How to create a German M56 Helmet

The East German M56 helmet is one of the most distinctive military helmets of the Cold War and I need them for a MOC I'm planning however there are no available LEGO-compatible M56 helmets to buy. Luckily a BrickArms Japanese WWII helmet can be modified to create a surprisingly decent alternative. In this guide I will show the process I used to convert a Japanese helmet into an M56 using only basic tools and paint. Please consider this is a prototype. When I do more they will look better. I used ChatGPT to organize all the steps.

Left picture source: https://hessenantique.com/east-german-m56-steel-helmet-refurbished/

Tools and Materials

• BrickArms Japanese WWII helmet
• Nail file
• Fine sanding tool or sandpaper (not used for this prototype but helpful if you want a better result)
• Small paintbrush
• Grey paint (I used an acrylic one)
• Varnish

Original Japanese Helmet from BrickArms

Step 1 – Remove the Rim

The first step is to file away the raised rim that runs around the entire helmet.

The goal is to create a smooth, flat edge all the way around. Take your time and remove material gradually to avoid uneven spots.

Step 2 – Shape the M56 Profile

The original Japanese helmet has a rounded and symmetrical shape that will help us. It lacks some frontal slope but it is okay.

To replicate the M56 choose the front half of the helmet and carefully file a stepped transition into the profile. The rear section should sit slightly lower than the front, creating the characteristic silhouette of the East German helmet.

Check the shape frequently from the side.

Move it up and down the nail file until you create the desired step. If you apply more effort you will get it fast so be careful you don't cut too much plastic. This applies to every time you use the nail file.

Step 3 – Remove Mold Lines and Imperfections

Once the basic shape is complete remove any plastic filaments and rough edges or filing marks.

Use progressively finer sanding to round off sharp corners and achieve a smooth finish.

If you remove too much plastic or make scratches you can apply some plastic putty over it and sand it to repair the helmet surface. It isn't easy but it is worth the try. I will use in the rest of the helmets I create.

Step 4 – Painting

After cleaning the part with water and dried it apply a thin coat of grey paint.

Several thin coats usually produce a better result than one thick coat.

Now let it dry. A couple hours should be more than enough.

Step 5 – Varnish

Once the paint has fully cured apply a clear varnish to protect the finish and improve durability during handling. I use mate varnish. Sometimes I use normal one to protect more and then mate varnish over it. I'm no expert I don't know how effective it is but I like to do it.

Final Result

The finished piece captures the distinctive shape of the East German M56 while using a readily available BrickArms Japanese WWII helmet as the base. It's a simple conversion that requires only basic tools and a little patience. The final result is a 8/10 for me if you don't mess up during the process. A proper 3D printed one will look better but oh well this is cheaper at least for me. I hope it is useful!

Profile view

Frontal view

Colditz Castle MOC

 In today's post I will show you my latest MOC: the castle of Colditz. Well a part of it at least. Since I'm a kid the story of this castle during the World War II has amazed me. Some of the most important prisoners of the Allied troops in the same castle lost in the middle of Saxony. Sounds good right?

The castle in April 1945. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oflag_IV-C

Far away from any frontier there was a castle that was used by the Germans to send the most valuable prisoners they got. Painted in a sad gray color the walls of this castle saw many escape attempts and here is where the legend begins. It started with Polish prisoners in late 1939. Germany invaded their country and some were sent to this castle now called Oflag IV-C. This place had mainly officers inside during the war. In october 1940 the first British officers arrived to the camp. Then French and Dutch officers and soldiers came included 2 Yugoslavian. In April 1941 the French officer Alain Le Ray became the first man to escape from Colditz. During the war many escape attempts were made but most of them were unsuccsessfull. From soldiers dressed up as women to a 110 kilograms glider made of whatever the poor prisoners could find. Between 30 and 36 men succeded and escaped the castle. The German garrison (around 70 men) abided the Geneva Convention and there were even agreements between the prisoners and the camp staff where the Germans understood the prisoners wanted to escape but the Allied prisoners wouldn't use borrowed tools to make their attempts. If they catched you while trying to escape you would be put in a confinement alone but your life wouldn't be on risk like in many other camps. The camp was finally liberated by the 1st US Army in April 1945. Some of the "celebrities" inside were the creator of the SAS David Stirling (little spoiler for the next season I guess if you watch SAS Rogue Heroes from HBO) the son of WWI marshall Douglas Haig or the son of the Viceroy of India. The nephew of Winston Churchill's wife was here too and Adolf Hitler specified that he was to be treated with the outmost care.

The castle nowadays. Source: https://www.the-tls.com/history/modern-history/colditz-ben-macintyre-the-traitor-of-colditz-robert-verkaik-book-review-roderick-bailey

Nowadays the castle is painted white and you can visit it if you want to. The story about it is pretty interesting and I recommend you read about it if you want to know more. It's worth to mention too that a prisoner years later created a table game and there are films and TV shows about it. There are videogames about it too like a mission in a Commandos game. A pretty interesting topic about the war.

For this build I wanted to show a bit of the interior of the castle and I decided to add too a escape tunnel like the ones the real prisoners there did. It doesn't represent any specific part of the real castle. I intended to build a smaller MOC but once I decided to use my Opel Blitz for the build I needed to make it bigger. It was worth it I would say. I really like how it looks in the build. In this build the only thing I'm not happy with is the roof. I didn't find the correct parts to do it with tiles since the 90º corner difficults all. Either I had enough slopes to do it higher plus one side would be higher than the other and that would look weird. To be fair I haven't think about the roof design until I reached that final part of the build where only the roof was left. I'm sorry for the bad pictures I took. This time most of them are done with my phone. I need to change my camera tripod! 

The build has two identical rooms.

The other room which isn't seen during the scrapping process.

The hall.

I enjoyed building this MOC. I love how the windows look specially inside. It has light too in the hall section and I love how they look. It is a build I had in my mind for a couple years and even I wanted to make it bigger it looked really cool as I imagined which is something to be happy about because most of the times the final result isn't as good as the original idea I had. The minifigs for this MOC are my Old Dark Gray Germans which use Roaglaan decals and some combos I did for the prisoners and the civilian. I had to paint again some stuff because the paint of the soldiers' gear gets damaged over the years. 

A civilian who came to assemble the door into it's place.

My favourite minifig of the MOC.

The visible room in detail.

Now the following pictures were taken with the camera and look darker. Sorry for that. 

The prisoner trying to escape.

Many thanks for reading this post guys. Here is the YouTube video I did for the build and I recommend you watch it because it includes videos that show more about the build.