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In-Box Review
135
M42 Stahlhelm
M42 WW II German Steel Helmet - Stahlhelm
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by: Engin Kayral [ GRAYWOLF ]

Introduction:

At the beginning of World War I, soldiers were only issued with cloth and leather caps designed to protect them against saber cuts. When trench warfare began, number of casualties suffering from severe head wounds caused by gunfire, shrapnel bullets and shell fragments increased dramatically, since the head was typically the most exposed part of the body when in a trench. French were the first to see a need for more head protection in late 1915 and they began to issue Adrian helmets to their troops. British and Commonwealth troops followed with the Brodie helmet and Germans with the Stahlhelm. Design of Stahlhelm was carried out by Dr.Friedrich Schwerd and was first introduced into regular service during the Verdun campaign in early 1916. In contrast to the Hadfield steel used in the British Brodie helmet, Germans used a harder martensitic silicon/nickel steel. As a result, and also due to the helmet's form, the Stahlhelm had to be formed in heated dies at a greater unit cost than the British helmet, which could be formed in one piece. Different Stahlhelm designs are named for their year of introduction like M18 for 1918, M35 for 1935, etc.

Some changes and additions were made to Stahlhelm in years and the last wartime upgrade to the standard helmet took place on 6 July 1942. The M42 Stahlhelm design was a result of wartime demands. The rolled edge on the shell was eliminated, creating an unfinished edge along the rim. This edge slightly flared out, along the base of the skirt. The elimination of the rolled edge expedited the manufacturing process and reduced the amount of metal used in each helmet and also the cost of helmet. Shell paint colors were typically matte gray-green for Army or gray-blue for Luftwaffe. Decals were eliminated in 1943 to speed up production and reduce the helmet's combat visibility.

M42 WW II German Steel Helmet - Stahlhelm (LRE-35278) from Live Resin includes six German World War II M42 Steel helmets.

Review:

The set is enclosed in a folded cardboard cover showing information and 3D illustrations of the content on both sides. Parts are inserted into a transparent zip-lock bag stapled to the cover.
There are six 1/35 scale,cast in grey resin M42 German helmets in the kit served with casting blocks. There are connector pins inside the helmets and they should be cleaned. Resin quality is very good, casting is clean. No deformation, excess resin to clean or any mistakes on the parts.
Set includes 3 helmets without chinstrap - marked with letter A and 3 helmets with chinstrap on peak / fastened up around the front of helmet - marked as B.

Helmet details like left, right and rear liner rivets, stamped vent holes on both sides, slightly flared out edges and chinstraps in front are well defined.

Conclusion:

This is a nice kit of M42 helmets to display on German vehicles, World War II scenes or replace with existing poor detailed helmets of your figures. They show good details and look realistic.
SUMMARY
Highs: Nice cast, well defined details.
Lows: No lows on this one.
Verdict: Useful kit with good quality helmets to replace with unsatisfying helmets on your figures.
Percentage Rating
90%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: LRE-35278
  PUBLISHED: Nov 01, 2016
  NATIONALITY: Germany
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 92.20%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 93.95%

Our Thanks to Live Resin!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Engin Kayral (Graywolf)
FROM: IZMIR, TURKEY / TüRKçE

Born in 1962,married and having 2 sons. I started modelling about 8 years old building USS Fletcher with mom. It was a model dad brought from USA., I think in those days only a few people in Turkey had info on scale model kits. Grown as an AF officer son , I built many aircraft models in years. Som...

Copyright ©2021 text by Engin Kayral [ GRAYWOLF ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

looks like a good product; great detail
OCT 31, 2016 - 07:25 PM
Not only does the product look excellent, but I really appreciate the historical backgrounder which puts light on the topic. Thanks!
NOV 01, 2016 - 02:46 AM
Where is the best place to buy Liveresin stuff ? J
NOV 01, 2016 - 04:14 AM
I would recommend going directly with Live Resin. Their shop is here: Models Hobby. Good prices, fast service, reasonable shipping. Mario
NOV 01, 2016 - 11:03 AM
I would recommend going directly with Live Resin. Their shop is here: Models Hobby. Good prices, fast service, reasonable shipping. Mario [/quote] Thanks Mario ! I like those M1 Garands as well. J
NOV 01, 2016 - 06:43 PM
Just noticed that they also offer these excellent helmet liners as a seperate piece. Weird as I'd obviously want both so why not market them together?
NOV 03, 2016 - 02:38 AM
in real life alot of them have a ring stained in the leather from resting the helmet on the gas mask container, some older guys tole me when they were kids the liners still had a smell of the hair oil the soldiers commonly used
NOV 05, 2016 - 08:28 AM
   
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