Source for post-war M40's

[dixieflyer]

Comrades,
My son and I need to obtain proper M40 helmets for our impressions, and want to find a couple of postwar M40 style helmets. I contacted Soviet Military Stuff and they do not have the size 3 which is what I think my son needs, and maybe me.
Anybody know of a good source?

Spaciba!

Yuri

PS: Vladimir, my son, wears a size 59 cap IIRC as do I, although I could go down to a size 57 if need be I think.

[horsesoldier176]

Tovarisch Yuri;

You might be able to get away with a size two, but I agree, your son should probably use a size 3.

You could use the helmet that is marketed as the M-68 on E-Gay. It is "close", but would require some minor modifications, such as changing the chinstrap to a canvas version, and replacing the four pads inside to leather, rather than the very post war kirza that is used in this post war version of the M-40 style kaska.

Boridin

[dixieflyer]

Comrade,
Thanks for the advice. I think we'll stick with trying to find post-war M40's. I already got run out of town for letting him wear a pair of repro GI low-quarters as lend-lease with leg wraps, I don't want him to catch any more (you-know-what) from folks. He's extremely self-concious about wanting to get it right the first time.
I'll put out a WTB ad here and a couple of other boards and see if anything surfaces before I resort to other means. I could also always modify a Czech helmet to a model 38 with a draw-string liner and web/canvas chinstrap.

Thanks as always for your time and advice,

Yuri

[andreev]

This is none of my business, but who had a problem with your boy wearing Lend-Lease service shoes? The U.S. sent 991,472 pairs of service shoes & 32, 143 leftover CCC ankle boots. Was this "Shoe Commisar" trying to imply that your son wasn't one of the million-plus troops to get L-L shoes? My source on these figures is --
lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/documents/index.htm

I've actually taken to carrying a period correct notebook (moleskine brand) that's filled with pictures & primary source references that back up my impression. Sometimes, its the only way...

Sorry to jump on the soapbox,
Matt

[dixieflyer]

Matt,
I'm with ya, and I know about the figures too. It was someone over on the "other" WWII board, and a thread had drifted towards people using US stuff as lend-lease as an excuse rather than buying a Soviet impression. I was dumb enough to chime in that with a growing teen (just turned 15) I wasn't going to spend $200 for correct low boots. They jumped on me saying that good low-boots weren't that expensive, and implied that we were some kind of farby cop-outs. When I mentioned the numbers of boots sent, their smart-aleck reply was "Well those shoes could have been used up in one battle, so there!" The sad part is, my son been through two pair of sapogi trying to find a pair that fits, he has feet like a concrete block, the low quarters from At the Front were our only option this spring.
I've got a line on some sapogi I think will fit, unfortunately, they are the shinyl-vinyl ones from Trident. He and I both really want the kind with the leather uppers and treated canvas shafts.
We're on a helmet quest right now too. Thanks for your support.

Yuri

[andreev]

It sucks that they make your son feel self-conscious; the last thing anyone needs to do is run off the younger generation of reenactors! Especially for Red Army--we're a small enough club as it is. You may have tried this already, but I got my jackboots at www.wephaus.com. They have a jackboot that's an east German parade boot. It's made out of good leather, not the pebble grained leather of the field boots. Also has a leather stacked heel w/heel irons. The sole is thick leather, with a thin sheet of unnoticeable rubber for traction. Covered in dried mud or dirt, they look really close to the originals.

Here's the only source for post-war M40's I know of. I meant to put it in the last post, but I was too busy climbing on the soap box. ;D

www.garciaaviation.com/cgi-local/storepro5/agora.cgi?cart_id=8684709.7456*CL0on0&product=Military_Headgear

-Matt

[dixieflyer]

That's how I felt too Matt, fortunately it was on a board I post on, and he doesn't. He really has put a tremendous amount of effort into his impression, to the point that he rooted out an original Soviet combat engineer's manual at the last show, dated 1926. He's taken on a personna, and is trying to find original Komsomol documents from war-time/pre-war.
I just call myself fortunate that I have a 15 year old teenage son that prefers my company and that of reenactors over:

- doing drugs
- underage drinking
- obsession over a cell phone (his longest cell call on record is 1:18 minutes.)
- texting
- a host of other things that are a real waste of time.

Thanks for the link on the helmets! I've written Garcia Aviation and asked if they have any size three's in stock. Wish me luck!

Yuri Stakhanov
19GMB

[horsesoldier176]

Original, period Komsomol, and other documents show up on E-Gay from time, to time.

Boridin

[dixieflyer]

Comrade Boridin,
Yes, he's been scouring ebay for these. However since neither he nor I read/speak Russian (something we're working on) he is not sure if what he is looking at is period-correct or not. I told him that if he gets to enough events, he'll eventually run into somebody that knows what he should be looking for, and will educate him.
Thanks for all the support guys!

Yuri

[horsesoldier176]

Tovarisch Stakhanov;

If you find an old looking document, and it doesn't tell you the date/age of the document.

Ask the seller a question.

Most of them are pretty honest.

Boridin

[dixieflyer]

Thanks Boridin, will do.

Yuri

[dixieflyer]

You know, and getting this back on track for M40 helmets, while I don't object to buying a wartime original, I have a few hesitations about doing so:

- The pads in these things are fabric/canvas. Without proper replacements (CollectRussia had them not long ago) I worry about how well the original suspension system will hold up. If it tears, I've destroyed a neat piece of WWII history.

- I and my friends in my squad were thinking about all of us getting M40's and then painting them all the same shade so that it looks like we received an issue. (Now, now, I know that the likely-hood of all people getting their helmets at teh same time is not necessarily authentic, but we thought that having this item, and one other item alike, and looking like it came from the same source, would give us a unified look, like we belonged to the same group. I know in any given photo that RKKA soldier's uniforms, etc. had a motley look.) I do not want to buy an original helmet, and destroy the finish for the sake of reenacting.

- If I get one that has such a ratty finish that it doesn't matter about re-finishing, then I wonder about the condition of the liner.

Hope this makes some sense.

Yuri