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.

Salute 2026

 

Saturday was Salute at the Excel Centre in London. It was a busy day where I caught up with a lot of folk I've not seen in too long. I'm now back up in Nottingham but have a few work commitments which means I don't really have the time to write a long blog post right now - hopefully it won't be too long before I write a few more words about what I got up to.

A restrained few bits and pieces

 

I had a pretty restrained Salute this year, due to the upcoming move and not wanting to buy things that would just get packed up to come to a new house. Still, I got a nice few bits and pieces that are making me happy.

There were a few freebies in the bag.  There's the metal show mini, which is some historical Napoleonic figure. I'm unsure if I'll convert it for Turnip 28 or eBay it. I can make the decision later. There's a sprue of Quar by Wargames Atlantic, which I will probably make up for Last War. Finally, there's a 3D print of a dwarf or something that should be a good Pathfinder NPC.

I also picked up a couple of freebies off stalls. I got the Baron's War show miniature, which is a plate armoured knight with a mitre, who will make an excellent cleric or paladin for RPGs. The 3D print was to show off YS Masterpieces' sculpting and casting services.

Finally, in one of the shop bargain bins, I found these half price rat swarms. They're meant for Kings of War: Vanguard, but again, I plan on using them for RPGs. I think there's something excellently low fantasy about rat swarms. I have some old GW ones somewhere, and a spare set of the Cursed City set, which I got from a bits seller. That's probably enough rat swarms on balance.

So, all in all, an achievable amount to paint, with only one thing Bought With My Own Money, so I did pretty well on the restraint front.

Two events in a weekend

So, many of the people who follow this blog will be aware of Salute, the UK's biggest wargaming trade show. It was last Saturday, and as usual I went along. But it wasn't the only nerd hobby event going on at the Excel Centre! The Flesh and Blood London Pro Tour was running from Thursday to Sunday in the hall next to Salute. And I went to that as well.

I am very tired.

One of the great things about Salute is meeting a lot of friends from the wargaming hobby. I wasn't buying much, but I saw a bunch of folk, had a nose at various stalls, and saw some pretty cool gaming boards.

The Flesh and Blood Pro Tour had a lot of advertising around the Excel. I'm not sure how many Salute attendees went to get a demo game to see what it was about... I played games there on Friday and Sunday, as well as after Salute on the Saturday, too. I may ramble more about this later, but for now, I'm going to go and have a nap...

Very Modest Salute Purchases

So, last weekend was Salute, and I tried to keep my shopping reasonably modest. We're trying to have a clear out, so it seems like a bad idea to buy loads of stuff without any intent on getting to paint it soon. Lets see how well I did at managing to keep it restrained... A couple of bigger items didn't fit in this photo, so lets cover them first.

First up is the Dungeons & Lasers Dwarven Mine . . . but in this case, it's pre-painted. I've not had time to dig into it just yet, but it looks incredibly promising and I'm stoked to dig into it further.

I picked up some area terrain from Playmats.eu pretty much moments before the show closed. These were pretty cheap and should add to my area terrain for both RPGs and for Infinity.

Between two of these, there's plenty of area covered by two packets. That'd be plenty for a typical 4 x 4 game table alongside other more traditional terrain.

The company Debris of War had a good range of resin terrain, but I picked up a couple of sheets of transfers. I'm pondering adding some graffiti to my Nomad Remotes when I get them painted, and these would be great for that.

On the Infinity front I grabbed the new event exclusive Varangian Guard (plus a second for a friend, which is now winging its way to him). I also hadn't picked up the Helen of Troy limited model when she came out, and I thought another Infinity civilian wouldn't be the end of the world, so I got her two. The Varangian will be heading off to my commission painter for a White Company paint job, but Helen is one for me to paint.

Annie was kind enough to bring some of the Community Miniatures I'd backed down to the show so they didn't need posting. The Community Miniatures project is a Bad Squiddo side project to make historical figures who wouldn't otherwise get made. They get voted on going up for pre-order, then when enough people have pledged a fiver to them being made, they get sculpted and made.

Here's the other Bad Squiddo model - the show miniature! There's a sculpted scull and crossbones on the flag, and it should be a fun paint.

Anvil Industry also produced a 3D sculpted show model, which you could either download, or pay them for a print of. I decided to pick one up at the show as we don't have a 3D printer.

I got some orcs from Forgemaster Miniatures, too. This is another small company 3D printing miniatures, and these orcs looked like a useful set of models for Pathfinder, D&D and so on.

The company Warbases has a new range of minis, called Bifrost Miniatures. I've got a Gnoll wizard planned in Pathfinder, and while Gorrit here is marketed as an artificer, my character comes from the Mana Wastes, so can look a little technological. I'm hoping to get him painted up in time for the UK Game Expo when I'm hoping to get some games of Pathfinder in.

