Hobby Heroes' Salute

This blog post is my tribute to the heroes of the hobby who I managed to meet at Salute 2019.

For me there are three critical elements that make up a wargames show: great games, great products, and great people.  Now, if you're interested in what happened at Salute, I'm sure you will have already seen picture of the games on show, and the fabulous hauls of loot that people acquired.   Instead of these I am going to focus on some of the people I met.  These people are all wargame heroes who keep me inspired through the long lonely evenings at the paint table.

Why selfies?  As I first discovered many of these people on social media it just seemed appropriate to join the mobile phone generation.  Also, as you'll see, I've taken very few of these before and I like a challenge :-).

Kicking off is Phil from the South London Warlords.  A massive thanks to all of the South London Warlords who help organise the show.  A super efficient set-up, as well as friendly and helpful bunch.  All working away behind the scenes to keep the whole thing running smoothly.  You may notice in the background my fellow FOGH, Paul (aka Smiley), who did his best to photo bomb every selfie!   Paul also deserves a big thank-you for being my co-pilot and chief navigator to and from ExCel, as well as all round top bloke.

Any Beasts of War / On TableTop fans out there are sure to recognise the following threesome: Justin, Gerry and Ben.  I must have spent hundreds of hours watching these guys on YouTube.  It was great to bump in to them and have a quick chat about our game.  I have lost count of the games I have learned about watching their play-throughs, or the products and kick starters I have been introduced to.  I'm sure I must have seemed a complete wally as all I could say when I saw them was "you're off the telly!".  If you don't know who they are then rush to their site here: https://www.beastsofwar.com/ .  Thanks BoW crew!

If you have collected figures to play English Civil War games then you will have seen figures from Bicorne Miniatures.  James is the convivial boss at Bicorne, and we both served, many years ago, as pikemen in Sir Gilbert Hoghton's Regiment, a Sealed Knot Royalist outfit.  It is always great to catch up at shows, but a bit scary that James' has kids the age we were when we first met!  Where did all of that time go?  Check out Bircorne at: https://www.bicorne.net/ .  We had a lot of Bicorne figures on the table at Salute.

Now,  in the shining galaxy that is the Too Fat Lardies team, Sir Sidney Roundwood must be the brightest star!  I am a huge fan of the Lardies Oddcast, hosted by Sir Sid, as well as the Too Fat Lardies clever rules systems.  It was a real honour to catch this selfie, and also to chat about Lutzen to Sir Sid.  As well as hanging about with Big Rich and Nick, Sir Sidney also has a great blog here: http://sidneyroundwood.blogspot.com/ .  A constant source of inspiration for painting and playing with toy soldiers. You can catch all things Lardy here: https://toofatlardies.co.uk/

More old pikemen from Sir Gilbert Hoghtons.  Funny how so many of them now work in the wargames industry!  If you have marveled at a beautifully sculpted artillery piece, or wondered at an amazing tank model, then you have probably beheld the amazing work of Tim (aka Aardvark), on the left.  Just don't ask him about the Queen!  There are not many wargamers who will not have seen Big Ben from 4Ground in the centre here.  To the FOGH he will always be Mungo, the one man pike block.  I am still dazzled by the products that 4Ground release, and I can't quite believe that the mdf is pre-painted - such wizardry.   They also make my favourite trees on the market!  See them here https://www.4ground.co.uk/deciduous-woodland

I am a complete newb to this Blogging business, but I have followed Ray's blog for years.  As well as having a great blog himself, he is also massively supportive to others in the Bloggosphere, including me.  Thanks for keeping me going, Ray!   It was great to meet Ray in person and discuss the finer points of garden sheds :-) .  Long may your blogging continue.

