind you that they wanted a Normandy Camo and not a Nijmegen Camo.
Inefficiency: Custom Orders are incredibly inefficient. It takes the same amount of time to cut 50 tunics that it does to cut one. In case it is news to you, labor costs in the US are high. In the time it takes to pattern, grade, cut and sew Pvt. Snuffy's size 58 short "Rommel" tunic in splinter camo (that will get returned because he doesn't think the twist of the thread is accurate) we could have made half a dozen SS M43 tunics. I doubt even Pvt. Snuffy is willing to shell out $1800 to have a custom camo desert fox impression.
Impatience and a total inability to comprehend much of anything: Custom Orders require a delivery date. Even if you warn them, in the clearest fashion imaginable, that their order will take 6-8 weeks to complete, the calls and complaints will start at the 3 day mark.
"Just calling to check on Heinz. Oh, Heinz is my helmie-kins. I give all my helmets names to fit their personalities..."
We have a close, personal relationship with Murphy's law around here. A high percentage of custom order customers are very impatient, and rarely have any sympathy for things like your air compressor breaking, UPS strikes, other people's orders being ahead of their own, running out of decals (thread, paint, wool, etc.), and in general they cannot understand that we don't have the ability to wave a magic wand and make whatever it is they want pop out from between our buttocks and be teleported to their door in nanosecond.
Talent: We're not good enough to fulfill the fantasies that would be requested. If I could look at the helmet on page 65 of Ralph's Pictorial History of Nazzee Helmites and knock it off, that would be different. Honestly, since we do not have a tailor in house, we do not have the capability (at any price) to take the measurements for a gal who's 4'10" and 387 pounds and make her an Eva Braun outfit. Even if we wanted to to it, we couldn't do a good job.
Not everyone who wants a custom order is a wacko. We know that. However, the 20% who are, ruin it for the 80% who are perfectly sane. Until we can cull them out over the phone, there will be no change in our policies.
Bottom line: Unless we charged an enormous amount of money, custom orders are not viable for a business. If you do them as a side job or a hobby for your buddies, it will work. It sounds like a neat idea, until you actually try it. That's why we won't do them. We're not being mean, arrogant, cruel or snotty. We've learned our lesson and just know better than to let this monster out of the box.
Hope for those who demand special services.....
The closest we may come to closing the gap between stock items and custom orders will be, maybe, possibly, sometime in the future:
Sewing insignia, minor alterations, minor modifications (such as adding extra pockets to jump jackets or the like).
I want a Custom Order! Now!
There are some masochists out there. Here's our recommendations:
Uniforms (German): Bill Bureau: www.stby.com/bbm/
Helmets (US, German, Japanese): Eric Grigsby: egrigsby44@aol.com
Sorry, we don't know anyone doing special request GI uniforms. Bill Bureau may know of someone.
