East German NVA Light Weight Parade Helmet 1st Pattern or Prototype?

East German NVA light weight parade helmet which is possibly the first pattern or possibly even a prototype. It is made from a material that is like a cross between paper mache and old lunch room tray, its not even really a proper phenolic material. The material is rather thick also and the shape has a distinct edge that usually is lacking in parade helmets. The edge gives this one a much better look. The liner is attached with WWII style split pins. The liner is a size 56 although the stamp is very faint. This seems to be an unusual example, the shape differs from the other parade helmets I can find. The form is better defined and looks a lot less crap than the normal ones.

I understand there were a few different versions of the light weight helmet and I have yet to find a picture of the first pattern, so the fact that this is unlike all the other types and it is made with earlier type hardware, leads me to believe it is likely the earlier pattern or even one of the early prototypes, but there is basically no information that I have been able to find about even the first pattern, let alone the various prototypes. The split pin construction for the liner attachment also suggests it would have been produced along side the very earliest versions of the 56 pattern steel helmet which used split pins on the earliest models.

More East German items here.