[mike45]

G,day. I needed a Talker Helmet for the Patrol Boat build, could only find a 3d printed which looked good but was made of a flexible plastic. So i had a old Hasbro aviator helmet that i cut up, added milliput and reshaped it, applied ground bird grit for the rough finish ( the real ones used cork ) painted and aged. I need to make the chin strap but waiting on suitable material. The mic and head phones where a lot of fun to figure out and put together, the felt ear pads are Dremel polishing pads punched with a hole punch the rest is mainly metal,tiny camera screws some real old leather, wire and styrene. I,m happy with the shape,but still i think i should have made the back a little longer, then again the model shown has a long pointy head (1999 BBI Pilot) and the HS it,s going on look,s perfect. Hope you like my effort,s i realize it,s not a popular subject Navy stuff and all, but the more i get into this build and research it i find all sort,s of thing,s . Most will associate Seal,s with the Navy in 1/6 Vietnam but there is so much more. Enuff' of my rambling on, enjoy. Cheers!

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Reference Pic,s

 

[pukingdog]

Beautiful craftsmanship, Mike! I for one am glad you are giving these sailors some page time, well deserved. Before smaller, more efficient hand radios were available, we had a wide array of sound-powered phones, and these exact same earphone and chest mic sets, for use in wire pulling operations. I modified and rebuilt a lot of them, we added 9V battery snaps, spiced into the wiring, to boost the signal, and alligator clip wire leads. I always enjoyed working on them, as they were bits of history.

 

[aluffarb]

Fantastic job on a piece of gear that was ubiquitous aboard US Navy vessels throughout WWII (and in the years after the war). I'm surprised that this item was never made by any of the major 1/6 companies during the WWII craze. Then again, naval figures were rarely touched upon (especially the USN, the largest navy in history). This was unfortunate given the wealth of subject matter.

 

[mike45]

Thank you PD, i,m real happy you like my efforts and the fact that you have worked on the real deal makes me even happier. When doing my research i was actually a bit surprised that the US Navy still used this WW11 technology in the Vietnam conflict, i have seen some pictures with the Gunner wearing the talker helmet but with different mic,s and headphones. The more research i do on Naval items , the more i discover that the US Navy were very open to new ideas and experimentation and modifications to existing equipment. That,s made my day PD. I had a friend who was in the US Navy in the 70,s a radio man,he moved to Australia. We played in a Band together for a bit, damn top bloke and a hell of a steel player, he also worked on a Mission in the Islands for awhile, he used to tell me stories of modding radios and such with limited supplies very interesting stuff.

 

[mike45]

Thank you! Glad to see i,m not the only one who thinks this way. It is still a very much untouched subject. The US Navy dont blow their own trumpet that much, compared to other services, the quiet achievers.I concur, the wealth of subject matter is endless.

Fantastic job on a piece of gear that was ubiquitous aboard US Navy vessels throughout WWII (and in the years after the war). I'm surprised that this item was never made by any of the major 1/6 companies during the WWII craze. Then again, naval figures were rarely touched upon (especially the USN, the largest navy in history). This was unfortunate given the wealth of subject matter.

 

[farnhamja]

Mike45, wonderful bit of craftsmanship, very impressive. It is a pleasure to see the NAVY represented, my feelings are the same as those above. There is not enough representation of this service and it is always a treat to see them portrayed.

One question, what is "bird grit"? The rough finish you used has some great potential for U.S. M1 helmets as well........Jim

 

[mike45]

Thank you Jim, my bad description, i mean,t the" bird cage grit" it,s ground cuttle fish & shells they sprinkle it on the bottom of domestic bird cages. I did find it a bit too coarse straight out of the packet so i ground it down in a Mortar & Pestle, once it has a few coats of paint filling up the gaps it becomes believable. I had an old DML M1 helmet with the rough finish to compare, it,s fairly close. Cheers.

Mike45, wonderful bit of craftsmanship, very impressive. It is a pleasure to see the NAVY represented, my feelings are the same as those above. There is not enough representation of this service and it is always a treat to see them portrayed.

One question, what is "bird grit"? The rough finish you used has some great potential for U.S. M1 helmets as well........Jim