So the journey began, as journeys often do, with the boarding of the proverbial horseless carriage from Stockport... sun was shining, wind wasn't too cool so the day was good.
Only a slight delay so ended up at the Docklands for 1 o'clock before heading to the Ibis hotel...couldn't book in as too early so left my bag and headed off to Tottenham Court Road to meet the infamous Mafu Street, artiste extraoadinaire.
Quick frowny pose as didn't get the normal obligatory Tower of London (although see at the bottom for the return journey one.. hate to disappoint everyone!)
6th floor at the hotel!
An afternoon with Mafu Street... we passed this gem;
Turkish grill... very nice food. Can't remember the name of the place unfortunately.
No alcohol licence so had to pop a few doors down to the Co-Op... very convenient (every pun intended)
More icons!
Finally got into the room at 8 and put my head down for 5 minutes... woke up again at 3am... doh!
Decided to hit the breakfast buffet (£14). Out of most things when I arrived so I grabbed so very nice sausages and scrambled egg for a starter along with a perfect croissant.
Second breakfasts?
And so it begins...
Excellent programme as always giving details of trade stands / participation games etc. You could probably get it in advance by buying Miniature Wargames but I've been a shopping hermit for the last couple of months.
The show mini was a Paul Hicks' sculpt of Lt. Col. James MacDonell. There's always a solitary die. Surprised there wasn't the usual sticker on the bag for the sculpt. Should bought a few more dice as you can never have too many. There were a few of the previous year's minis for sale at £3 a pop although free if you spent £25 or more at the South London Warlords' (SLW from now on!) stand.
The 3D printed door stand was available separately for £3 so I had to get one. It's a nice little vignette.
There was a sci-fi figure available as a STL file but it's not really my thing...
My first job when I walked in was to take some painted 'MAGA' henchman and flying saucer to the Frothers' participation game so I started at the far ended and worked my way up ad down the aisles - pictured might be rather random of course!
Offensive Miniatures has this simply superb crew for the German 88mm (the gun is from Rubicon Models; https://rubiconmodels.co.uk/) work in progress...
Got a freebie printed mini but I've lost their card. Anyone know?
Talos Miniatures had some lovely sculpts in various scales out;
Was this their freebie in the bag?
The new Wargames Atlantic / Osprey Publishing sets were very tempting but I was on a severely limited budget this time.
Stunning Zeppelin game.
Some simply wonderful printed scenery from Beowulf Miniatures. The attention to detail is superb.
Crooked Dice never cease to amaze...
The Perry Twins in action. The stall as usual was busy throughout the day.
Sneak preview with painted 3-ups.
Walls by Dicky Boyd Builds.
Archon Studios plastics are a bit good...
Zinge Industries are going from strength to strength...
Re-enactments were a little on the scarce side compared to other years but the quality was fantastic.
Warlord Games having a great day...
A tribute to the late Paul Sawyer. A sadly missed gamer and family man.
Trident Futureworks... display cases so not sure what the titan is about but it's great!
Fan made rules and minis...
Chronopia is back! I collected a bunch of the old minis before they went under. Nice to see the system back again.
Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers minis are quite simple lovely! Michael and Jo Lovejoy and the people behind this and need to be encouraged!
Loughton Strike Force ran Warsaw 44, a stunning 28mm game of the Warsaw uprising.
Retired Wargamers Reloaded put on this visually stunning 'Götterdämmerung Berlin 1945' game. More on Beasts of War;
Ontos Games have these lovely minis based on a game I can't think of...
Bushido!
Mammoth Factory minis... bt nice
Playtesting 'Lust for Glory'.
Not sure who ran this great looking 'quintessentially English' game...
Battletech gaming still going (very) strong.
Jason Salkey signing Share memorabilia. He's a Salute regular now.
Crypt Hulk, a lovely play on the GW Space Hulk, by Ashford Gaming Club.
'Tarati's Castle', again by Ashford Gaming Club.
Parabellum Miniatures...
Back to Offensive Miniatures... based somewhere in my locality I believe.
https://www.wargameruk.com/ proucing some very tempting stuff indeed.
I'm sure I backed the Kickstarter for their '1666' game. Must pop into the attic at some point!
Gamer's Grass. Lovely stuff.
Wonderful work in progress 1918 game. The miniatures are really nice (better pics at the bottom)
Currently on Kickstarter and already doing well.
Freebie mini. Very nice for a print. These things are getting better and better.
Annie from Bad Squiddo games runs many of these sort of great participation tables.
Duncan Rhodes (the paint man!) doing minis... whatever next!
Geronimo of Fenris Games had a very busy stall... got a couple of pics but he was swamped most of the day.
Bad Squiddo display pieces... top notch work all round.
Alchemist Models had some really nice printed pieces on display.
Renedra... what more is there to say!
Lovely walls by Dicky Boyd Builds.
Advance showing of minis...
Dungeons & Lasers... very cool.
A lot of people making their own bases here... I should have gone back later but, memory being what memory is etc etc. Great idea by Gamers Grass.
A worthwhile place to purchase old bits and pieces, The Institute of Cancer Research. I picked up a small bag of Mithril Miniatures that were rather battered and forlorn... I'll clean them up and try and raise some more for them via the Mithril Facebook page. Pic of them immersed in degreaser below.
Can't remember whose these were...
Piracy by the Cornwall Wargame Association.
