After missing last year's SALUTE, I decided to go this year ... and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Thanks to my 'Freedom Pass' (one of the few perks that us over-sixties get), it cost me nothing to get to ExCel in Docklands ... and it took me less than an hour door-to-door, despite the best efforts of TfL (Transport for London) to disrupt my journey.
(TfL had chosen Saturday 20th April to be one of their 'trial' days for the forthcoming Olympics. All the public transport links in East London were switched over to test the timetable that will be used during the Olympics ... and part of my journey was made on part of the DLR [Docklands Light Railway] route that was affected.)
When I arrived outside the hall at ExCel being used to house SALUTE 2012 there was a queue to get in, but it was marshalled well and it took only five minutes for me to get to the desk where I had to pay my £11.00 to get in. Once inside I was struck by how much space the show took up, and how crowded it was.
I then spent the next hour or so walking around and looking at the various games that were on show. What follows is a very selective representation of what I saw.
Adepto mea terra! (Uxbridge Wargames Club)
Ancients Wargame (Newbury & Reading Wargames Society)
The Battle of Antietam (Evesham Wargames Club)
La Der des Der (Les Marie Louise Des Flandres)
Retreat to Corunna (Essex Gamsters)
Falklands War Skirmish (Skirmish Wargames)
Operation Kutusov (1st Corps)
Battle of Ayacocho (South London Warlords)
Into the Hornet's Nest – The Battle of Shiloh (Newbury & Reading Wargames Society)
Battle of Gislikon (Swiss Civil War) ... and The Portable Wargame(!) (Continental Wars Society)
Slowing the Tide – The Baltic War 2009 (Chemins de Feu)
Battle for La Vajol (Victrix)
Siege of Sebastopol (Battlefront Miniatures & Wargames Illustrated)
Danger in Denmark (Deal Wargames Society)
Battle of Grandson (The Lance and Longbow Society)
The Shangani Patrol (White Hart Wargamers)
Sir Henry at Ralinson's End (Gentlemens Wargames Parlour 3)
Brave Little Belgium 1940 (Crawley Wargames Club)
Yom Kippur War (Real Time Wargamers)
The Battle of Sagrajas 1086 (GLC Wargames Club)
The Battle of Komagne (Oshiro Modelterrain)
When The Boat Comes In (Naval Wargames Society)
I also managed to buy some figures ... something that I have not done at a wargames show for some time. They were 20mm-scale Russian World War II figures from the small range manufactured by Dixon Miniatures. I already own some of these figures, and I like their size and, unlike so many figures manufactured these days, they are reasonably anatomically correct!
During my time at SALUTE 2012 I did seem to spend a lot of time talking to friends and acquaintances, including several who blog regularly … The Angry Lurker being one of them. This is one of the reasons why I like going to shows, and I made sure that I got my ‘fix’ of face-to-face communication with fellow wargamers whose opinions and ideas I enjoy listening to.
The highlight of my day was seeing an example of my PORTABLE WARGAME on show on the Continental Wars Society's stand. I actually managed to talk to the gentleman who turned my ideas into such an attractive game – his name is Ian Dury – and he made several complimentary comments about the rules. Furthermore it appears that the game board, figures, and terrain featured on the stand had attracted quite a lot of attention, and he promised to pass on to me copies of photographs that were taken of the complete game board and that were sent to him.
All-in-all, it was a great day out!
Thanks to my 'Freedom Pass' (one of the few perks that us over-sixties get), it cost me nothing to get to ExCel in Docklands ... and it took me less than an hour door-to-door, despite the best efforts of TfL (Transport for London) to disrupt my journey.
(TfL had chosen Saturday 20th April to be one of their 'trial' days for the forthcoming Olympics. All the public transport links in East London were switched over to test the timetable that will be used during the Olympics ... and part of my journey was made on part of the DLR [Docklands Light Railway] route that was affected.)
When I arrived outside the hall at ExCel being used to house SALUTE 2012 there was a queue to get in, but it was marshalled well and it took only five minutes for me to get to the desk where I had to pay my £11.00 to get in. Once inside I was struck by how much space the show took up, and how crowded it was.
I then spent the next hour or so walking around and looking at the various games that were on show. What follows is a very selective representation of what I saw.
