How to make them 'Fly'

[Tony without Kaiser]

That was my question, how do you make them fly ...

I can help. I don't typically show my Stahlhelme collection publicly very often, so this is rare.

Rather than display the helmets on a shelf like almost everyone, I designed and built my Stahlhelme Schrank (cabinet) so the helmets hang like they do naturally on a soldier's head. Most important for a Stahlhelm, it allows the chinstrap to hang without any pressure on it. It makes for a unique display that all my friends seem to approve of.

I wanted everything to blend in, so the interior, vertical rails, and the supports were all painted the same light grey. I bought five five-foot vertical shelving tracks and cut them to 54" on the metal chop saw. They were baked white enamel which had to come off, so they were stripped with a strong paint stripper, wired on the drill press, then sanded, primed, and painted the same Feldgrau as the cabinet so they blend into the wall. Well, more than snow-white vertical tracks would have...

The photos below explain how the helmet supports were made.

And the end result.....

We have security. Elle is on duty.

 

[Neil Young]

Pretty neat! I love innovative ideas and their skillful execution.

 

[coert65]

Wow, that's a great collection Tony!

Very nice way of presenting it too. I am just putting my helmets on wineglasses, which are clear, so they don't obstruct the helmets look.
But they are in a normal cupboard. But I don't have a collection room, my helmets are in my livingroom so unfortunatly don't have much space to present them like you do.

Stuka, you might look at the way the Army museum in Brussels present their helmets, if I am not mistaken, they have a cabinet full of haubes who also float in air, like Tony's helmets. I cant find the picture though, but I remember seeing it, maybe even here on the board.

Greetings, Coert.

 

[Tony without Kaiser]

Thank you. I designed this to be in a hallway closet. It was not in my Bunker.

//But they are in a normal cupboard. But I don't have a collection room, my helmets are in my livingroom so unfortunatly don't have much space to present them like you do. //

 

[stuka f]

Speechless!!
Thanks for showing both, system and helmets.
Amazing collection.

 

[stuka f]

...

Stuka, you might look at the way the Army museum in Brussels present their helmets, if I am not mistaken, they have a cabinet full of haubes who also float in air, like Tony's helmets. I cant find the picture though, but I remember seeing it, maybe even here on the board.

Greetings, Coert.

Hey Coert,
yes I know the cabinet, got the picture some where.
And that is exactly my problem; I always wanted to copy that Brussels army museum presentation.
Made a great impression on me when I was a child and still does....
I mean the old cabinets, the mix of uniforms, weapons, medals and hats.
I am afraid I am going to have to cut,weld, hammer, etc my supports my self; tailor made. Like Tony showed here.

 

[badener]

Very nice!

 

[Sandmann]

Great post. I love the comic style and the result