anyone experience with this helmet manufacturer

[franciscus]

[attachment=2256]LOGO20-20B2020W20ROMAN20HELMET20ANGLE.jpg[/attachment]
I have, like alot of roman reenactors "problems" with finding a fitting helmet... Yes, my head is to big...

Now, on the internet I found several shops who sell Hanwei-manufactured helmets (see picture)

Has anyone experience with thes helmets... I mean, they look decent and accurate but what about the size ? When I ask the sellers about the sizes, the majority are not cooperative and say : ow, its a size "large"... or they are to busy to measure the helmet...

So, are there people around who have this helmet and could provide me the following measurements :

- internal circumference of the bowl
- measurement from the front to the back and from the left to the right side

[Virilis]

Hi Van Zaelen!

It looks like the new version of Deepeka's "gallic G" helmet (which they improved about 6-7 years ago). I had this helmet once and the bowl was a bit too round to my head. The inside measurements were 19 cm from side to side and 21 cm from front to back. There shouldn't be much variation with the bowl due to the standardized manufacturing process of Deepeeka. The bowl was also quite shallow. Hope this helps!

[franciscus]

[attachment=2257]hanwei.jpg[/attachment]
No, the seller told me that it is not a deepeeka, but a "Hanwei"... I got another picture of another helmet (but the eyebrows are not correct...)
I know the deepeekas : I have 3 pieces of them... all to small, the just serve as decoration parts in my house !!!

for sale at :

Medieval Weaponry, owned & operated by BearArm Ltd. Voyager House, Duke Street, Shaw, Oldham, OL2 8PA
Registered Company Number: 6074488, VAT Registration Number: 867 0180 18
UK Freephone 0800 862 0411, Non UK +44 (0)161 785 8073
Copyright © 2003-2011 BearArm Ltd

[Virilis]

Ok, but in first pic they have certainly copied the cheek pieces of the Deepeeka helmet ;-) !

[jvrjenivs]

Both helmets have their flaws, and I like the second one over the first one. The first one certainly isn't deepeeka. (which seems to be confirmed by the supplier). No experience with those helmets, though. I've a deepeeka gallic F and once had an Imp. italic D from Deepeeka, but apart from that all my helmets are custom made.

[jkaler48]

Many of these internet dealers sell poor copies of copies of Deepeekas including "trooper" helmets. I even saw a brass trooper offered once. What a waste of brass. Best to deal with one of the retailers or custom makers in the RAT marketplace. Faster: (retailers selling Deepeeka DSC and Al Hammdt) Exactly what you want but slower and more expensive: Custom makers.

[Gaius Colletti]

Here is a link to the original: http://www.romanarmy.com/cms/component/o...Itemid,96/

To the untrained eye, it is easy to overlook the differences, but as you get more into the hobby and are around other reenactors you notice the flaws, and they start to bug you. Like anything that cost a good chunk of money, do it right the first time. IMO the second picture looks like it was based off of the first Gallic G before Deepeeka modified it. I have one, they are large, and the helmet incorrectly encompasses your skull much to low, this causes a problem with the neckguard resting on your shoulders and getting in the way of your armor

Rusty has a good comparison shot of the Deepeeka's old Gallic G vs the new one if you scroll 3/4 of the way down to give you an idea: http://legvi.tripod.com/armamentarium/id147.html

Hope that helps

[franciscus]

Yes ok, thank you for your help, but my problem still remains the same... no deepeeka for me, because of the well known problems with it (to round, no oval skull form, etc...) Even changing the form by "sitting on the sides" won't work... I did that with one of my deepeekas... the result is not satisfying. My headcircum is 60 cm, perhaps not very big, but I need more an oval form, otherwise I cannot even were a padding under it...

So before I consider going to a custom helmet builder, I just want to "screen" the market and look if there is anything usable, for a reasonable price...

I just want to know if there is anyone who has experience with those helmets I showed here above ? I know they (Hanwei) have flaws, but I could "repair" these... the most important issue is the "bowl" of the helmet : how is the shape ? round or oval ? what are the measurements of the bowl...

personal frustration : "I cannot understand why deepeeka doesn't produce decend oval shaped helmets... deepeeka does produce for example WWII german reenactment helmets in iron and those helmetbowl are oval... so why are they not able to do the same with their Roman helmets ?"

[Gaius Colletti]

Have you looked into the Deepeeka Gallic A

Nearly 8.5" front to back and 7 1/4" ear to ear, this is to my knowledge one of the most oval helms available. I have about the same sized head as you do and I wear both a Deepeeka Gallic A and H comfortably

I will say as I have a Gallic H, the bowl is very round, but I don't find it uncomfortable

[jkaler48]

I thing the Deppeeka Gallic A has an oval form (as does the DSC version) I have both
but like the DSC better as it is tinned Bronze and no rust problems (and because I did the design work)

(Matt beat me to it posting while I typed!)

[jbd_29349]

I to have the problem of having a large head and not finding a helmet that Deepeeka makes fit. However, the Gallic A fits me very well! I only need a thin arming cap to have it fit perfect.

[franciscus]

OK, I will have a look for the Galae A

[Crispvs]

"OK, I will have a look for the Galae A"

What time frame are you intending to depict? Not all helmet types would have been around at the same time and few, if any, would have lasted in an unmodified form for as long as a full century.

I don't know whether you belong to a group or not. If you do they will presumably have a defined time frame already but if you do not, it is worth giving some thought to. Do not think simply in terms of 1st, 2nd, 3rd century etc. Nothing ever says exactly the same across a full century and the end on one century is closer in time to the beginning of the next than to the beginning of its own. You are much better off dividing each century into four 25 year quarters. It is quite possible to be accurate to within a 25 year time frame.

The Imperial Gallic 'A' helmets were probably already in use by the time of Augustus, how long they stayed in service is unknown. The Imperial Gallic 'F' from Becansion was certainly in use in the AD40s and the Imperial Gallic 'G/H' was certainly in use in the early AD60s. Imperial Italic 'C' was in use during the AD60s as well. The Coolus 'E' was definitely in use in the AD40s. How long these types remained in use can be debated and it is possible that they might all be seen together. However, if you were aiming for an impression within the second half of the first century AD you might be better off avoiding a Gallic 'A' or Coolus 'E'.

I hope this is of some use to you.


Incidentally, the second helmet you showed is also one to avoid. I really wonder what the Indian manufacturer really thought the hinge plate rivets for the cheek guards were for.

Crispvs

[franciscus]

my interest goes to militia 1° century AD... so I guess galae A will fit in that scene...

[Crispvs]

What part of the first century AD though? As I said above, no piece of equipment would have lasted in service for a full century in anything other than an unmodified form. Therefore you need to be more specific than simply 'first century'. You need to define the part of the century you want to depict, so that all your equipment is historically compatible. A Gallic 'A' would certainly fit into the early first century AD, but (for example) a Corbridge type segmentata would not and neither would a Pompeii type sword. By the middle of the century both these things would be available but an Imperial Gallic 'A' helmet would be quite old by then and would probably show signs of a lot of wear and tear. Belt styles appear to have changed every twenty to forty years and the wrong belt style can make your impression anachronistic.

It is because of these factors that you need to consider the entire impression you want to create before you part with any cash, and deciding exactly what part of the century you want to place your impression in is the first part of this. Do you want to depict a soldier of the period AD1-25, the period AD26-50, the period AD51-75, or the period AD76-100?
If you do this exercise with the 20th century you should see what I mean. Like any modern army, the Roman army was constantly in a state of change. You can no more do a '1st century AD' impression than you can do a '20th century AD' impression.

Crispvs