Salute 2013 Part 1 - Anvil Industries

This past weekend saw Salute 2013 go off at the Excel Centre in lovely London. It was my third time at the event and the most fun I've had there to date. Part of that is probably due to amount of toys I came home with, the first of which I'm showcasing here.

The floor was fairly dominated by retailers this year and there was a fair amount for sale to fans of 28mm gaming. The first thing that really caught my eye was the Anvil Industries stand. I have, in the past, enjoyed the Horus Heresy novels and it has been fun seeing Forge World come out with models to match. I really like the more baroque styles of armour and weapons they have been putting out. Their prices though are something else. Now, I'm not saying Anvil are making their own version of FW's stuff. But it is extremely 'compatible'. That is, it shares enough similarities that, I reckon, you could use Anvil's 'Exo Lords' in your 40k or 30k games, but with some different twists.

 

It was the Black Ops squad that first attracted me. They look like knights in space (notice I didn't say 'space marines' there?) but with a Halo accent. Extra ammo pouches, more streamlined weapons, but still like dark ages suits of armour with power packs. Perfect, I decided for bulking out my Blood Angels Vanguard Veterans in time for some Apocalypse games this summer.

The only hangup was realising the Black Ops packs only come with rifles - not close combat weapons. Luckily you can buy most of Anvil's range 'a la carte' - mix and match legs, torsos etc. to get the look you want.

Now, get ready for really the cool part - the complete set of five miniatures cost me £14.50. For all five. I then bought some 'Silver Wing' jet packs from Max Mini at £6, meaning I now have a full assault squad in cool armour for twenty quid. A similar sized set up from FW would run to £33. I added some chainswords and purity seals from my bits box to get some extra Blood Angels flavour, but this is still a massive saving.

 

The guys running the Anvil stand were also really friendly and helpful. Every part I chose they showed me several different styles they had for sale and I felt like I was really getting the models I wanted, rather than the ones they were trying to sell me.

 

There are options for 40k players then - at least if you play marines or, maybe, guard. Not so much Eldar or Tau and it would be nice to see a few more companies in the market with alternate parts for those races. Maybe the Chapterhouse/GW legal tussle is keeping companies out of that arena for now, although recent depositions and testimonies would suggest GW doesn't really have a leg to stand on when it come to some of their copyright claims.

So, now I've told you all about the alternatives to expensive Forge World resin, my next post will be about the Eldar Lynx I bought :)