Some nice gentlemen were handing out free sprues of Wargames Atlantic "British Expeditionary Force". I'm thinking of assembling them as a Last War warband. Probably a good opportunity for an unusual paint scheme for otherwise historical miniatures.

A couple more 3D printed miniatures, this time from "Modular Worlds". I got a Leshy, which I'm a big fan of from Pathfinder, and a skink familiar holding a scroll in its tale which is perfect to add some flavour to a friendly NPC wizard.

Only Games was doing a promotional offer where they gave you a model if you signed up to their mailing list. This model is intended for One Page Rules, which I have enjoyed playing the sci-fi versions of.

And finally, the Gaming Vault was giving out little packets of freebies. They're a gaming shop that has a sideline in 3D printing bases.

The freebie packet included a sci fi base and some sweets. Not sure what I'll use the base for, but free is free!

I don't want to let this lot build up, so I'm planning to work through getting these assembled and painted pretty quickly so they all end up done and painted sooner rather than later. I'm not sure how quickly that will be, but I'll give it a shot.

A short Salute post

 

I went to Salute 51 at the Excel Centre on Saturday. It was a pirate themed event, and my friend Annie at Bad Squiddo Games had made the show miniature! I'm super impressed with how far Annie's come with her company, though apparently not impressed enough to take an in focus shot of the show miniature she had made...

Here's the Titan Owner's Club "Titan Walk", playing Adeptus Titanicus in 40K scale. I couldn't get an angle to actually get the whole board in! I didn't put the effort into getting a ton of photos this year, preferring to wander, look at what was about, and pick up a few bits and pieces without going wild.

This was a project to model the Italian town of Gradara in the Renaissance. This is a historical project that was sponsored by the EU and the town in question! They were also cross promoting a renaissance skirmish wargame called "Force of Virtue". It's also absolutely huge, and the photo doesn't do it justice.

That's all I've got on Salute this year. It was good fun but I was hard pressed to think of what to write about it beyond what I've said already about previous years. It remains something I'll attend any year it doesn't clash with Empire LRP.

Mammoth Miniatures

 

During the evenings, I managed to finish up a couple of models by Mammoth Miniatures. I picked these up at Salute last year. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've finished painting something I got at Salute within a year of getting it, so I'm definitely taking that as a sign of growth and improvement...

I'd kind of not been counting the treasure tokens I got done in February as I sold those, and I'm intending on keeping these two. I'm feeling really positive about the pace of painting.

This weird little fellow is described as a Scribe. His face was a little weird, but took contrast paint really well, and I was easily able to dot in some eyes and draw out a few highlights on the skin. The rest of him is a Zandri Dust undercoat, with an Agrax Wash and a heavy drybrush (maybe Typhon Ash)? Then contrast and a light drybrush of Karak Stone.

He's not the most detailed of sculpts, but he has some quirky charm I quite like.

The other model I grabbed was this "Half Dwarf Fighter". His helmet isn't quite in the right place for his eye holes so I thought he was wearing a blindfold at first! I'm classifying that as "quirky charm" too. I think he best suits into a grubby homebrew type system. He feels very much like a grimy 'old school' RPG NPC to me, and Mammoth do produce Brutal Quest. I'm not sure if he's edgy enough for Forbidden Psalm - though I think he'd work if he has some more "out there" companions.

Salute 2021: Bad Squiddo Games

 

In the last of my posts from last year's Salute, I'm showing off the display cases from Bad Squiddo Games. Here you can see an assortment of their fantasy range.

One of the earliest ranges that Bad Squiddo produced were a line of Shieldmaidens. I'm not into my historicals, but I think that they will well suit low fantasy as well.

Here you can see more of the fantasy range, mixed in with some of the Bad Squiddo Scenics. I've got a bundle of these from a couple of the Kickstarters, and I really should knock out a few of them as they look like nice easy paint jobs.

I'm not really into the historical side of wargaming, but Bad Squiddo also do a line of female Soviets.

There's also a nice feudal Japan range, covering a mix of historical and fantasy figures.

Bad Squiddo definitely ambles into the realms of whimsy at times. Due to Annie the owner's "mild" guinea pig obsession, you can pick up a line of angry War Peegs. If you look closely you can also spot a Raging Annie in among them.

This shelf is a bit of a mix. I can spot some of their animals, Amazons, Dwarfs and some scenery.

More of the scenery and fantasy range mixed together to show how they could work in roleplaying games as well as wargaming.

Going through all these different photos, which contain many models I own I haven't even cleaned and undercoated yet, is definitely making me want to go dig through my stash and paint some more up. They're an absolute joy to paint, especially with contrast and washes. They're not super detailed, so you can get them table ready in no time.