Pics from Salute!

[Leon]

This years Salute was the 40th anniversary of the show, and it certainly didn't disappoint!  We setup on the Friday as usual before retiring to our digs in Hemel.  On the Saturday we arrived around 8am, and the area outside the show was pretty quiet, compared to the sizeable queue which was already there last year.  The people must have all been hiding somewhere though, because when the Q-jumpers started coming in around 9:45am-ish, it was crazy, and it didn't stop all day!  

There seemed to be more trade stands in the hall firstly, with a lot of what seemed to be new names to me.  It also felt like there were more visitors than last year, but I've not seen any official figures to confirm/deny that.

The show was so busy in fact, that I didn't manage to get off the stand all day, only managing a quick run around just after 4pm.  As such the pics are limited unfortunately, but I hope they provide a bit of a view of this fantastic show.  There are a whole load of blogs and reports elsewhere on the net, so feel free to link any of those from here if you like.

We had the pleasure of meeting a load of Forum members as well, which is always nice.  Goat Major nipped in quickly early doors, before heading off for some shopping, and we also caught up with Andyrob, Kassad,   jdeleonardis, Sandinista, Republic of Tolworth, Peritas, and also got to meet Serotonin!  I'm sure there were more, but I probably forgot to note you down during the day, so apologies for that!

By the time we got packed away, this had been a record year for us at Salute, so that was a fantastic end to the day.  We'd like to thank the Warlords for hosting the event, and everyone who attended for making it a success.  We'll be back next year with bells on!

So, here's the pics.  No notes I'm afraid, just piccy-pics...  

Getting started...



Dave with his sales head on...



And concluding said sale...



The force was strong in this one...



And not so strong here...



Our new helmet hasn't arrived yet, so in the meantime, Dave dug out his authentic German/British helmets...







10mm game with Pendraken Plains Indians:










































Crimea:



































Cracking game with some awesome ships.  I think this one won Best in Show:













Next up is the Carronade show up in Falkirk, which is only a fortnight away.  Please make sure to get your pre-orders in for this one before Sat 28th!

[Blaker]

Those were some good pix, Leon 

Did you get any info about the game with Pendraken's Plains War Figures?  And where did they get that 10mm Stage Coach that was soo cool 

I have not see the Indians painted up before, they looked really well done.

[Leon]

I'm not sure unfortunately, someone mentioned the game to me early in the day, so I made a point of going and grabbing some pics, but didn't have chance to get any info on it.  There may be some notes on it on some of the other reports online, so I'll have a browse and see what I can dig up.  The stagecoach is pretty cool, that'd be nice to have in the range!

[Techno]

Some great pics Leon.
My favourite is the one of the giant's head being carried on those bayonets !
That head's so good it could almost be real. 
Really pleased you had such a good day !
Cheers - Phil.

[Steve J]

Really good to hear that the show was busy and that you had a cracking day. Some of the tables looked really, really good.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Good to see you guys on the day, even if it was for about 30 seconds at about 3pm! Just couldn't get away from the Timecast stall!

[Hertsblue]

Great to chat with you guys on the day. I think the general consensus was that the show had moved into an upswing after last year. I'd forgotten how much fun the whole thing was.

Oh, and the game with the ships was "Corunna", if memory serves - though I wasn't convinced by the four-masted vessel, if truth be told.

[Steve J]

Oodles of pics on the following link.
http://ilovewargameing.21.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=4000

[Leon]

Good to see you guys on the day...

Great to chat with you guys on the day...

I told you I'd forget to mention some of the members we bumped into...! 

[General Bt Sherman]

Looks like an awesome show. To bad I live on the wrong continent.

-Bryan

[Nosher]

Is it me or does there appear to be some awesome looking tables with only a small amount of figures actually in play on quite a few of the tables?

And which forum member donned the coalskuttle?

[Peritas]

Thanks to You León

It Was a pleasure to meet You


Best regards

[crancko]

the plains war setup is a table for PONY WARS ruleset.

http://www.miniatures.de/wargame-pony-wars.html

I would like to put my eyes on this ruleset.... anyone knows about it?




Pony Wars, or B-Troop ain’t coming back
Wargame Rules Review
The grizzled sergeant turns to the young rookie, "Listen"! the rookie cocks his head to one side "I can’t hear anything, Sarge", "That’s just it" came the reply, "It’s quiet, too damn quiet". THUNK! The arrow comes hurtling out of the dark and the sergeant is bowled over backwards by the impact.

But don’t worry folks! Thes arrow is usually stopped by the sergeants pocket book / water canteen / photograph of his mother. This is surely the stuff that the Hollywood western is made of - and we hope that this it what "Pony Wars" is also made of!

Forget Realism! Throw accuracy to the four winds! We’re not playing ’Once Upon a Time in the West’ now! Just put on yer yellow neckerchief, mosey out in yer yellow striped trousers, boot yer Winchester and climb into the saddle. Raise yer hand and bring it down, pointing forward, at the same time yelling: "Column of Two’s - Forward, Yo!" The entire 7th cavalry will ride out of Fort Laramie behind you (Probably to the strains of ’Gary Owen’). This is hollywood: Everyone’s a hero and there’s legends to be made. The Sioux are on the warpath and there’s white folks out there! As our grizzled sergeant would say: "The only good injun’s a dead injun".

