Dear Tony Blair: Salute 2019 ....... there and back again.....once again....

Well, that time of year indeed. For the first time I traveled down with my new partner Fiona.....and yes, she was well aware of what she was letting herself in for. The journey down was pleasant, fortunately we arrived at Stockport station early, having decided to walk up rather than grabbing a taxi....my suitcase became a pain and I realised the wheels were on the way out.....grrrrrr..... Anyway, it was a good job we got there early as we were allowed on an earlier train as our own (09:23) was stopping somewhere or another due to some line works or similar....we were soon at Euston and walked over to the British Museum only to find there was nowhere to store suitcases....the signs advise leaving them at the station....forewarned would have been good. Note to self.....research! We gave up on the museum and took the tube to the hotel.....London 1, David 0.

The usual shot by the Tower of London.....less hair and more chin as usual......really need to stop this practice.

The view from the hotel room (Premier Inn)...window was in need of a clean but the view of the airport was pleasant....

The morning of the show......

Fiona modelling our goodie bags....

The show's freebie mini. I had a shopping list for a few of these for various friends around the globe and managed to swap, trade and cajole my way to get enough for them all. Later back at the hotel I realised I had miscounted so didn't have one for myself......the quest is back on!

First step after meeting up with Mark Stevenson (avid Asgard Miniatures' collector) was to drop off the 28 minis I'd painted for the Frothers Unite Brexit inspired game......the scenery looked even better than from the photos I'd seen. Hats off to all involved especially Ben Brownlie and Anthony Waddington.

Brexit dice available here

Anthony had created the cards for the game....the man has some talent!

Various Frothers gathered around the table....

The boys managed to get a first prize for the most innovative game....

Heresy Miniatures continue to produce some incredible sculpts....

An exceptional Flash Gordon game by the Jersey Privateers Club.....a 3 month build out of Lego apparently...

Various Mierce Miniatures pics...they really have to be seen to be believed.

TT Combat had some fantastic deals on the day...I had to resist temptation but was sorely tested...

Archon Studio had samples of their modular magnetic terrain...I'm awaiting my Kickstarter pledge with anticipation...

Dawn of the Apocalypse larger scale zombies were rather nice....

Large resin pieces by Creature Caster....

Oakbound Studio's homage to the old Nick Bibby Spined Dragon....a truly lovely sculpt.

Sculptor and owner Geoff Solomon-Sims. A seriously nice guy with a heck of a wellspring of talent. Do check out his wonderful ancient folklore ranges and rules here. I had a great chat with him but forgot to pick up the new books......doh!

Black Scorpion took a good wad of my cash...lots of new releases including a Salute 2019 mini.

A usual sneaky pic of the Perry Twins deep in conversation with customers.

New world war II GIs looking rather good....an exclusive General George S. Patton and aide for those purchasing a few sets.....

Also some sneaky peak Napoleonic 3 ups for yet another plastic set. These guys are prolific...if only they'd hark back to the good old days of Citadel Fantasy Tribe minis....

https://www.perry-miniatures.com/index.php

Iter Miniatures were new to me...

Fireforge Games showed off some of their upcoming plastics.....very suitable for us Game of Thrones fans.....

Northumbrian Tin Soldier were displaying their wonderfully painted wares......Had a quick chat with David but he was very busy. Fiona and Jayne got on very well which always bodes well!

Highgate Miniatures (to be stocked by Oshiro Model Terrain) have a new Victorian Horror series for their 'Horror in Limehouse' game...check out their blog.

Details below tbc

Wojtek at Warlord showed his new sculpts for various upcoming rulebook releases...

Had a good chat with Phil Hynes at Bears Head Miniatures. I have loads of his minis including the wonderful Narthoks the Excellent bartender....love it.

Shed Games are new to me with a nice selection of sculpts...

Good chat with Chris Nicholls of Macroscosm. He'd unfortunately damaged his Achilles tendon so was stuck in a wheelchair for the event and the next few months.

Mark Elster (middle in the red armour) indulging in a little cosplay for the first half of the day.....

Followed by a little speed painting.....

Various participation games were run throughout the day....

Mantic Games' Hellboy is finally getting out to Kickstarter backers.....hoping to have my copy in the next couple of weeks.

A nice chat with Tim Prow at Diehard Miniatures....their undead Lemmy is a must...get it here.

Images off the Diehard site for their publicity only.

Oathsworn had their lovely Burrows & Badgers miniatures on display with some great scenery...

Well, I missed a lot of stands as usual but had a great time. Fiona enjoyed herself and hasn't run away as yet.......A great show, well organised as usual. The body odour issues were present however thankfully not as overwhelming as other years.......I now need to find next year's date for the diary.
Many thanks to Sarwar of South London Warlords for his miniatures' help at the end, I'm hoping he'll paint up the politicos soon!

The loot.......Simple miniatures Games were having a special on Freebooter minis.....I had to indulge of course....