442ndRCT Soldier's Forum

This is what I'm using for my helmet stencil - 101st - 506th



(Note: 101st 327th Glider Infantry Regiment used a "club")

also youl notace the tic mark below the spade that marks 2nd battlion fyi

So...which is the correct stencil for a glider rider? Club or Spade?

The Club is correct for the 327th Glider riders.

ok when putting your Marker on the helmet do it by hand get a rough idea about what your doing then paint it By hand

its a point of pride for the airborne

Opie74 wrote:ok when putting your Marker on the helmet do it by hand get a rough idea about what your doing then paint it By hand

its a point of pride for the airborne

And it turns out like mine... I think the OD or something in the cork or in the white paint mixed and turned parts of the white blue, if I can get my hands on some scrim and stuff I'll probably cover it up on that side...

also the Markers were painted on at the last min. so not all whites are the same.

i would suggest acrylic paint at any hobby store/ its a what i use

( i don't want to sound mean spirited but i know you guys want to do your best)

I'm glad I had Tim paint mine on by hand. It looks great. If I did it, it would look like a bird pooped on my helmet.

What other ways are there than painted it by hand? Decal, White Tape, Spraypaint? I've seen decals or what looked like white tape, which looked tacky.

well mine was a diamond and was easy, to you i say

time+ Blue painters tape + More time

also use a stencil for a base than paint it by hand and keep the imperfections

also unless your Rembrandt its gonna take some tries so measure twice paint once

The way I do my painting, is I place the stencil where I want it, and then using a pencil draw/mark the outline. Then when I paint, I cover up the line and fill in the space.

Typically most soldiers back then were just like people today. Most of them felt like they had six thumbs when they so much as looked at a paint brush or had no desire to do their own insignia so at least one person in a squad with half a brain for talent would be 'commissioned' or an enterprising soldier would collect a few bucks and offer his services to paint a squad's helmets. This also led to uniformity and less getting screamed at by a drill sargeant for not looking like everyone else.

Almost all insignia were hand painted. Decals and stick on's were mostly used post war during the homecoming parades. Spray cans as we know them today were not available to the troops in the ETO and spray guns were not that common outside of the motor pool. That was also something that required more skill than a paintbrush and sort of overkill for a helmet insignia.

So hand painting was the norm.

any ideas on where I can get a club stencil?

Randy

Print this out "to size" and then transfer it to a 3x5 card. Then use razor blade or knife.

http://www.abcteach.com/free/c/cardsuitsbnw1.jpg

I just use a sheet of paper. Cut out, trace design on side of helmet with a pencil and paint in the lines.