If your idea of a wargame is to spend time choosing a suitably ’rigged’ army and playing with a set of rules which you can corrupt, by pointing out the intricacies of the grammer, with the intention of winning at all costs then, please, put this volume back where you found it and go and find a nice national convention somewhere.
This game is intended for ’FUN’ (remember the word? We used it quite a lot before wargaming became serious). The rules are not legally binding, merely suggestions and you won’t find every single situation that may occur covered in this volume. You may have to make a few decisions yourself. If you don’t like the result the rules are giving then change them - we don’t mind. The idea is to enjoy yourself - do what you will.

The basic concept behind the game is to allow an unspecified number of wargamers (from one upwards) to fight a battle WITH ALL WARGAMERS BEING ON THE SAME SIDE (as officers of the U.S. Army). Your opponents, the Sioux nation, will look after themselves. The game is ideally suitable for use at conventions where experienced players can teach the rookies (either gamers or the public) the basic rules without any concealed motives - they’re on the same side! Each new command arriving would be allocated to a person picked from the observers, that person taking the name and rank as appropriate to the command. If the character is killed then the player leaves the game. Thus a continually varying clientel is established.

Alternatively, a small group of wargamers can have a great game. Each takes the name and rank of a number of officers. Any newcoming commands are either given to new players (if available) or allocated to one of the existing players. There again, ’Pony Wars’ makes a great SOLO GAME! We provide suggestions - you do what you want!

The game is designed for an eight foot by six foot table and uses 15mm figures. There is no reason what so ever why the game should not be adapted for a different size of table, but you will have to do a little calculator work if you want to. Later in the rules you will find details of the figures and equipment we use. This is all for our original set-up and it cost us some money - but don’t despair! During the three years developing this game, we used our 15mm medieval knights as Sioux and cavalry; Silly at first, but you get used to it. So don’t be frightened about using Polish lancers as native cavalry scouts or Persion immortals as settlers! Also, don’t be frightened about using 25mm figures, or screws, or counters, or blocks of wood (It works in D&D - try using it here!). But, please, if you don’t use the right figures - do so in the privacy of your own home - leave the public shows to us! --Ian Beck

Contents
Title: Pony War - B-Troop ain’t coming back!
Period: American Plains Wars
Type: Operational Level Skirmish Wargame
Time Scale: none given
Ground Scale: none given
Troop Scale: 1 figure = 3 men
Basing: 15 x 30 mm mounted, and 15 x 15 mm dismounted figure bases
Author: Ian S. Beck
Format: 33-page rule book
Language: English
Publisher: Tabletop Games
Published: 1980
Chapters
Introduction
Basic Commands and Troops Types
Move Sequence
Movement
Visibility and Hearing
Firing
Ammunition
Dicing for Position of New Troops
Melees
Saving Throws
Saving the Last Bullet
Indian Reactions
Personal Combat, Dando vs. Chiefs
Civilian Reaction
Ambushes
The Cards
Buildings
The Fort
The Sioux Village
The Games
The Board
Troops Used
Quick Reference Charts
Pony Wars Quick Reference Sheet
Statistical Charts
Ammunition Charts
The Pony Wars game provides players with all the visual appeal, suspense and drama of a Hollywood movie. It’s a tough fight, offering plenty of opportunity for heroic last stands, from which some lucky officers of the 7th U.S. Cavalry will return as heros.

The complete convention game of Pony Wars is played with 240 US Cavalry figures, 80 dismounted troopers, horse holders, eight 12-pdrs and two Gatling guns with limbers and crews, 20 Indian Scouts, 20 Volunteer Scouts, 40 US Infantry figures, 2 gun crews and 10 infantry figures for the fort, the ’Dando’ figure, three wagon trains of three wagons each, five farm wagons, 70 dismounted and 20 mounted civilians, the gun-runner wagon, stagecoach, war wagon, character figures of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, and 30 Longhorn cattle. The Sioux nation is represented by 600 mounted and 100 dismounted braves, 50 assorted squaws and villagers, 2 model smoke signals, and 30 Buffalo (one white). If fewer figures are available for play, the missing troops are easily represented by counters or by using a roster system. Pony Wars can be played as a garden wargame, using popular 1:32 scale Timpo, Airfix, Marx, or even Playmobil figures on a proportionally larger playing surface.

A cavalry troops consists of two officers, two NCOs, and 16 troopers organized in four sections of one section commander and four troopers each. Sections may act independently of the troop, but section led by NCOs are limited to non-initiative actions like holding a position or escorting civilians back to the fort, then returning to their troop. The rules are fun to read, easy to learn, and difficult to master.

Some troops and civilians are deployed on the table before the game starts. Bands of hostiles, U.S. reinforcements, wagon trains, cowboys, gun runners, and other liabilities appear during the fight, when reinforcement cards are drawn at the beginning of an hourly game turn. The 7th Cavalry is notoriously over-stretched as it attempts to protect the stagecoach, defend settlements, escort civilians back to the fort, prevent gun runners from reaching the Sioux, and keep its troopers supplied with ammunition.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Published by TTG in late 70's or early 80's, needs tbousands of Indians, lots of charaters like the lone ranger, great fun. Well doable in any scale - we did it in 25mm at least 3 times. It's also  very muliti-player.

Might be still in print - try Alternate Armies.

IanS

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Great great rule set- Cavilier books have it, as do QRF...  I got mine from ebay about two years ago