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Hell Bent For leahter

ausreenactor

Well-Known Member
alabama said:
So ausreenactor, do you have any idea why that Hell Bent for leather is that much.
I have tried to find out thru the internet but can not find any reason. I am waiting to
hear back from Motor books international. If they tell me i will let everyone know.
Cheers.

Can't say? Supply and demand. The Devils Guard is another paperback worth its weight in gold. GREAT
read too. German in the Legion in the Indochina War. Started my last bent on the eBay front.

Couchy..
 

alabama

New Member
This is what Motorbooks had to say
It looks like the book is out of print and some private owners are re-selling their own collector copies, over which I'm afraid we have no control.
Well good luck to anyone who gets rhat much for it.
 

a2jacketpatches

Active Member
This is the first book I bought years ago while trying to learn about Squadron Patches. I remember reading through it several times almost memorizing the info within. Pretty sure it was the only thing available at the time and I also had a borrowed copy of the Eastman Golden Book. Before that, all I had was a tiny catalog from the Cockpit 1980's, it had a small section where a guy was painting Squadron patches, it's what sparked my interest to begin with. I know HBFL not the best, but glad it was there to help my interest grow. Haven't looked at it in ten years so I think I'll list it to see if it pays my rent this month. :)
 

alabama

New Member
a2jacketpatches.
So far its my only book on jackets (apart from Cowboys of the Sky which i dont count), but as i said before i really like the book. I can not rember where or when i got it, but it made me start to paint pachtes so i will not get rid of it,
unless someone offers me the price of a A2 for it.
 

a2jacketpatches

Active Member
You gotta get the others if HBFL did for you what it did for me. Pretty sure you'll get a better deal on them than I did. Probably get used copies for a decent price right here on VLJ or ebay. I bought them as soon as they were available at retail. Anyway, I kept my HBFL copy at least ten years for the same reason, sentimental value, it got me started and I kept it around. But after 10 -15 years of gathering sentimental items, I ended up with about 10 large totes full of books, art supplies, tools, reference photos from before the ease of computer files, you name it. I just moved it all once again to a new house, the 8th time moving in ten years. So now, anything I don't use is getting sold, or going in the trash. Just don't have the energy anymore.
 

ButteMT61

Well-Known Member
Hey, my HBFL is a first-edition! That's gotta be worth tons :lol:

And, BTW, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm sure the pickers of nits will poo-poo it, but it has good pictures and at least some of the info is good...and it got many started on the path to learning, which is what it's all about.
 

a2jacketpatches

Active Member
You got it, back when there was nothing to compare with, there was no nit picking. It was right around the time when I got my first dial up internet connection and a used PC, It was even a chore looking up patches etc. on the web and Ebay, Ebay had just added the option of photos. I remember waiting 20 minutes for the dial up to connect, and a phone call disconnecting me 2 minutes later. And believe me, there was very little info available. I think the 4th reference after the cockpit catalog, golden book, and HBFL, was the insignia issue of National Geographic. To me all those squadrons at once was amazing, I think a collector in Lowell, MA at the early morning swap meet told me about that. All in that 10-15 year back then range. The days of an near mint M-422 for 140-, and I picked up a nice Browning high power with all the right waffen marks for 300-

Oh, and 2 1943 M1 carbines all original but refurbished and bayonet lug added for 600- These were the days, now everyone can easily find just about anything, info or items on the internet. My 2000 plus reference photos and the top dollar prices for militaria are a reflection of that.
 

airfrogusmc

Well-Known Member
ButteMT61 said:
Hey, my HBFL is a first-edition! That's gotta be worth tons :lol:

And, BTW, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm sure the pickers of nits will poo-poo it, but it has good pictures and at least some of the info is good...and it got many started on the path to learning, which is what it's all about.

I agree. Great photos and at the time what was early 1990s there weren't a lot to choose from.
 

Andrew

Well-Known Member
I wanna know why the heck aren't those two kids in ray bans and bad hair do's active forum members now!!! No excuses!
 

ButteMT61

Well-Known Member
airfrogusmc said:
ButteMT61 said:
Hey, my HBFL is a first-edition! That's gotta be worth tons :lol:

And, BTW, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm sure the pickers of nits will poo-poo it, but it has good pictures and at least some of the info is good...and it got many started on the path to learning, which is what it's all about.

I agree. Great photos and at the time what was early 1990s there weren't a lot to choose from.

Good point. Pre-web, there was a lot of effort required to get things like that. I have no idea of knowing what's right or wrong in that book, but that's the same for ANY reference. I just use it and enjoy it. Like my quest for accurate news each day, I visit ~8 sites of all stripes in hopes I get some glimmer of truth in the end...
And, IMHO, if someone is so damn smart, they should write their own book(s) to give the rest of us the correct info!
 

PADDY_M

Well-Known Member
ausreenactor said:
alabama said:
So ausreenactor, do you have any idea why that Hell Bent for leather is that much.
I have tried to find out thru the internet but can not find any reason. I am waiting to
hear back from Motor books international. If they tell me i will let everyone know.
Cheers.

Can't say? Supply and demand. The Devils Guard is another paperback worth its weight in gold. GREAT
read too. German in the Legion in the Indochina War. Started my last bent on the eBay front.

Couchy..

DEVIL'S GUARD is one of my faves in my collection, an absolute classic that I've owned for over 30 years now. Hell Bent for Leather I took to the local charity shop.
 

ausreenactor

Well-Known Member
PADDY_M said:
ausreenactor said:
alabama said:
So ausreenactor, do you have any idea why that Hell Bent for leather is that much.
I have tried to find out thru the internet but can not find any reason. I am waiting to
hear back from Motor books international. If they tell me i will let everyone know.
Cheers.

Can't say? Supply and demand. The Devils Guard is another paperback worth its weight in gold. GREAT
read too. German in the Legion in the Indochina War. Started my last bent on the eBay front.

Couchy..

DEVIL'S GUARD is one of my faves in my collection, an absolute classic that I've owned for over 30 years now. Hell Bent for Leather I took to the local charity shop.

Fully agree. The reference made in the 50s that the level of media coverage is inversely proportionate in a soldiers ability to wage warfare is so true and has only become more prevalent as the decades rolled past. A war 'crime' can be on the internet within minutes for the do gooders to judge. That reminds me of the hard cover The Last Valley by Martin Windrow (Osprey key player). Worth hundreds...

Couchy
 

ausreenactor

Well-Known Member
Peter Graham said:
'Devils guard' sounds great. I'd love to read it. Is it a rare megabucks book ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Devils-Guard-by ... 3a75e20616
$96
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Devils-Guard-Ge ... 33777f8aac
$68
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Devils-Guard-by ... 3a75b712f3
$3!! Get on it...

I just bought this new reprint for $4 plust shipping.
A reprint of the book, but the story is amazing. Great detail on how the French(Waffen SS) took it to the Viet Minh.

Or the first edition $600? What the French...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DEVILS-GUARD-by ... 3f17e648b7

Here is the version I read..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/George-Robert-E ... 46046267e0

Wow...excited! Firstly about the reprint..and the fact I can read it again.

Couchy
 

ausreenactor

Well-Known Member
Well worth four times that price!

Interesting comment from the publisher "The personal account of a guerrilla fighter in the French Foreign Legion, reveals the Nazi Battalion's inhumanities to Indochinese villagers". Not exactly how I recall the Battalion taking the insurgents fight to their support network? Do gooder spin..??

Couchy
 

KevG

Member
Just received Hell Bent for Leather and have Suit Up! on order (hopefully..)

Time for the newbie to read up! (well, look at the pretty pics when Suit Up arrives..)

:lol:
 
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