aeneas01
05-27-2008, 07:58 PM
in the mid 70s riddell, the leading manufacturer of football helmets, offered a fantastic line of authentic ncaa and nfl helmets to the public which were sold as lamps. these helmets were no different than what teams wore on the field and they represented the only public source for true, authentic helmets at the time. the only drawback was that these helmets were not fitted with the interior suspension webbing and padding, i.e., they were basically just helmet shells fitted with decals, jaw pads and facemasks. this was most likely done in order to accommodate the lamp parts but i wouldn't be surprised if product liability was a determining factor as well.
anyway these "helmet lamps" appear on ebay from time to time and are often purchased by collectors who convert them into complete helmets. helmet hut for example, for around $100, will fit these helmets with interior padding including the suspension webbing. although i'm a huge fan of helmet hut, i find their suspension webbing units to be somewhat off the mark - they just don't look authentic imho. you will also find that some collectors will try their own hand at it, with varying success.
but this ebayer has done a heck of a job - he has removed the suspension webbing units from authentic helmets and fitted them into the "helmet lamp" shells - the result is fantastic. had he been able to get his hands on better rivets, his work would have been an exact match (the rivets he used have a higher profile than authentic rivets).
most importantly, this ebayer honestly and accurately describes the helmets he is offering as what they truly are - "helmet lamps" that have been converted. this is especially admirable given that he knows he could have easily passed these off as authentic "game issued" helmets because of the great job he did on them and his attention to detail. there is another ebayer, i wish i could remember his name, that does an incredible job putting together reproduction clear shell helmets - like the aforementioned ebayer, this guy honestly lists his clear shell helmets as reproductions even though he knows he could easily pass them off as authentic.
hopefully ebay crooks such as flipsyr will learn something from these guys. or, at the very least, hopefully such crooks will realize just how pathetic their hack jobs are compared to the work of the previously mentioned ebayers and, as such, will be too embarrassed to continue trying to pass off such garbage as authentic. and, hopefully, those that end up with these helmets will be sure to note that they are reproductions when it comes time to sell them.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280229854412&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:PIC&ih=018
http://cgi.ebay.com/1970-BENGALS-RIDDELL-SUSPENSION-HELMET-NOT-GAME-USED_W0QQitemZ280229861056QQihZ018QQcategoryZ37710 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
a couple of examples of riddell helmet lamps - i chose to show a lions and vikes helmet lamp because they seem to be the rarest and always seem to fetch the highest prices - by far.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/sub/lamp-1.jpg
anyway these "helmet lamps" appear on ebay from time to time and are often purchased by collectors who convert them into complete helmets. helmet hut for example, for around $100, will fit these helmets with interior padding including the suspension webbing. although i'm a huge fan of helmet hut, i find their suspension webbing units to be somewhat off the mark - they just don't look authentic imho. you will also find that some collectors will try their own hand at it, with varying success.
but this ebayer has done a heck of a job - he has removed the suspension webbing units from authentic helmets and fitted them into the "helmet lamp" shells - the result is fantastic. had he been able to get his hands on better rivets, his work would have been an exact match (the rivets he used have a higher profile than authentic rivets).
most importantly, this ebayer honestly and accurately describes the helmets he is offering as what they truly are - "helmet lamps" that have been converted. this is especially admirable given that he knows he could have easily passed these off as authentic "game issued" helmets because of the great job he did on them and his attention to detail. there is another ebayer, i wish i could remember his name, that does an incredible job putting together reproduction clear shell helmets - like the aforementioned ebayer, this guy honestly lists his clear shell helmets as reproductions even though he knows he could easily pass them off as authentic.
hopefully ebay crooks such as flipsyr will learn something from these guys. or, at the very least, hopefully such crooks will realize just how pathetic their hack jobs are compared to the work of the previously mentioned ebayers and, as such, will be too embarrassed to continue trying to pass off such garbage as authentic. and, hopefully, those that end up with these helmets will be sure to note that they are reproductions when it comes time to sell them.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280229854412&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:PIC&ih=018
http://cgi.ebay.com/1970-BENGALS-RIDDELL-SUSPENSION-HELMET-NOT-GAME-USED_W0QQitemZ280229861056QQihZ018QQcategoryZ37710 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
a couple of examples of riddell helmet lamps - i chose to show a lions and vikes helmet lamp because they seem to be the rarest and always seem to fetch the highest prices - by far.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/sub/lamp-1.jpg