I had a double whammy this weekend as we went not only the Sadlers Farm Saturday boot sale but also the Lazy Bones version on Sunday. The pickings were pretty good to say the least! First up, I have acquired copies of the old Airfix Magazine Guide No.21 - Modelling Armoured Cars by Gerald Scarborough. I am sure that many readers of this blog are familiar with these from way back when. The famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) Napoleonic Wargaming title by Bruce Quarrie was a major influence on my wargaming career so any of these titles are always good to see - rather like catching up with an old friend - and this was no exception. Included are plans for scratchbuilding a selection of Armoured cars from WW1 to WW2 including my own favourite - the Rolls Royce Armoured car. Great for the modeller or occasional scratchbuilder.
The second title is a biography of the Red Baron - Manfred von Richthofen by Peter Kilduff. This is a particularly valuable title as the author produced the first modern translation of the Barons memoirs and has researched extensively amongst the aviation records and accounts of the enigmatic Red Baron. The title also includes - in its entirety - the Barons 'fighting instructions' completed shortly after his death. the dust jacket on this is a little grubby but as the covers are a copy of this it is of little consequence.
The final title I was very pleased to acquire. Arnhem 1944 by Martin Middlebrook is an account of the Airborne battle and concentrates on the British and Polish part of the operation. This is a superb book; written as only Martin Middlebrook knows how - and is a wealth of information about the fighting at the sharp end. I have long been fascinated by Operation Market Garden (and indeed, airborne operations in general) and this is a very welcome addition to the library.
The price? Well, the Airfix title was 20p and the other two came in at 50p each!
The next three titles were purchased with the sole intention of offloading via ebay or some such. That is not to say I am not interested in the subject matter - far from it - but I really do not need another distraction and have only recently disposed of that portion of the library. The books are Folio Society editions of John Prebble's Culloden, Glencoe and The Highland Clearances. All in hardback and in the slip cases. One of the index pages in the Culloden title is a little creased but other than that they are in pristine condition. I must confess to liking the idea of a Jacobite Rebellion set up but am no more likely to paint up the kit for it than to fly to the moon so it is a non starter. The three titles cost me £1 in total and I am reckoning on easily getting that back - probably sufficiently to finance the Balkan Wars set up I am hankering after.
The final book I picked up is not really a military book although I suspect most readers will see why I did so. The book is an omnibus version of Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations by R.C.Bell. This book describes a whole raft of boardgames from around the world with their history and the variants thereof. I often think that perhaps our long distant forefathers had the right idea with games - simple mechanics and usually played on some form of grid. I am feeling a little deja vu at this point........................;-)
This little gem came in at 50p so my expenditure for the both days was the outrageous sum of £2.70 - now thats a bargain!
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