My Salute day, 2018
Salute is always a mad, chaotic rush for me as editor of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy. There is so much for me to do, and so many people to see. One day is simply not enough - there were nearly 180 traders and nearly ninety games of varying sizes and only one of me (poor baby, I know)! Fortunately, I have good co-workers in Jasper and Christy who hold the fort at the WS&S stand when I am running around like the proverbial blue-arsed fly.
A mini British WW1 tank.
Our primary purpose for attending Salute is, of course, promoting the magazine and offering readers the opportunity to get our latest issue a little early (* subscriber copies are being mailed Monday - Salute was so early this year, our logistics planning went somewhat into the soup). It is also an excellent opportunity for me to talk to readers and to traders face to face, although I had to be strict on how long I stayed in any one spot. I've been told ordered I'm too sociable and should carry an egg-timer!
1914 - By Great Escape Games.
Time is literally short, at times I found myself running from one side of the hall to the other - I'd received a message that people were asking for me at the stand. As a result, the show went by very quickly. In my mind, the first time I checked the time it was almost 1 pm. The second time I looked it, the time was almost 4 pm!
Leros 1943 game.
I have a joke that I tell people when they ask me if I had a good show. "I hear there was a show on, but I haven't seen any of it." In reality, that is partly true. There were some amazing games which I'm only now getting to see as I read other people's reports from Salute. For example, there was the excellent ACW game which I hear won the top prize at Salute, but which I completely missed. It must be worse for traders stuck on their stands all day.
New Perry Agincourt Knights.
My impressions? The show seemed busier than previous years. However, the lighting at this year's show for some reason was very poor. I did try taking some shots with my SLR but they came out poorly from the perspective of being able to use them in the magazine. One of the great things about Salute is seeing the new releases or the work in progress. This makes checking out the trade stands a must for me. That said, I hear there were 3-ups of the new plastic Female Frostgrave miniatures but I missed these. I'm sure there were other new releases announced that I missed too.
Warlord Afrika Korps.
I did try to post some reports posted to our WS&S Facebook page, but only managed a few entries. Sorry, it was just too overwhelming.
Blood Red Skies with an aircraft carrier!
I must admit I did enjoy Salute 2018, although it left me pretty exhausted. Productivity wise, I did manage to see most of the people I needed to touch base with, but I wish I'd had more time to see them all. Getting to see more of the games would have been nice too!
Reading this back, it sounds like I'm whinging. I'm really not - I get to play with minis for a living!
