Salute 2023 Live Blog!

Hugo’s Heroes are here doing some awesome stuff with a company that I would say a lot of folks tend to have moved away from when it comes to miniature wargaming. Airfix have been making kits for military aircraft, soldiers and more for years now and so it would seem to make sense to play more games using the miniatures they produce.

Well, Hugo’s Heroes are doing just that and have been showing off some classic kits as well as diving into a bit of gaming at the same time, showing off how the miniatures can be used.

As judging continues, this year’s process sees many finalists put back in the cabinets quickly, showing those that ‘Made the cut’ but have not placed…

A very cool table has been set up which is taking things back in time when it comes to the grimdark. Wait, What? have been getting people involved in a bit of Space Crusade as a battle takes place that will have you putting on the rose-tinted spectacles and getting all nostalgic.

There is some stunning terrain on show here that features lots of classic and modern miniatures, duking it out. I have to give a thumbs up for the amount of detail worked into the boards as it helps to build on the atmosphere.

A bit of World War II from the folks at Anschluss Wargames as they have dived into The Price Of Distraction which covers the German invasion of Russia during Operation Barbarossa. This battle has been played out in 12mm with some brutal battles happening between 2nd Panzer Division and 8th Mechanised Corp.

It’s cool to see lots of different scales being played here at Salute. You don’t just see 28mm and I think that’s in part due to the fact that a lot of wargamers here like the Historical end of things which plays at much smaller scales. That then, hopefully, filters through into other genres!

A fascinating project from some of the folks at the Ardhammer Group caught my attention here at the event. They are running a battle called Bread & Beef which is based on the Battle Of Domstadtl that happened during the Seven Years War. The War Game Rules by Charles Grant are at the heart of this particular battle and yes, that is two entire armies made out of German Flats.

It was fascinating seeing such an old and venerable style of miniature being used and it created quite the effect on the tabletop. You’ve got some stunningly realised armies for both sides here with the Austrians and the Prussians.

Those folks at The Friends Of General Haig don’t seem to stop! They also have another awesome battle being played out that takes place during the Modern era. This one focuses on Operation Desert Shield that happened during 1991 and sees a mass of tanks and other armoured elements powering through the landscape.

Between both armies is quite the no-mans land which seems like the perfect place to be blowing up some tanks. Another glorious board from the team at The Friends Of General Haig I think you’ll agree.

Time to dive back into some Historical wargaming from the folks at Miniature Wargames. They have brought an absolutely splendid Ancient wargame to play out using one of their own rulesets.

This comes from John Sutherland himself who wanted to showcase the period in the best way possible. If nothing else, the gaming table showcases the absolute spectacle of Ancient warfare and why you’d want to consider diving into it yourself on the tabletop.

Another of the games that Osprey are showing off here is The Silver Bayonet. This is the sneaky, skirmish game from Joseph A. McCullough where you take control of different warbands during the Napoleonic period that have been tasked with hunting down monsters and more throughout Europe.

This snowy board features a creepy landscape that is most definitely designed to give you the proper vibes for a Silver Bayonet clash. With such a low model count, The Silver Bayonet is certainly worth diving into if you like atmospheric wargaming.

The judges are starting to pull their favourites out of the cabinets.

This year’s judges include Tommie Soule and Duncan Rhodes!

It’s nice to see some of the wargames from Osprey Games getting an outing here at the show. Oathmark, a brilliant Fantasy wargame from Joseph A. McCullough, is being demoed here at Salute where the Goblins are defending their mine against an assault by a Dwarven army.

Things are being turned on it’s head! Dwarves assaulting a Goblin stronghold? What has the world come to. Oathmark is still a superb game and hopefully, we’ll get more from McCullough and by extension North Star, over the next year or so.

One of the games pretty much right outside our little room is DAK Attack from the folks at Offensive Miniatures. This was originally designed as a solo wargame but can also be played as a multiplayer skirmish affair if you like. As you will have guessed from the name, DAK Attack is set during World War II and the Desert War between the Allies and the Axis.

In this game, you take control of the Long Range Desert Group and you will play out not just one fight but a couple of games spread out across a ten-day campaign of lighting assaults. You will draw from a deck of cards each day to see what new foes you face and in some cases, you might not even be playing out a game. When it comes to actual mechanics, the game uses D10 and D6 with D10 for shooting and D6 for saves.

Offensive Miniatures seem to have found a winner here that could be a lot of fun for World War II lovers.