Bits and pieces from Salute

 

I was relatively restrained at Salute this year, but that doesn't mean I got nothing. There were bits and pieces in the goodie bag, as usual, and I bought a couple of choice pieces.

The goodie bag had the show miniature and a set of Mantic Abyssal Dwarfs. I didn't have any particular plans for these, so they've both been eBayed.

There were also some magnetic things from Warmag, which I am tempted to try out the next time I do a big Games Workshop project, as their plastics better suit magnetising than KR Multicase foam.

And finally, amid the various advertising leaflets, the goodie bag also included quick start rules for Space Gits.

Actual purchases! I grabbed two Beastmen from Red Dragon Miniatures. I mostly grabbed this for the goat beastman who'll make a great Breggle bandit for Dolmenwood. But I also love the boar headed chap, even if I'm not quite sure what I'll use him for yet.

I got this "Bound Soul" from Four Score Gaming. I'd seen it at Chillcon and had been tempted, but decided to go for it this time. I believe the sculpt is produced by "Illusionary Constructs". It'll get added to my assorted "awful fantasy RPG encounter" pile once painted.

Anvil Industry had this cool 3D printed vampire like creature that I loved and was able to pick up. It was a bit of an impulse buy, but should be a fun paint.

Finally, I picked up this art print from Greyhawk Miniatures. I just loved the cosy vibe of this mouse wizard, so picked it up to add some art to my room.

One quick purchase of a picture frame online, and he now graces the top of my shelves, making them look five hundred percent more delightful.

A bit of a late Salute post

 

Oh. It's, um, June now, and I still haven't written about Salute in April. In my defence, I got distracted LARPing. It was a bit of an odd one - with money being a bit tight and a huge pile of miniatures I'm working through eBaying, it was never going to be a huge shopping trip. I also ended up being an extra pair of hands on the Friday helping Bad Squiddo set up as I'd taken the day off. Seeing the hall empty was very weird. But I wasn't working the stall Saturday - I was a punter with a ticket and everything! 

My old club, HATE (now Hobby and Tabletop Enthusiasts after it was accepted we haven't been in Hackney for years) was running a participation game "Mayhem at the Castle of Choas". The idea was that you made a character out of our club bits box, then joined in the assault on the deadly and chaotic Castle of Choas. As I'm not in London any more I hadn't committed to doing anything to help with this, but I did at one point buy a few sprues to add some extra bits to the rapidly diminishing pile.

It seemed to be popular all day, and I think it helped get the word out a bit that we do have regular club nights, and that we are looking for new members. If you can get to North London easily on week nights, please do check us out.

I stopped by Edinburgh University History and Games Lab, to see my friend Dr James Holloway, who has co-authored a Lion Rampant expansion called "Viking Blood Feud".  They were demoing the game on a part finished table that is eventually going to be displayed in a museum in Iceland. I didn't stay around for the game itself, but helped by rolling up some names and personality traits for the characters in the warbands.

The personalities and names really matter when you're playing a campaign around Viking blood feuds, because it really matters if that unit leader you cut down while he fled is actually the second cousin of the force leader and now he feels honour bound to seek revenge. Historicals are not usually my thing, but I loved the idea of such a narrative campaign.

I also spotted a table who was running a Discworld inspired broomstick racing game. I think this was a promotion for Rapier Miniatures, who have a range of witches on broomsticks. It looked like absolute chaos in the best sense as I was wandering past.

Opposite the Bad Squiddo stand, which was never quiet enough for me to get a photo of, was a table advertising SPRU Convention. This is a new convention starting up in Nottingham, in September 2026. I'm unsure if I can make it yet - it's the week of my dearly beloved's birthday and we have to make those plans before fitting wargaming conventions around them. SPRU is intended to be very indie focused, with the idea being that the small businesses won't pay for tables there - everything is covered in the cost of the tickets - so I really hope it takes off.

This gaming table really caught my eye. It's a demo table for Fractured Sphere by Ludus Vulpes. It's still in development at the moment but they're going to crowdfunding soon. The concept is a set of skirmish rules that can be used for any kind of setting. They had a very normal sci fi skirmish board, and this to prove the flexibility. It's a wild look for a table, and I love the weirdness.

 

I got very excited by these very bougie, very clever modular lights that you can use for painting and crafting. I nearly slipped and bought some but was gently brought down to earth by my dearly beloved. They're produced by GloForce and maybe once the hobby area is fully set up, I may upgrade my lighting set up.

I'm not really a bust kind of person, but Carlo's Miniatures stuff jumped out at me. Didn't get one in the end, but loved some of these.

I also dropped by Fenris Games. These Bronze Age "Great Orcs" have since had a successful Kickstarter campaign. They're not up on the Fenris Games shop just yet, so you may have to display some patience if they're your sort of thing.

Fenris has also picked up a bunch of the old Fogou Models range - particularly the stone huts and this amazing ring fort. (If you liked the corrugated iron shacks Fogou did, I think you'll need to go to Crooked Dice.) The ex-Fogou stuff is up on the Fenris site now, should that be your thing.

All in all, Salute turned out mostly to be a day of catching up with people, seeing what was going on in my hobby and a lot of walking. I keep thinking at these shows I'll take some time to play a demo game or something, and I always seem to run out of time.

Halflings and Weird Lil Guys

 

The Halfling team is finally assembled. Since this photo was taken, I've undercoated both them and the tokens and balls that come with them, but I failed to take a photo and I can't face venturing to the conservatory to take another one. 

Next up are the two Treemen who make the team actually viable to play with. I'll probably look to get something else painted first, just so I've had a bit of a break from Halflings being the main thing on my hobby table!

I got this Krakon Games Shieldkin at "Nottingham Gaming Fayre" last year. Not quite "done over Christmas", but I'm definitely feeling a bit more on the horse.

Also undercoated and ready for paint: Bad Squiddo Guinea Pig Witches. Sculpted by Kinsfolk Miniatures, I'm very excited to get some paint on these.

Finally, I've undercoated this dragon by Mammoth Miniatures. As a bit of an experiment, I gave her a blast of Midwinter Blue as a zenithal over a black undercoat to create some interesting vibes for when I start adding paint with a brush. There's no intent for her to end up blue, but it was sitting there in my box of spray cans and I wondered what would happen.

Next up on the assembly table is a big chunk of metal miniatures I've picked up at various things I've been to - the Gaming Fayre, Lead & Steel, and Salute. As my dearly beloved is allergic to nickel, I'm going to try and get a batch of these assembled and undercoated on a weekend she's away. Pictured are a couple of a "Big Mr Tong" Sample pack from Lead and Steel.

I'm also side eyeing these two critters from Dungeons and Lasers because I got them in the Kickstarter and they don't pack well into my storage boxes, which makes them very tempting as a little side project while I have the plastic glue out for the Treemen.