Salute is most definitely back!

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.

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 also got to meet up with some fellow Bloggers at the traditional lunchtime Bloggers meet. It was great to meet up with Tamsin (Wargaming Girl) and Big Lee (Miniature Adventures ). I got to meet a couple of people I usually listen to via Podcasts too, Yarkshire Ken and Guy and Jasper from Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine (or podcast)

I'm hiding at the back in the black cap.

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!

Salute 2023 Preparation

 It's crept up on us again. Although there was no Salute last year, instead the last time I went to the Excel centre with the Distinguished Opponent (Brother in Law) was in November 2021 for what was officially Salute 2020. I am currently drinking from a mug I bought whilst there that says Salute 2019 (they are reduced to clear the next year) so I wonder sometimes if I even know what year it is now. Are you still with me?

So, anyway what I am trying to say is blimey, it's time to go to London again already. Distinguished Opponent will be coming, but Illustrious Opponent unfortunately has another engagement that day. Previous years for Salute I have traveled in quite a group, but it will probably just be the two of us. I will hopefully bump into some fellow bloggers and Analogue Hobby challengers on the day though and see some familiar faces. I have also bravely taken the step of changing my Facebook profile picture to a shot of myself rather than something I have painted for that one in a million chance that one of my social media followers might recognise me. (It all feels a little uncomfortable all this self promotion, but you have to push yourself sometimes don't you?)

 

 

Showing the full results of my painting during the Analogue Hobby Challenge

 Regular readers will know I like to go through the list of traders in advance of attending a show (see here ) here are some of my highlights I am looking forward to.

https://archon-studio.com/

They make great plastic kits that look nice and fit together lovely. I am addicted to painting their Masters of the Universe range so I will probably pick up some more from them.

They are just a joy to paint

 

 

https://www.blackscorpionminiatures.com/

They always have excellent quality sculpts, my particular favourite being their Old West range. They are slightly heroic in style rather than realistic, but they look good.

https://www.bluegiantstudios.co.uk/

Blue Giant sell Atlantis miniatures, the most stunning being the range of dwarfs. They do fall within the category of "that looks cool but wouldn't fit in with anything else I have" but as I am painting more now just for the love of painting, why not.

https://www.crocodilegames.com/

Back in the annuls of time at one my early visits to Salute I picked up some Spartans from Crocodile Games. I had probably recently seen the film 300 and they seemed cool. I have recently started expanding them into more of an army for something like Dragon Rampant or Gods and Mortals. Therefore it might be worth another visit to maybe grab some of their Amazons.

https://hfminis.co.uk/

I love Hasslefree Miniatures. They have beautiful sculpts. I know they have had some issues, bad luck and illnesses. I am sure they will have some great new models I haven't seen that I will need to grab though.

https://www.mitchesmilitarymodels.co.uk

Lastly, not really for myself but for the Distinguished Opponent to visit. He doesn't know it yet but when he reads this he will. This company does some great looking 75mm scale models and the Father in Law will probably want us to pick something up from these guys once he has read this too. 

 

Previous years we have had a go at speed painting and that is now a must. It will be the third time so that makes it tradition, right? I am also sticking my neck out and entering something in the show painting competition (caveat, I may still chicken out so don't take this as a definite decision.) I fully don't expect to win anything or even place, but I'm embracing the adventure of it all. Some people go bungie jumping or white water rafting, this is my level of adrenaline kick.

So, if you are attending Salute too, I hope you have a great day, if not, have a great day anyway. I will try and remember to take some photos, I can't promise I won't forget half way through the day from having too much fun. I'll let you know how my day went when I get back.

Salute to your Captain

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Wandering about we found a Spitfire and a Hurricane by the seating area, I can only imagine that a lot of effort went into arranging these to be displayed, so props to the South London Warlords for the effort.

 

 

 

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.