It finally happened, I went to a show!!!
Last weekend was Salute 2020 2021. The first wargame show I have been to in two years and two months. Yep, I have been counting. So, how was it? Well I had fun, the Distinguished Opponent (Brother in Law) and I set off super early on Saturday morning and made excellent time on our journey. Entry to the Excel centre was by proof of vaccination or negative Covid test which made it feel safer and the venue had also announced they had completely replaced their air conditioning system with something much more powerful. (This was very apparant as the usual afternoon "fug" of lots of hot bodies in an enclosed space did not happen at all unlike previous years.) We arrived so early they hadn't even opened up the queueing hall when we got there.
Once inside we headed straight to Mantic Games for a promised free sprue for early visitors although their marketing ploy seemed to work its magic as I somehow got hypnotised into buying a box of halflings. I have been looking to build an army of them for Dragon Rampant rather than use the existing regiment I have as part of a human army and the Wardog riders rather appealed.
A visit to Perry Miniatures (the brothers themselves sadly at the very last minute couldn't attend) and a look at some three ups of some Russians coming soon. The Distinguished Opponent and I had also earlier picked up signed copies of the newly released rules The Silver Bayonet, so of course I had to persuade the Brother in Law to buy some Perry Plastics.
Many other bloggers have commented on how quiet it was this year, the combination of Covid and Brexit keeping away our European friends, meant that visitor numbers did seem to be down, but one thing that I did miss was the demonstration games, there really was a very minimal number of games on show. I completely understand everyone had their reasons, however it did mean I wasn't as enthusiastic as I should have been at taking photos of those that were there.
This photo was taken just before lunch.
The day was far from a disaster though, those that were in attendance seemed to have had a good day. I am just a sole blogger in the infinite interwebs so don't hear all that is said, but from the various traders and punters I have spoken to or read their post reports, some traders had a quiet day, others did a roaring trade. I think those that did attend had missed shows so much their enthusiasm made up for the absentees.
The tables I did get photos of are as follows:
The Whitehall Warlords present Return to LV426.
I particularly liked the troop transport parked outside waiting to whisk away any escaping victims.
Loughton Strike Force with their Stalingrad table using O group rules.
It is hard to make out but the building had LED effects in the interior for fire effect.
Bug Hunt, a rather fun looking participation game
The World of Anyaral from Twilight Miniatures. This table particularly impressed me with the sheer scale of the build. My photos are but a fraction of it.
The Society of Ancients present the Battle of Paraitacene. I just love seeing the mass ranks of troops at smaller scales.
If you want to see a lot better photos (volume and quality) may I suggest popping over to see Ray's blog here. (Make sure you come back!) Talking of Ray, I managed to meet up with a few fellow bloggers for a chinwag and you can see a photo of us over here. I'm the handsome chap in the red jacket at the back on the left. I had a lovely chat with Kyle from Mr Lee's Minis and will certainly be taking him up on his printing services in the near future.
I picked up a few other bits and bobs. My youngest is currently into Lord of the Rings and so I was on strict instructions to keep an eye out for any models. I think I did quite well, a Legolas, Boromir, Witch King and even a metal Balrog at a reasonable price. Of course some of you dear readers may remember trying to put one of these together when they first came out. The sheer weight of lead in those wings make it want to pull itself apart. I've really given myself a project here.
There were some new faces as well as the old at the show with new ideas. I had a chat with the guys from Leaden Lens. They will employ their photography skills for a price to make your painted models look good. Even if you aren't a professional standard painter apparantly!
Oh and I mustn't forget to show you the result of my speed painting I took part in if you havent already seen in on Facebook. This is the second time we have done this and I have to say it is quickly becoming the highlight of the day. 20 minutes to paint a model (this year with freshly hygenic brushes and palletes each round) and all the fun banter that goes with it. Props to the Eavier Metal guys for running this all day each year, they make it really great fun.
