Helmet display/stands

W

weirdpyramid

New member
Is there a maker or a source where i can purchase quality helmet stands for not a ridiculous amount of money? or a DIY way of displaying?

thanks,
weird one
 
We all seam to use differant methods, as others I am sure will jump in, I use clear plastic tall glasses turned upside down for most of mine, my brother uses glass wine goblets turned upside down.

James
 
J.LeBrasseur said:
We all seam to use differant methods, as others I am sure will jump in, I use clear plastic tall glasses turned upside down for most of mine, my brother uses glass wine goblets turned upside down.

James
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That is because James drinks a lot of slurpies, and his borther is more into a fine glass of wine.
I would recomend avoiding unsealed foam heads, as the foam can react to some leathers.
Gus
 
Steer away from styrofoam heads... they can damage a helmet, if not covered with a Ph neutral cover of some sort.

:D Ron
 
I like glasses too because they are unobstusive and do not detract from the helmet. Also you can see through them and they are available in every size you need.

Last not least, if you are in a squeeze and need glasses for unforeseen guests, you know where to look.
 
Robert said:
I like glasses too because they are unobstusive and do not detract from the helmet. Also you can see through them and they are available in every size you need.

Last not least, if you are in a squeeze and need glasses for unforeseen guests, you know where to look.
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We keep paper cups around for that need:)
 
Oh, yes, I also use glasses, usually tumblers. Either way, they look very nice under the helmet and cost very little. Much better than expensive stands.
I also make glazed ceramic 'skulls' to put over the glasses for some helmets, these distribute the weight more. The advantage to being an art teacher with tons of clay around.

:D Ron
 
I use glass storage jars from the local "Hobby Lobby". They cost $3.99. I top them off with double faced tape and a good quantity of cotton quilting material. It's stable and provides structure. :)
 
Detailed heads with lifelike eyes and handlebar mustaches made with natural hair punched into the silicone wouldn't be bad, either. :)
 
Coffee tins and jam jars painted matt black is my cost-effective way for the pickelhauben but I do like head-forms for stahlhelm.

I managed to pick up some used as hairdressing exam/test piece head-forms, from a fellow collector in France and wish I had some more as most head-forms either look cheap or are very expensive.

Anyone know what happened to the guy in the US that manufactured simple 2 dimensional heads forms in wood? I also liked those but he appears to have disappeared off the radar.
 
Detailed heads are fine for a manneqin, but for a helmet display, they detract from the helmet, and tend to look grausam. Things should look natural, and a head on a body looks right as well as a helmet on a shelf, but a head on a shelf does not. The helmet stand should not be visible, James puts duct tape over the macdonnalds lable on his helmet stands.
Best
Gus
 
Long wine glasses are pretty cool and graceful to present Pickelhauben and I use them too. But the whole collection looks much better if using a high realistic head display each 5-6 helmets. It´s like giving breath and a sort of life touch to the collection. These heads are self made handicrafts with glas eyes and I really love to give them the appearance of our ancestors on old photographs! Small museum touch, too. Enjoy!

Philippe :salute:

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Philippe,

Those aren't one's normal head forms by a long shot! You're right, they are very interesting and I think display is up to the person who owns the helmet.

But again, a word of WARNING!!! NEVER USE STYROFOAM. I've seen entire collections in museums ruined by that garbage. It's no good, nasty, can destroy all sorts of finishes. If you're using it, get rid of it now!

So there.

Again, cool heads, the expressions are very interesting.

:D Ron
 
Hey Ron,
I use styrofoam for my mannequins, but I already learned about the danger of foam, mine are either sealed with plaster and latex or acrilic paint, or covered with an inert polyvinyl film.
Best
Gus
 
Hi Ron,

I never used styrofoam, because those displays are the uglyest things I have ever seen :tard: ... They are mostly looking cheap, don´t have any expression and damage the leather headgear. It´s my opinion that our beautiful historic artefacts merit better than those boring styrofoam displays...
The heads I am using are a mixing of plaster and "cellulose" (woodpaste) and are handpainted with a high grade acrylic paint. Between display and headgear, I use to place unbleached cotton cloth.
But I agree, the way of displaying and collecting is the own choice of each collector and his own expectation... SUUM CUIQUE :laughing6:

Philippe :salute:
 
Here's what I've seen from styro heads (not treated as Gus suggests).

For oil cloth, styro will stick to it.

Leather: when you see 'color' from the leather on the styro, damage has occurred. This should be a warning sign, a BIG one.

foam sheet for medal display: if the medal is lacquer or clear coated in any way (many US medals are), the styro will destroy it. I've seen this in the storage facilities of our State Historical Society. The styro breaks down and the medals attach to it. Not good.

Unless there is a Ph neutral, impervious barrier of some sort, then styro should be avoided at all costs.

Just what I've observed.

:D Ron
 
I concur on the Styrofoam as it can off gas and basically cause the leather to rot.

I use acid free cardboard tubes that are nice because they can be cut to length. That is an advantage over glass or plastic glasses. Now of course cardboard looks ugly... so I solved the problem by buying black nylon stockings. These make for a sleek and solid look.

I'd also be careful of the wooden stands that I see for sale on eBay as these can have a stain that doesn't play nice with leather as well. Wood in general can sometimes be a problem.

For my steel helmets most are either on glass or my aluminum shelves. And talking about glass... you can never go wrong with glass unless you break it of course.
 
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