Well it happened. The big show of the year, Salute. We set off super early in case of mishap. The Distinguished Opponent grumbled about the early start, then on the way our train broke. Luckily it was a quick ten minutes stop whilst the driver turned the train off and on again and we carried on our journey. Whilst in the humongous queue to enter the show Distinguished Opponent made another ironic declaration as I wondered aloud if I would be able to see anyone I knew within sight. He barely finished his sentence declaring he would know no-one when a chap behind us in the queue called out his name. A customer from the Distinguished Opponents day job then joined us in conversation until the doors opened.
Above you can see me posing in front of the glass cabinet containing my entry for the painting competition to prove I actually didn't chicken out and did submit my Viking. You can see how excited I am as I am yet to discover that I sadly didn't place at all in the competition. I didn't expect to, there were a lot of entries a lot better than mine, but I can't lie and say a tiny part of me wasn't disappointed.
You can see my viking there second from the left. By judging this cabinet was full and the category had lots of entries. Further down to the end of the cabinets, the historical section was thinly subscribed which was kind of a reflection of the show. I can imagine many years past when Salute took place in Kensington and Chelsea Town hall and George Lucas had only made one Star War that gentlemen puffed on their pipes whilst leaning over beautifully laid out tables of pewter riflemen. They probably had no time for new fangled Science Fiction and/or Fantasy. Wargaming was a serious endeavour to be partaken of involving endless calculations and careful note taking. I am sure those Gentlemen who I have the utmost of respect for would not recognise some of the hobby these days, but not necessarily for the worse. The hobby is evolving and South London Warlords along with multitudes of gamers and companies put on a great show that reflects these changes. I love the amazing quality of sculpts these days, every year something I see makes me audibly exclaim "wow". 3D printing brings a huge variety to the marketplace with some companies using it to add to their existing ranges larger models that would cost way too much in traditional resin. I find myself left behind and feeling like a grumpy grognard when people use contrast paints and talk about *shudders* slap chop method. (I despise that term, its a made up comedy phrase that people have adopted for an older technique. See now I am getting grumpy myself!) For Salute and the hobby to continue it needs to change and evolve. It isn't just us either. You should see some of the new fangled things people are doing with microchips in the world of model railways.
Attendance seemed to be up again this year after the pandemic dip and I have heard some traders had very good days. I was chatting to a trader who remembered my name and I joked that it was impressive due to the fact that I was a middle aged man with a beard at a wargame show, so definitely not easily identified.
This year however there did seem to be a lot more couples and families (I think 2021 can't be considered normal due to only hard core attendees like myself braving those annoying times to venture out). The inclusion of a panel of Women in Wargaming was a great idea and step forward although it would be a perfect world if we didn't need the specific panel and they were part of all of the panels anyway. There were some great games on display, which I failed to photograph any of due to sheer shopping exhaustion and needing to go home. (I had planned to spend the last part of the afternoon taking photographs.) I can recommend you watch Big Lee's video here to see some shots.
We had an unexpected surprise when we met up with friends from out of town that had brought their kids to the show for the day. They all seemed to have a great time, especially at the speed painting table. (Paint a model fully in twenty minutes, it is a lot less time than you think) I once again gave it a go and I must admit, I wouldn't have picked myself as the winner, but both Distinguished Opponent and I just love doing it as it is such fun.
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| I tried painting his gun like a super soaker as it had that look to it. I painted the base in the last five seconds! |
I loved the canvas rather plastic goodie bags last Salute (I use the bag all the time when out buying lunch) so was a little disappointed it was plastic again this year, however the inclusion of a lovely dice tray instead as well as the commemorative dice and miniature was a great touch.
Distinguished Opponent and I had a great day out (made a lot less stressful due to the new Elizabeth Line getting us across London super quick) and a lot of purchases were made. I make no apologies for the exclamation mark in the headline, Salute is most definitely back!
