For the German armor enthusiasts I ask if this helmet is painted dark yellow or desert brown? The Luftwaffe eagle side is the actual color while the tri-color side is a bit 'rich' in hue due to the light available at the time the image was taken. Your opinions on the color are important.

Thank you very much,
Cody

dont know the color, but is that a großdeutschland helmet?

I'm assuming that is a white background, and there is a tungsten light somewhere, or evening sunlight illuminating it. If that's the case then its Desert Brown in my opinion.
It's looks to be an early enough pattern to be Afrika corps, but I'm not sure about what looks like the panzer grey primer underneath. I would have expected red oxide primer.
Are you using it to colour match..? If so I'd expect it to be a shade darker by now than it was when new.

Aitch,

The light is late afternoon outdoors while the background posterboard is light green. The color in the images is very close to the helmet - again, the tricolor side is just a tad red in hue due either to the camera, Adobe, other...

The paint underneath is early pre-war Luftwaffe blue-grey as this is an early Luftwaffe helmet(double decals and 'early' bird) probably issued to a flak team member in Italy. It was common practice especially in Mediterranean areas to camoflage helmets in the field with available paint. I am trying to get an idea for accurate dark yellow and desert brown based on actual color samples(mine and other helmet collections). Mediterranean-camoflage helmets and vehicles were usually painted with whatever the Wehrmacht issued to the various supply depots.

German combat helmets were not primed but were painted in a very durable baked-on lacquer and were issued in two 'basic' colors - greygreen(essentially dark OD) for the Army, Waffen SS and Navy while bluegrey was used for helmets issued to the Luftwaffe. There were variations in the basic colors from manufacturer to manufacturer and whatever the factory happened to be squirting that particular day.

Thanks,
Cody

Thanks Cody, I wasn't happy it was Panzer dark grey, that makes sense if it's Luftwaffe blue grey.
I was thinking in terms of a Luftwaffe liaison ground unit with the Afrika Corps, so I'd still go with it being Desert Brown. I'd also say that it's pretty much just about it's original colour if the under colour is Luftwaffe. Initially I was basing it on Panzer Grey. It's been well stored.
Didn't realise that the helmets were not undercoated, that would affect the final topcoat colour some.
I'd like to hear what results you comeup with please

This is another Luftwaffe Mediterranean-camo. This helmet is a very different color than the previous example which demonstrates different colors were available in the field. This helmet is ID'ed to a flak school and was very likely camoflage painted in Italy/Sicily or that general area as real AK helmets are very very rare.

Cody

I'd probably use Testors Israeli Armor sand to paint the first one (with a little white mixed in) and maybe Tamiya Buff on the second one

As PorkChop says that looks like Tamiya buff - Would you date the helmet to around 1943..?

Both helmets are pre-war manufacture as they are both double-decal but it is almost impossible to tell when the individual soldiers were stationed.

Cody

I am assuming this color would generally be interpreted as dark yellow...

Cody

The colour is a little patchy in places, but I'd agree that's a good match for dark yellow.
Has the paint been applied over the eagle, or is it just that it's worn..?

Aitch,

The paint has been sprayed on in a bit of an uneven coat over the entire helmet including the eagle - just bought the thing this morning!

I, too, thought the paint a good match for dark yellow which would place this helmet somewhere other than North Afrika.

Thanks,
Cody