Here's something a little different. Another dug relic from the Eastern Front, it's a cigarette lighter with the logo of DEMAG : - Obviously the pic is much larger than life-size. The metal of the lighter seems rather poor-quality ( possibly thin plated brass ). There is a manufacturer mark on the base but corrosion has rendered it totally illegible. I wonder if DEMAG gave a lighter away with every factory-fresh SdKfz250 ?
How tremendously pleasing. And though I assume it's just the rust (?) it almost looks like it's painted in a three-colour camouflage. One of my very favourite vehicles, the Demag D7, I always feel it'd look rather good in Gloss black, maybe with some Mercedes style exhausts coming from the bonnet. Therefore, I am very jealous of your lighter, Martin.: ~A
The 'camo look' is purely coincidental.....it's not actually rust - I'd say the thing has been burnt and then buried which has caused the metal to oxidize ( which is why it looks non-ferrous ). The digger it came from tends to rummage through old Wehrmacht rubbish tips.
I don't think it's cammo either, more like a mix of paint and brass corrosion. The dark red is a typical adhesive paint used prior to addding the final colour. The initial colour was probably Feldgrau, but corrosion , reaction to oxygen , aging, and possibly cleaning by abrassive products have altered the tint. It remains an interesting relic and was wotrth buying.
Martin , how long does it take to get those packages from Russia? I ordered one 3 weeks ago with a Felgendarme Rund inside and am still waiting for the postman.
It takes usually about two weeks, plus or minus a couple of days. I really only buy from one trusted seller : he always sends instantly by registered post, the day after the auction ends. I've had one or two from places such as Latvia and Poland which seem to take longer ( although when I check the postmark sometimes it's because they take over a week to send it )