Salute 2023 : It's Back and it's Big

Yesterday I went along to the Excel exhibition centre in London for 'Salute 50', the 50th occurrence of what must be Britain's largest wargaming show.  The show 'didn't have a good war' in the pandemic - the delayed 2020 show in November 2021 was a bit below par  -  but I think it's fair to say it was back to normal this year. The program listed about 60 games and over 120 traders(!), and I gather over 5,000 people attended,  It was big, crowded and noisy, and hard on the feet and legs! But I enjoyed the day, and there were many really impressive games on display. Of course I took a few ( only about 80 in the end! ) photos, so I can show a selection of the games that interested me. These are more or less in the order I walked around the hall - but I admit the first game I saw was one of my favourites! 

This was a large ( to say the least ) Seven Years War game entitled 'Bread and Beef',  depicting the battle of Battle of Domstadtl ( 1758 ) and put on by chaps called the 'Ardhammer Group' who had come all the way from Newcastle for the event. Around 2500 30mm German Flats using The War Game rules by Charles Grant. Austrian Force attacking a Prussian supply column.  That ticked quite a few boxes! One of the group had spent over 40 years collecting and painting the figures, but never previously used them in a game, it seems. The figures were great  and the guys were freindly, chatty and welcoming, and clearly having a great time - it was all rather lovely, and a really good game to have 'on point' by the entrance to the show. 

Some of the 'Beef' caught up in the fighting

 I managed a few close-ups of the figures, which speak for themselves, I think..

 

proper 'Grant size' regiments

..with artillery support

 

Charge!

And a moment of revelation - in probably over  45 years since first acquiring my copy of Charles Grant's The War Game,  I admit I have never seen one of these (below) in real life.. I was just delighted to see it!

The fabled 'Canister Cone'

 

The guys admitted it was quite a difficult thing to construct ( from wire and solder ), and that they had baulked at doing the 'howitzer circle' in the same material! 

  
Anschluss Publications always put on a nice-looking game with their War on the Ground rules, this time they were in the early days of Operation Barbarossa, 1941 with  German infantry running into Russian armour 

The War on the Ground, Russia 1941

 

'The Old Guard' group staged a game of Austerlitz, 1805 using the Command and Colours board  game system, with 28mm figures and model terrain replacing board and counters, and it looked great! 

Austerlitz using C & C

A simple yet very effective idea, and  especially interesting as  I assume this was pretty much the same C&C Scenario  that I had played last summer at my good friend Dave's place - now then Dave, how about using your Napoleonic figures on the C&C board? 

 

 Warlord Games showed a game using their 'Epic' Pike and Shotte system - the recently-released figures of which some were given away free with Wargames Illustrated magazine.  

'Epic' ECW

Here are some of the figures, in an 'Epic' regiment: 

Cornwall Wargames Association used the new 'Mark's Little Soldiers' for The Zagory Rebellion :A Night at Heidi's   , described as a pseudo-nostalgic game based in Mark Coppelstone's..inter-war world.  It did have a certain look about it - I liked the aircraft, and the all-round shinyness.. I can well see the appeal of the figures.

 Rival ancient Greek phalanxes competed in more ways than one, represented by first  Simon Miller's  giant To the Strongest game  of Ipsus (301 BC)  :

 

"you could have your eye out.. "

and by John and Diane Sutherland's equally gargantuan Command Decision : Leuctra 371BC, Spartans vs Thebans

 

( if you have very deep pockets, it seems the armies from this latter are for sale.. )

 Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden  rode again in The Friends of General Haig's Dirchau/Tczew 1627 game of Swedes vs. Polish-Lithuanians,

.. and went on his 'Death Ride' at Lutzen 1632,  with The Officers Mess 1:1 scale cavalry fight

Hornchurch Wargames Club's Ntombi River Zulus vs. British action  from 1879 had brilliant terrain and figures plus excellent 'dressing up' :

'Zulus, sir.. thousands,,'

 and worryingly few Red Coats defending their supply wagons - I didn't give the Brits much chance! 

Andy 'Lord Callan' (as it said on his shirt ) was running a Never Mind the Billhooks game promoting the new 'deluxe' volume of those rules, on a splendid Italian Wars terrain 

 Another great terrain model was from the ever-inventive Loughton Strike Force, with their Mordheim: chos in the streets 

 

But I think my favourite terrain spectacular came from the London Wargaming Guild with Cold Doings In London, a 1650s Frost-Fayre set 28mm skirmish participation game on and around an amazing model of old London Bridge. Impressive indeed!

 

 

More conventionally, Hailsham Wargames Club's  Bombay Mix Up  28mm Indian Mutiny 1857 game looked nice 

 but I stupidly forgot to photograoh the equally good Crawley Wargames Club  Sikh War 1845 Ferocious Fighting at Ferozaphur. Hopefully others will show that too!

Finally, I liked Wigmore Warriors WW2  big battle spectacular  D-Day landings game, which used three large tables ( I think each base of troops represented a company ) - maybe not quite so pretty, but they were revelling in just being able to use a big space to put on a big game! 

That's about it for my photos, but of course it's nowhere near all the games, there were loads more that I didn't get round to photographing  - no doubt other blogs will show them, if you look around - Big Lee's review  is a good bet! As I think you can see, there was a really impressive set of games on show - thanks and congratulations to all involve in putting them on.

Apart from the games, there is the social aspect, and the shopping, of course... It can feel like anyone who is everyone in the hobby is somewhere among the 5000 visitors, and also every possible trader! For the social side I plucked up courage to attend the 'blogger meet-up' organised by Big Lee - see Bob Cordery's blog for his picture of the assembled bloggers  ( I am the shifty-looking character second from right )  -  I had a good chat with Bob, and David Crook, and was really pleased to make the acquaintance of Rob Young of The Eastern Garrison - good to meet you,  Rob!

There was also a little light shopping - just a handful of  figures ( 15mm 30YW Generals from Essex,  and WW2 British 20mm PIAT and 2inch mortar crews from SHQ ) and no less than 3 different rulebooks - I may have got carried away there!  But not huge expensive ones, I hasten to add. More of those in future posts, I hope. 

I spent at last 5 hours in that cavernous and slightly dimly-lit space before finally emerging blinking into the afternoon sunshine and making my way home, 'tired but happy' - for once the cliched phrase fits just right. Salute is a real 'Marmite' show and I know lots of folk just don't fancy it, what with expense of transport/parking, the somewhat unforgiving environment of the space ( especially on the feet ) and the sheer size of it. I understand that point of view, but I can just about 'hack it', and it feels worthwhile once you're home and able to put your feet up! So that was 'Salute 50', certainly a long way from the old days at Kensington Town Hall, but still worth the trip, I reckon. Thanks to all concerned - next show for me  is ( I hope )  Broadside, at Gillingham in early June - which will be a little more relaxed, I suspect! Keep well, everyone.