Various games... some lovely painting and effort put in.
Pendraken Miniatures do some lovely 10mm stuff.
Models For Heroes.
"Models for Heroes is a charitable organisation that support the Armed Forces and Emergency Services personnel in the UK. We improve the lives of our bravest by providing a meaningful activity that promotes well being, skill development and social interaction."
Kitbash Corner...
Colin Mathieson touting his wares.
Not sure who made this but it's rather nice!
Fantastic Starship Troopers game. Would you like to know more?
Ged at Gringo 40's was kept busy throughout the day. They have some cracking sculpts.
TT Combat Dropship Commander plastics...
This looked a hoot! TT Combat...
Judge Dredd...
Have a break and paint!
Carnevale minis from TT Combat...
TT Combat Rumbleslam miniatures and game belw...
UK made dice! To be encouraged folks!
Mammoth Miniatures going strong. Love their Planet 28 game.
A great tribute to the late Bryan Ansell. It still feels weird that he's not about. Mate Iain extolled the joys of the Laserburn game
SLW large scale Lord of the Rings game.. John Treadaway sitting at the back on the right.
Hobby Heroes chats. Well attended.
I couldn't get close to the painting competitions whenever I passed however this little one caught my eye...
Warhammer 40K in action...
The world of Anyaral comes to life... I remember the early days of this one. Lovely minis and fantastic background fluff.
Foundry always in attendance... don't forget the annual Bring Out Your Lead is on again this year.
Worth a visit if only for the food!
War of the First Coalition...
Battlezone game from Brigade Models put on by Maidstone Wargames Society. A tabletop version of the old arcade game from the 80's.
Continental Wars Society. The Battle of Gurguljat. Serb-Bulgarian War of 1885... how to stop the Serbian regular army advance on Sofia. Always an excellent game and display. In true 19th Century fashion, they do not have a web presence as such however John Boadle's wonderful blog has contact details for membership etc
Eureka Miniatures... lovely fellows from over the waters. The chaos range is absolutely sublimes and very Hieronymus Bosch...
I so wanted these but my pathetic budget had already gone on travel costs... oh, and food and beer.
The Barons' War.. Footsore Miniatures have possessed the soul of Paul Hicks who is sculpting multitudes of minis for them... you want halflings as well?
And then we have Quar... I got mine years ago when they first came out in metal, now c/o Wargames Atlantic in plastic. Very popular range!
Sarissa Precisions new Tollingchester range...
Colonel William Gordon's Regiment of Foote... the Sealed Knot with their usual excellent display. Until you've picked these pieces up you don't realise how heavy they were!
Too Fat Lardies, 'What A Tanker'. 'Operation Charnwood'.
Bunny Badger Games 'Mars Defends' game... this is where my MAGA minions and flying saucer were destined for. Pure satire and great fun.
Congrats to the guys!
Geoff at Oakbound Studio - always a great participation game laid on. Sign up below;
Osprey Games hobbit jousting... marvelous. Pete Brown of TAG makes excellent proxy minis as well. If you thought they only did historical then think again. Loads of wondrous pieces.
Some lovely pieces here at Carlos Miniatures' stand.
I thought I'd taken some pics of this game after chatting to the guys but, again, at least the leaflet is there! The spaceship minis were printed and very nice, pure pulp.
Zoontalis from Dice-Heads. Another joy to behold!
Hobby participation. I should have joined in.
I had a £4 coffee but noticed the price of cans... a gentle reminder to bring your own refreshments where possible.
Nice coffee though!
Interesting sculpts here... just on Patreon at the moment I think... you can join for free though.
Rubicon Models... these kits are quit simply superb. I've come very close to jumping in as they bring a total childhood love of tanks back!
Another patreon for Rogue Hobbies (again you can join for free)
Some crazy modelling going on here...
Exalted Funeral's 'Pukapocalypse'
Models for Heroes is a not-for-profit organisation that supplies model kits, materials and model making sundries to mental health organisations and charities around the UK, whilst raising awareness of the mental health benefits of scale modelling.
Troika! game... I thought I'd taken pics but only seem to have the leaflets...
Brigade Models stocking my mate Phil's 6mm sets. Not much in stock on their site unfortunately.
The old Celtos range is so good!
Zinge Industries were doing a roaring trade... couldn't get a
Encounter Terrain.. new to me but very nice...
Can't remember a board but this looks a hoot!
The later 'death of Salute' time as everyone headed home...
I missed quite a lot it seems even with at least 3 walk throughs! If you see some details I've forgotten please leave a comment and I'll update.
I had a little walk around the area once out of Excel. It's quite a pleasant area. Don't think I could afford to live here of course!
The usual Fox pub had closed for a private function (as per last year) which is always frustrating... I had a couple of pints in the Italian Restaurant 'Zero Sette' next door who weren't prepared for an onrush of gamers as they only had beer for the restaurant... as the owner said he wished the Fox had let him know! Highly recommended for the lovely people working there. I didn't eat however it certainly looked good!
I ended up back at my hotel (the ibis London Excel Docklands) for a final pint and a pizza... very nice.
The way home... I finally got my usual pic of me with the Tower of London... one day I'll do a montage of them however today is not that day!
So there endeth the latest galivanting to the old smoke... much fun had and beers drunk. If you've enjoyed the post please think of treating me to a coffee... tis' thirsty work!
