Show Report: Austrian Salute 2017

Saturday, March 11th Austrian Salute opened its doors again, and I was there.





It was the 7th Austrian Salute already and for me it was the fourth year attending. Of course it's a much, much smaller affair than the original Salute in London, but with the wargamer's infrastructure here not being the same as in the UK, especially when it comes to clubs, one takes what one is offered.

After a few opening words by El Cid the event was opened officially

And I have to say that it's never a bad time. Granted, the show requires me to drive three and a half hours back and forth each, booking a hotel room and all, but it's always a good time in Salzburg.

Of course I was there with the painting workshop, the 'coffin' and a bunch of minis to showcase.

The nice thing about Austrian Salute is that I can showcase fantasy as well as historical minis on that day, so I brought a good mix of Super Dungeon Explore, Samurai, Napoleonics, Guildball, 40k, generic Fantasy and so on.

But yeah, let's get on to the goods - the tables!

By Fire and Sword, 15mm battle system with a late 17th century setting.:

 I'm currently painting a whole lot of minis for a customer for that game. I'm a big fan of the period. The table wasn't huge and a bit sombre, but the clean look was nice as well.

As each year, there was a Saga table. This time of the Crescent & Cross Variety:

Later in the day the Saga table miraculously turned into a Blood Bowl pitch. Still one of GW's most elegant and best:

Constable's (and friends') Congo table was one of the biggest draws on the day:

It was very close second for the 'best table' award, and rightly so.

Personally I was looking forward to getting a glimpse of the Congo rules the most on this particular day.

I never get the chance on such events to play demo games myself or run a games table, but constable gave me a very quick rundown of the rules. Seems like once again Studio Tomahawk have created a pretty darned clever set of rules. The people who played the game also had a blast.

Grumpy Old Tin (and Son) not only brought the usual trade stand, but also an amazing gaming table, presenting Osprey's Rogue Stars.

What a remarkable table. I love how busy it feels and how much depth it has to it. Everything on the table is scratch-built or home-made. Also won 'best table' on the day!

This year Austrian Salute welcomed a new vendor on the scene - Roll the Dice:

The guys didn't only bring a lot of merchandise...

...but ALSO ran two demo tables. The ever-popular Guild Ball:

And a rather striking zombie gaming table, showcasing Project Z rules as well as some other sets of rules:

Doing modern-day Zombie gaming tables is harder than you'd think. I think the garish, slightly artificial look does work very well and certainly drew the eye. Of course the little vignettes helped as well.

 Another one I really, really liked - the Napoleonics table showcasing Kugelhagel, pitting Austrians against the French (of course):

I love the buildings on this table. This is more than the generic "Western European" buildings you usually see. Those look like proper alps area buildings. I really like that. Something different for once.

The game itself drew quite some attention as well. Kugelhagel seems to strike some chords with people.

Malifaux also made an appearance on one of the tables!

And then there was the big 30k battle of course:

I do like the mental image of jetbikes flying over water.

30k players do like to have a lot of Space Marines on the table. :-)

I thorougly enjoyed the view of this table. It's good to have 40k/30k at such an event.

Yet another highlight - the Flames of War Vietnam table:

Look at all these magnificent boats, many of which are scratch-built.

Great inspiration too, as I plan to dive into 15mm Vietnam gaming (albeit skirmishing) later in the year.

Suffice it to say that the 'best table' voting was a very close one.

As every year there was a painting competition. This time the topic was Cavalry. Winner of the Single Mounted Miniature AND Mounted Unit categories:

...and here's the winner of the Big Miniature category, converter of the red Warhound Titan you can see above and gentleman for helping me get the 'coffin' out of the car and into the venue:

Austrian Salute is not a big show. It's not Tactica or Crisis. But it's great to get at least half the community regulars all under one roof once a year, have some more guys join in as well, welcome a bunch of visitors and have a good day geeking out about miniatures and all that comes with them.

Attendance was good. A bit fewer people than last year, but then it was fewer tables too. Things fluctuate and that's cool. The tables this year were really pretty and the best thing still stands: variety. This is what makes the hobby as great as it is. Attend your local shows, even if it's not all about the things you're interested in at the moment. We're all wargamey peeps after all.

Thanks to the organizers, the guys to put in the time and planned/built/painted/flocked/hosted/etc. the tables on the day, all the visitors. Good chats, good time, see you all in 2018!