The other good thing was meeting fellow bloggers and putting faces to names (pictures and links to their blogs below) and just meeting friends especially from my homeland. Postie (Reject's self appointed leader even provided a picnic of chicken sandwiches, cheese scones, crisps, chocolate bars and drinks which we had outside the venue literally sitting on the dock of the bay).
We left the show about 1530hrs and nearly on the motorway when Ray got a text message saying he had won a raffle prize from the Hougoumont people, so pretending to be Ray I rang back and asked what he had won (2 signed prints and 3 musketballs from the field of Waterloo), so back we go and collect the prize (Ray gave me one of the musket balls under protest) and startes the journey home again. Good Day out.
On a footnote I went to the Bring and Buy stand to collect the vikings I had put on sale that morning (they still hadn't been sold at 1430hrs when I checked) and was asked was I picking up, I said I was and he surprised me by coming back with some money a few minutes later, first time time I have left Salute with money that wasn't shrapnel. Result!
Pictures are the usual quality and vagueness and better will be found elsewhere today but they're personal to me and my lurking disability.
The end of the queue plus us four.
The Reject's, Postie, Surjit and Ray from http://onelover-ray.blogspot.com/
The crowds press forward, the end is in sight.
The Bring and Buy, constant traffic all day and well run by the Salute boys.
Paul from Sho3box http://sho3box.wordpress.com/ good man, good blog and fellow zombie lover and Irishman.
Big game, big scale.
3 poor tigers.
Akula's Battlefield 2011.
The man himself Akula running his Battlefield 2011 game in aid of Combat Stress, more information here on his blog http://akulasblog.blogspot.com/
Stunning figure for several reasons but the main one being the paintjob.
Fellow blogger Pulp Citizen http://pulp-citizen.blogspot.com/ explaining the mechanics of the game he was hosting.
Battles in Miniature game Miniature Militia, actually on an oval playing board which I failed to get in the picture.
Paul from Battles in Miniature http://battlesinminiature.blogspot.com/
Only took this picture after we came back for the second time, obligatory Star Wars picture.
Looks like a good time was had by all. Those towns are impressive!
ReplyDeleteGood to see you Fran, Postie, Surjit and Ray. Quite a large posse of toy soldier fondlers.
ReplyDeletesome of those battlefields are really amazing
ReplyDeleteI'm even more jealous I couldn't make it seeing so many wonderful sights in your photos. I'm glad to hear that you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteit looks like an awesome time
ReplyDeleteIts official, I want to cry because I missed Salute. I thought I was OK not going this year (holiday clash) but the more pictures I see of the show the worse I feel. Dammit!
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side we have decided not to holiday over easter next year because the my eldest daughter has exams to revise for (lol). So no matter what dste the show is I WILL be attending in 2012.
Nice photos -- I especially like the Arnhem pix. The use of the space between the tables as the river is quite clever.
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a grand day out with good mates and plenty of eye candy. Glad you got some coin for your figs, and glad I got the others first!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the report AL, how you lot didnt get arrested or sanctioned is beyond me.
ReplyDeletePP
Very nice photos and a great review of a cracking show!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun time, that's quite a crowd, and some of those games are massive.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a pretty good time, sorry it's taken me awhile to get back.
ReplyDeleteLooks like an awesome time. Congrats on stealing a musketball!
ReplyDeleteI nearly convinced my wife to make a trip to London this year from the States, but it didnt pan out. Next year, oh yes...next year!
the figurine looks hot :D
ReplyDeletealso i follow
I'm tellin' the Missus I'm going to London next April. Salute looks awesome
ReplyDeleteGreat report! And those are some really nice creations.
ReplyDeleteWonderful pics, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFantastic looking battlefields. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to attend.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Christopher
Looks like a good time had by all.
ReplyDeleteWow nice! Thanks
ReplyDeleteall are very nice and looking very much interesting.....
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting that lovely photo of me up Fran, it looks as though I've just escaped from the zoo!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat round-up, and you did very well to find all those bloggers. The quality of the tables is mindblowing.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics. It was nice of Ray to give you one of his musketballs.
