Orlygg at Salute '25, Bryan Ansell Remembered, Tim Prow's Diehard, Oakbound's The Woods and POWER-UP!

 

Lurching from our fetid graves (okay, our houses) early this morning, Stuart and I made a surprise return to Salute - Europe's largest miniature gaming show. Long ago, we were regular visitors and this year we decided to go on the spur of the moment (okay, a couple of weeks ago). I took the liberty to prebook the parking tickets and what was touted to be the 'Official Salute Car Park' on the website but in reality we just drove in and the barrier lifted to allow us to pass. We stuck the car in a quiet spot and made our way upstairs. 

Joining the queue, we had an nice chat with an Australian Grognard taking time out of his holiday to visit the show before we had our tickets scanned and received our swag bags. Peeing in, we saw it was the usual mix of special models, freebies (Stuart loved the mouse-mat) and advertising. With permission from 'my favourite miniature' (from this point on referred to as MFM) I had a modest budget to spend on brushes and other sundries that may help me improve my much maligned painting ability.

I was very pleased to see the late, great Bryan Ansell remembered by the South London Warlords. We spent some time looking at and discussing the set up some enthusiasts had put together of Bryan's 1980 quirky classic ruleset, Laserburn - a foreshadowing of Rogue Trader if you didn't know. 

The game was quite large in scale and we went back a few times to see how things were progressing. During this time we were lucky enough to bump into some old faces. I saw James Holloway, a long standing member of the BOYL events, and we discussed the importance of a little bit of creative anarchy in gaming. Something very evident in the Laserburn game and perhaps something lost in the modern world of miniature gaming. The generous Sleepysod, a regular contributor to this blog (and supplier of useful archaic items), was also there and it was nice to meet him face to face and thank him for his efforts in helping this blog getting going again. We also spotted artist extraordinaire Tony Hough from afar but never got the chance to chat to him this time though we did see a sole Oldhammer T-shirt wearing chap wandering the show. It was nice to talk with him too. 

This year's magazine contained a worthy article about Bryan and his enormous impact on miniature gaming not only in the United Kingdom, but also worldwide. I don't recall GW marking his passing in anyway so this was respectful and important tribute. And its always nice to see the Mighty Avenger picture from Warhammer Armies. 

Tim Prow had his Diehard Miniatures in tow. I was pleased to see how well his independent endeavour was going. The stall was packed from most of the time we were there and it wasn't hard to see why. Tim's sculpts are fantastic and are easily the best sculpted fantasy figures out there today. Many of those models are my preferred single cast sculpts that brim with character. I had my eye on a number of pieces but my modest budget only allowed for two beautifully designed Necromancers. Stuart threw in a suitably swarthy orc as a thank you for driving. Tim was as energic as ever, showing off future Kickstarters and painted models with plenty of help from his daughter. 

A closer look at those models. You will all know that I have a bit of a love of the undead. And with the Horde slowly growing it is necessary to start think about other models to suffer from instability with them. I am particularly fond of the skeleton with magical skulls radiating from his hands. 

Geoff Solomon-Sims, a true hobby veteran and an extremely talented craftsman of fantasy models, was manning his Oakbound Studio's 'The Woods' stand. Easily the most imaginative and creative models at the entire show and I could have purchased many of them. Again, some of these models are the all important single cast figures bursting with zany ideas and faerie magic. His limited run boxed game, complete with Heroquest style board pieces, was selling very well and there was a wealth of painted figures on show. Some of the larger pieces caught my eye and I hope to have the chance to paint a few of those in the not to distant future. It was also nice to see the Oldhammer Paul Douglas there too, one of the early pioneers of this brand of retro-gaming and a veteran of BOYL. 

Here is a closer look at the two figures I selected from the range. It was nice to see more of his fimir inspired models here too. I am a big fan of these swamp dwellers and I look forwards to getting this chap based and painted soon.

Today may have been all about wargames figures but yesterday was a retro extravaganza. MFM took myself and her son to the Science museum to check out the POWER-UP show. It is one of the paid exhibitions being put on there (I think £12.50 a ticket) but the event provides you with unparalleled access to the history of computer and video gaming. 

Inside you will find an enormous range of PC and console games (including a 16 player deathmatch of Halo: Combat Evolved) and of course the 8 and 16 bit systems that created magic in the early days. VR options are also available with an intriguing VR Tetris games that I was rubbish at. 

This Amiga made a welcome sight. I spent some time rather lovingly tapping the keys and feeling the warmth of the grate. Its been over 30 years since I last sat down with one of these and those long years just melted away as I dove straight back into DMA Designs' legendary Lemmings game. I received the Cartoon Classics edition of this machine way back in the early 1990s and this puzzle game was a real highlight of the experience. The game seems easier now and the solutions to many of the stages came back to me quickly. But being so popular, I couldn't remain on this glorious slice of 16 bit history for long. 

Sensational and worth the entry price for me!

The author of this blog gets to grips with the C64 version of Frogger. This was the version of the game I had as a kid in the '80s. I've got retro consoles of the C64 and Amiga and have been looking for this particular game for ages. A joy to play once more due to its immediacy and simplicity. Of course, the decades fell away and I recalled all my old strategies. What was noticeable in talking to other enthusiasts around me, is that younger gamers seem too preoccupied with joysticks and what not on these older machines. Using the keys was so much more effective and I enjoyed this particular walk down memory lane. 

Well that is my write up of the last few days. Here's looking forwards to a quieter Sunday and the chance to try out the new paint brushes I picked up at Salute. I also managed to track down some Bleached Bone paint from the Coat d'Arms range so I can crack open and pot and see if I have remembered how to highlight properly. 

Until then, 

Orlygg