Tag Archives: Salute

Historical, Salute 2023, WW1, WW2

Salute 2023 – World at War

May 22, 2023 Subedai 13 Comments

Kicking off the World War I and II coverage is a pseudo-historical game in Mark Copplestone’s ‘Little Soldiers’ inter-war setting, staged by the Cornwall Wargames Association. If I understood/remembered correctly, the rules used were an adaptation of the Memoir ’44 boardgame.

Moving on to the ‘real’ war, 1/72 Wargames recreated a section of the Kaiserschlacht 1918 with the 36th Ulster division under German attack.

The Zagory Rebellion by Cornwall Wargames Association

Hugo’s Heroes created scenarios during World War II inspired by classic Airfix model sets from the 1960s, and brought some of the original plastics along as well.

The Retired Wargamers Reloaded had constructed a massive and beautiful board for a 15mm scale battle around Carentan 1944 using Rapid Fire rules.

Eagles and Lions at Carentan by Retired Wargamers Reloaded

The Lard Zone had its debut at Salute this year, and WWII was well represented by games of Chain of Command.

Holding Oosterbeek 1944 by Nick Skinner and Rich Clark

Historical, Horse & Musket, Salute 2023

Salute 2023 – Horse & Musket

May 13, 2023 Subedai 8 Comments

After Ancients, the second period of wargaming that usually makes tabletops buckle under the sheer weight of lead is Horse & Musket.

A number of prime examples of this were on show again at Salute 2023, starting with the Battle of Domstadtl 1758 by Ardhammer Group. The unusual aspect of this game were the flat figures, giving the game a suitably old school feel.

Crawley Wargames Club put on Ferocious Fighting at Ferozaphur 1845, fielding the East India Company against the Sikh Khalsa Army in 15mm scale.

Ferocious Fighting at Ferozaphur 1845 by Crawley Wargames Club

The Battle of Austerlitz 1805 was the theme for a 28mm game of Command and Colours by The Old Guard.

The Battle of Austerlitz 1805 by The Old Guard

Warlord Games presented their Pike and Shotte Epic Battles figures and terrain for the Thirty Years’ War and English Civil War of the 17th century.

Pike and Shotte Epic Battles by Warlord Games

The Wyre Forest Gamers and Roll a One blog brought the fruits of a lockdown project for charity, during which 50 wargamers each painted a base of 6mm figures to make up two imaginary 17th century armies.

17th century fictional battle by Wyre Forest Gamers

Hugo’s Heroes staged the Battle of Oravais 1808 in 6mm for a strategic view and in 28mm for the decisive clash of arms.

The Battle of Dirschau 1627 by The Friends of General Haig was fought over a battlefield with beautifully executed terrain features.

Stunning terrain recreating the frozen Thames and old London Bridge in the 1650s provided the backdrop for the London Wargaming Guild’s Cold Doings in London.

Cold Doings in London by London Wargaming Guild

The Death Ride of Gustavus Adolphus 1632 by The Officer’s Mess honed in on a specific course of events during the Battle of Lützen.

Last but not least and somewhat pushing my definition of the era, Too Fat Lardies launched their latest offering What a Cowboy!, a game of gunfights in the Old West.

Ancients, Historical, Renaissance, Salute 2023

Salute 2023 – Ancients & Renaissance

May 8, 2023 Subedai 11 Comments

Salute 2023 marked the 50th time that the South London Warlords put on their wargames show this April. Public attendance was strong though it is clear that the event is now unfortunately only a UK show, with companies and clubs from continental Europe sadly missing.

Colourful spectacles from ancient times were put on by To The Strongest!, the Society of Ancients (sorry I couldn’t find info about the actual battle being staged) and Miniatures Wargames Magazine. Strength & Honour is a new system for 2mm scale battles, presented at the show by its author with the Battle of Cannae.

Battle of Leuctra 371 BC by Jon & Diane Sutherland with Miniatures Wargames Magazine

Strength & Honour with the Battle of Cannae 216 BC by Mark Backhouse

Skipping over the Dark and Middle Ages this year, Masterstroke Games showcased their new ruleset Force of Virtue while Wargames Illustrated put on a game of Never Mind the Billhooks during the Italian Wars.

Never Mind the Billhooks by Wargames Illustrated

Fantasy, Salute 2020/21, WW2

Salute 2020/21

November 15, 2021 Subedai 13 Comments

Salute was a bitter sweet event this year. My main motivation for attending has always been to be impressed and inspired by the gaming and display tables, with shopping opportunities as a bonus. This year I had a shopping list, consisting largely of new rules systems (Oathmark, Stargrave, Gaslands Refuelled), a box of Fireforge peasant zombies for my necromancer to summon into his Warhammer 8th edition army, plus the obligatory new KR case to carry the latest forces I managed to paint.

All that purchasing luckily distracted from the lack of photo opportunities. For some years now the number of jaw dropping displays has been steadily declining, and this year they fell off a cliff. My respect goes out to anyone who manages to build and bring a table full of terrain and opposing forces to a wargaming show, especially as a club effort without any related rules or miniatures to sell. Still, the amount of empty floor space due to missing traders, and worse, tables that had been set up but remained vacant on the day, didn’t inspire my photo journalistic fervour of previous years. Therefore I only took some snapshots of two displays in attendance.

The first was created by the Loughton Strike Force, who are consistently bringing amazing looking games to Salute. Their ‘Stalingrad – Fire on the Volga’ was played using the new ‘O’ Group set of battalion level WWII rules. You can see many more photos of it on their website.

Stalingrad - Fire on the Volga by Loughton Strike Force

The second display that stood out to me featured World of Twilight. The creators have been attending Salute for many years, and I always enjoy looking at their unique miniatures and terrain. I believe this year was the first time they brought a ‘full size’ table, with lots of buildings and little vignettes.

World of Twilight by Twilight Miniatures

I guess next year, with the show scheduled to be back in its regular April slot, will tell what the new normal for Salute is going to be.

Colonial, Historical, Salute 2019, WW2

Salute 2019 – World at War

April 14, 2019 Subedai 6 Comments

Gringo 40s put on a colonial game at Salute 2019 in the unusual setting of the Tonkin Campaign. In a combined naval and land action, French troops and their allies went up against the Black Flags.

Colonial French in naval and land action against the Black Flag Army — Tonkin 1885 by Gringo 40s at Salute 2019

Ardhammer created a battle on the ‘Highway to Hell – the Road to Nanjing’ during the 2nd Sino-Japanese War in 1937.

Battle on the road to Nanjing — Highway to Hell by Ardhammer at Salute 2019

TooFatLardies presented ‘Malaya 1942’ using their Chain of Command rules, pitching Australian forces versus Japanese. Thank you undeadhighelf for the close-up shots.