Tale of Painters attended Salute 53, held on 17 April 2026 at the ExCel venue in west London. Organised by the South London Warlords, the convention has grown into Europe’s largest tabletop and wargaming show. Here’s what we got up to during the day, and whether the trip is worth it or not.
The venue: ExCel London
ExCel London sits in the heart of the Royal Docks, a modern event space made up of several large halls. The layout resembles a shopping mall, with a central corridor leading off into the event halls on either side. You’ll find plenty of food stalls, bars, and cafés along that central strip, all offering good variety and decent quality at reasonable prices. I’ve seen far worse at other conventions.
Getting in
The queue opened at 9am, and the doors swung open at 10 with a drumroll from the historical reenactors on-site. The morning queue was substantial, but entry moved quickly. The show was noticeably busy in the first half of the day, not quite as overwhelming as Spiel in Essen, but the bigger brand stands filled up fast. Garfy and Dunk arrived around half eleven, and together we made our way around the hall. After lunch things calmed down considerably, leaving plenty of time for relaxed chats at the smaller stands.
Major retailers and brands at Salute 53
This year’s Salute brought a strong showing from well-known names. Archon Studios ran a sizeable booth with Starcraft demos across several tables, and a beautifully designed Trench Crusade board caught plenty of attention. Warlord Games showcased Konflikt ’47 and Bolt Action, while Mantic Games and Parabellum Games both brought large stands.
From left to right: Trench Crusade at Archon Studios booth, Konflikt 47 demo table from Warlord Games
On the retail side, Wayland Games dominated the hall, stocking almost the full Games Workshop range at their usual solid discounts. Visitors could also build a free Entry Grade Gundam to take home, and get demos of Armoured Clash and Dystopian Wars. Element Games were there too, alongside Artis Opus, where you could stock up on paints and brushes to your heart’s content and catch a demo of the new Mini Colour paints from Byron and Henry from Cult of Paint (my first impressions of their new paints are linked here).
Discovering the smaller exhibitors
The real joy of Salute, though, is exploring the smaller stands and talking directly with the people behind the projects. The lovely Chris from Ontos Games brought his Exö-Squad and Röknauts models: brilliantly characterful, Squat-inspired sculpts in a 2nd Edition aesthetic with colourful paint jobs and proper Goblin Green bases. Pete the Wargamer represented his The Spare Parts Emporium, a growing range of plastic kits packed with useful bits. At the Rogue Hobbies stand you could meet Louise from her YouTube channel and pick up her charming Rascaltown miniatures. And for me, a personal hobby dream finally came true: at the Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy stand, I finally got to shake legendary GW painting presenter Duncan’s hand in person.
From left to right: Chris at the Ontos Games booth with his fantastic Röknauts sculpts, Stahly meeting Duncan Rhodes
That was just a fraction of the exhibitors though. Check the Salute website for the full list. If you’re into non-GW tabletop games and indie wargames, there’s a very good chance you’ll find them here.
Hobby clubs and demo boards
Beyond the shopping, you really should set aside time for the hobby club stands and demo tables. The boards on display were crafted with tremendous care and passion. The historical section in particular featured some enormous displays, with hundreds of miniatures arranged in formation.
From left to right: Titan Owners Club display plus one of the many historical wargaming demos
A definite highlight for Warhammer fans was the Titan Owners Club, which took over a large section of the hall floor with an eye-watering collection of Titans. From Warhounds to Reavers and several beautifully painted Warlord Titans, every class was represented, making the Imperial Knights surrounding them look positively tiny.
Painting competition and stage programme
The show also packed in a full supporting programme. Display cabinets in the centre of the hall filled up throughout the day with breathtaking painting competition entries. I spotted several Golden Demon winners from this year’s Adepticon, and alongside Warhammer there were stunning busts, historical figures, and hyper-realistic tanks and vehicles to admire.
Next to the cabinets and judging area, a stage hosted a series of panels that unfortunately we couldn’t find time to attend. A fencing display from the London Fencing Club ran throughout the day, and there were cosplayers too.
Verdict: is Salute worth attending?
With so much to see and do, the day flew by. The doors closed at 5pm, and Garfy, Dunk, and I left having had a fantastic time. Many of you came up to say hello throughout the day and shared some incredibly kind words, which genuinely meant a lot to us.
The £18 adult admission is more than fair for everything on offer. We headed home full of hobby inspiration (and with very full bags lol), and we’re already looking forward to Salute 54, returning to ExCel London in April next year.
Were you there on the day? Share your impressions in the comments below or over on our friendly hobby Discord server!