ReplyDeleteThose are some really amazing battlefields. It looks like you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteAnd all of a sudden... Darth Vader.
ReplyDeleteI spend a lot of time looking at the details of the pictures, appreciating the detail that went into all those battlefields.
And all of a sudden... Darth Vader.
It's like attending the symphony, and all of a sudden someone from the audience whips out a kazoo and starts playing along.
That audience member? ...Darth Vader...
Looks like a great time! Congrats on "stealing" one of the musket balls.
ReplyDeleteNice. Very Nice.
ReplyDeleteWell, Ray it's not you it's just the Horizontal Stripes doing that, which you have worn to every convention so far.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to be starring in convention pictures there's a reason why all the men and all the women but one in any given Club are dressed from head to toe in black. Not the Lady in Red, but all the rest. It's true. They might have a white shirt under it.
Or if not black, at least go vertical with the stripes.
Now notice it works on men too in pictures, look how Paul from Sho3box, the Akula, several
others, and Postie all have black and don't look like the zoo at all. And Surj with the navy, is almost the same. Because they all know.
Now that Stunning Figure if you look real close has both the black and some vertical stripes, and that is the appeal. How much did they want for that one, BTW?
Thanks for sharing these nice pictures with us!
ReplyDeleteGreetings
Peter
thats legit!
ReplyDeletepretty awsome. good pics. looks like a good turn out. however i dont see any chicks in bikinis :D
ReplyDeleteIt looked like you guys had a good time and grats to Ray for winning those prizes! Btw nice making ray fork over one of his musket balls haha!
ReplyDeleteWhat´s all this about ray handing out his balls??
ReplyDeleteI´m seriously considering getting my backside over there next year...looks great fun
Cheers
paul
It was cool meeting both you and the Rejects Fran. That sort of thing added to what was already going to be a fun day.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed I will be able to drag some of my cronies with me next year and we can do it all again.
Fantastic pictures, new follower!
ReplyDeleteMust...hold back...jealousy. (Musketballs from Waterloo? Really? How pleasantly odd.)
ReplyDeleteStunning "figure" indeed.
Spectacular photos, looks like the sort of event I'd have enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteRay: Wait, you didn't just escape from the zoo? Now I'm confused.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff and of course Obligatory Star wars pic
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post so we can visit vicariously!
ReplyDeletethe effort that goes into the models and battlefields always impresses me
ReplyDeleteHi Lurker:
ReplyDeleteOn a note unrelated to your post, I'd like to pass on the Stylish Blogger Award to you (I explain why at: http://clashofspearonshield.blogspot.com/2011/04/stylin.html). It is one of those awards with "rules" attached:
1. Share seven things about yourself in a blog post (since you've just done this for another award, we'll let you off the hook with just telling us one additional new thing, unless he's willing to share more)
2. Select at least one other blog you think deserves this award, and offer it to that blog
3. Contact the blogger(s) you've selected and let them know about the award
Of course, I'm sending this to you since I think your blog is cool and deserves it, so you are welcome to simply accept the award (just download the image from my page) and show it proudly on your blog even without following the three "rules" above – they're really there just for fun!
Thanks for all the pictures of the event.
ReplyDeleteWow, a nice turnout. Some of those setups were immense! :O
ReplyDeletewhat an awesome figure!! seriously yo!
ReplyDeleteLol, looks like a fun time. Great Event it seems
ReplyDeleteA Zombie enthusiast / Irishman! Nice combo! lol.
ReplyDeletewow man....everything about this post was EPIC. Good work.
ReplyDeleteIt was a very good show this year, for me personally with the `theme` being for the second year in row one I like, and games tend to follow the trend after all.
ReplyDeleteMuch eye candy seen, much inspiration found, much money exchanged to poor traders for feeding their families
It was a great show. first time I've been, it was slightly larger than anticipated...so not surprising that we didn't simply bump into each other.
ReplyDelete