Adepto mea terra! (Uxbridge Wargames Club)
Ancients Wargame (Newbury & Reading Wargames Society)
The Battle of Antietam (Evesham Wargames Club)
La Der des Der (Les Marie Louise Des Flandres)
Retreat to Corunna (Essex Gamsters)
Falklands War Skirmish (Skirmish Wargames)
Operation Kutusov (1st Corps)
Battle of Ayacocho (South London Warlords)
Into the Hornet's Nest – The Battle of Shiloh (Newbury & Reading Wargames Society)
Battle of Gislikon (Swiss Civil War) ... and The Portable Wargame(!) (Continental Wars Society)
Slowing the Tide – The Baltic War 2009 (Chemins de Feu)
Battle for La Vajol (Victrix)
Siege of Sebastopol (Battlefront Miniatures & Wargames Illustrated)
Danger in Denmark (Deal Wargames Society)
Battle of Grandson (The Lance and Longbow Society)
The Shangani Patrol (White Hart Wargamers)
Sir Henry at Ralinson's End (Gentlemens Wargames Parlour 3)
Brave Little Belgium 1940 (Crawley Wargames Club)
Yom Kippur War (Real Time Wargamers)
The Battle of Sagrajas 1086 (GLC Wargames Club)
The Battle of Komagne (Oshiro Modelterrain)
When The Boat Comes In (Naval Wargames Society)
I also managed to buy some figures ... something that I have not done at a wargames show for some time. They were 20mm-scale Russian World War II figures from the small range manufactured by Dixon Miniatures. I already own some of these figures, and I like their size and, unlike so many figures manufactured these days, they are reasonably anatomically correct!
During my time at SALUTE 2012 I did seem to spend a lot of time talking to friends and acquaintances, including several who blog regularly … The Angry Lurker being one of them. This is one of the reasons why I like going to shows, and I made sure that I got my ‘fix’ of face-to-face communication with fellow wargamers whose opinions and ideas I enjoy listening to.
The highlight of my day was seeing an example of my PORTABLE WARGAME on show on the Continental Wars Society's stand. I actually managed to talk to the gentleman who turned my ideas into such an attractive game – his name is Ian Dury – and he made several complimentary comments about the rules. Furthermore it appears that the game board, figures, and terrain featured on the stand had attracted quite a lot of attention, and he promised to pass on to me copies of photographs that were taken of the complete game board and that were sent to him.
All-in-all, it was a great day out!
Good post and pictures Bob, a pleasure to meet you again!
ReplyDeleteThe Angry Lurker,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind comment.
It was great to see you as well.
All the best,
Bob
Congratulations, Bob, on getting to see a game using your rules on display! That had to be a very nice "high" indeed.
ReplyDelete-- Jeff
£11???? Really????
ReplyDeleteBlimey, - how much do they make from this show?
Bluebear Jeff,
ReplyDeleteWhat was so nice about seeing THE PORTABLE WARGAME on show was that Ian Dury had not only made such an excellent go of turning my ideas into something so attractive to look at, BUT he had also made sure that the credit for the design was properly and boldly displayed.
A true gentleman who really made my day!
All the best,
Bob
Trebian
ReplyDeleteAccording to South London Warlords, they do not make a profit from running SELWG ... and I am sure that HMRC keeps a close eye on them to make sure that they do not; otherwise they would be liable to pay Corporation Tax on the profits.
What I cannot understand is how they manage to avoid paying VAT, because the annual turnover must be close to the threshold.
All the best,
Bob
Pity I missed you at the show but I did see your Portable Wargame (and accreditation) which was excellent. Great pictures btw!
ReplyDeleteLee Hadley,
ReplyDeleteI did lookout for you and the rest of Postie's Rejects, but the only person I saw was The Angry Lurker.
I thought that Ian Dury did a wonderful job with turning my PORTABLE WARGAME into something that looked so good ... and I am now giving serious thought to trying to do something similar.
All the best,
Bob
PS. Your video about SALUTE 2012 was very interesting to watch, and I look forward to seeing more of your photographs.
Nice photos, thanks for sharing them. The 54mm Victrix was really amazing, and I was lucky enough to get a game, even if I did have to play as the French and subsequently lose.
ReplyDeleteLuke
Masher88 (Luke),
ReplyDeleteThe 54mm figures being used at SALUTE - both in the Napoleonic and Falklands battles - had a quality that made them stand out from everything else that was on show.
All the best,
Bob