Please be upstanding for the boss!  The man who has led me in to more pike pushes, and pubs, than anyone else.  The terror of Parliament pike-blocks, John is also the joint owner of Warlord Games.  A card carrying FOGH, John is the man responsible for plastic ECW figures!  Who would have thought such a thing would ever happen?   Warlord are not only a powerhouse in the industry, but willing to share their passions with the world.  I can't imagine many companies investing in a 1/300 ship game.  Warlord are also "keeping it real" by stocking Humbrol paints at last.  Check out Warlord's Thirty Years War Range here: https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/thirty-years-war-1618-1648  .  I will be re-stocking up the lead mountain soon ;-)

If you like games with hordes of beautiful 28mm figures then you must have seen Simon's games.  If you have been to any shows in the UK then you will also have seen his signature Hawaiian shirts!  I have followed Simon's Big Red Bat site for ages, and his ECW armies are a continuing inspiration. How does he get so many flags in his units?  If you haven't already, then you should check out his To the Strongest / For King and Parliament rules, along with his innovative basing system, here: https://bigredbatshop.co.uk/

If Sweden has wargaming royalty then Michael must be one of them.  Co-author of Pikeman's Lament and the new Rebels and Patriot rules from Osprey.  Michael has a fabulous blog at https://dalauppror.blogspot.com/ and his multi-national team put on another fabulous game at Salute this year, Danholm 1807 (winner of the Salute best historical game!).  Micheal's blog is a great resource, especially for anyone interested in 17th Century European conflicts.  It was a real pleasure to meet Michael and some of his team at Salute and to get the Swedish perspective on Gustav Adolf and Lutzen.  Anyone for a Gustaf Adolfsbakelse? ;-)

The Warlord Pike and Shotte rules are definitely my favourite for this period, and so I am always delighted when I can tempt the rules author, Steve, over to our game.  Steve is part of the Warlord Games powerhouse-team, and so therefore a key ally in persuading boss John to get more 17th century toy soldiers in to production.  Did anyone say "more Poles"?  Steve is also a dab hand with the paint brush and the cabinets at Warlord HQ usually have some of his lovely toys on display.

Author, blogger, pod-caster, editor and general wargames bon viveur, Mr. Henry Hyde!  A real  honour to spot Henry at our table.  Henry was also the person who gave me the best tips on how to take Selfies :-) .  Thanks, Henry, for reducing my double chins in this picture!   Looking forward to his new book, apparently finished the night before Salute.  I can't believe anyone doesn't already know his site, but just in case, check out Battlegames here: https://henrys-wargaming.co.uk/ .

When people were looking at our game one of the most frequent comments was "great flags".  All of our TYW flags were from Flags of War, and so it was a very pleasant surprise when Iain, who runs Flags of War, turned up at out table.  Not only do his flags really pop on the table, but his service is super fast.  I also picked up some Highanders from his recent Kickstarter campaign.  Very nice!  See them and the amazing flags of all periods here:  http://www.flagsofwar.com

At the time of posting the Terrain Tutor is absolutely storming his Kickstarter for the Terrain Essentials book.  It funded in the first seven hours!  There are lots of great terrain tutorials out there, but what sets Mel part for me is the effort he puts in to explain the materials used.  Understanding paint, PVA, foam etc. makes all of the difference.  He also puts his heart and soul in to his channel.  An incredibly dedicated teacher.  I can't wait for his book.  I am sure it will quickly become the terrain makers bible.  Go sign up here:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1560579763/terrain-essentials .  It was great to grab a picture with Mel on his Salute tour.  All of the FOGH are Mel fans ;-) .   Big thanks to Jase for taking the picture!

Of course, I also need to say thank you to all of my fellow FOGHers! The whole team here were happy to give up their time to come and help with the game.  Having a big crew of us really helped us  share the work around.  We were able to have some people play the game, some people chat, and some people take a turn to look around the show.

From left to right: Charles, Clive, Andy mk1 (me!), Steve (aka Bruce), Andy mk2, Tony, Paul (aka Smiley).  The end of the day and still smiling; I salute you all!

If you admired our fine new club shirts then you need to contact Debs at Saddle Goose Designs.  She provided a fabulous service and coped with all of our strange requests.  Without doubt the best shirts we have ever had - highly recommended!  https://www.saddle-goose-designs.co.uk

So a final big thank you to all of these hobby heroes who keep me entertained, inspired and playing wargames.

Until next time.