waffen ss gas mask canister help

[stefanuccio]

hallo all
for modelling purposes i am trying to accurately portreit a german SS LAH private in the 1/6 scale
for those familiar with Dragon german action figures i am trying to build up Lother kroh ss private of the LAH
on the eastern front summer 1941
I have all the equipment with the exception of the gas mask canister
the only alternative is to use the canister of another soldier Sepp Jung volksgranadier 1945
is this possibly accurate?
what type of gas mask canister will be in use on a SS LAH private eastern front 1941?
as i visited various websites for my reserch i understand there are different types of canisters long, short, pre-war,etc and i am now totally confused
can someone help me?
thanks for your help
ciao stefano

[Simon H]

Hi again Stafano,

I'm not too familiar with 1/6 scale models but as far as gasmask cans are concerned I would expect both of the subjects you refer to will have the same "standard" type of can. The shorter 25cm height cans were initially used by the Luftschutz, although some were also issued to second line security troops during the war.

Gas mask canisters were still carried even very late in the war because they were a useful, dry place to carry cigarettes, paper etc - the masks thenselves having long been discarded by some as having no use in the field.

The only other difference between a soldier of 1941 and '45 would have been the fact that I've not seen any evidence that gasmask cans were painted any other colour than Feldgrau in the early part of the war (39-41). Only in the desert were cans painted over in tan.

Hope this helps!

[stefanuccio]

hallo simon
thanks very much for your very competent replay it really helps
ciao
stefano