Punic War Roman cavalry is not well documented, so we cannot be sure of their appearance. However the cavalry were recruited from the upper class, which could afford horses, and probably already owned and could ride them. Consequently, they would have been well equipped.

The four poses in this set wear a variety of costume as you would expect. Several helmet types are shown, each with its own arrangement of decoration. Two of the figures wear a mail shirt and the rest have 'muscle' cuirasses. The latter is probably more likely to have been seen in the first Punic War, whereas the former was the norm in the second and third.

The javelin, spear and sword mix is authentic, although the swords seem rather too short and all the weapons are somewhat simplified. Cavalry swords were noticeably longer than the infantry ones as their reach needed to be greater for a mounted man. All shields are part of the man rather than separate, and are of the two types normally associated with Roman cavalry of the republic. Two are of the 'Greek' style, with a central boss and a reinforcing spine, while the remainder are simple circular shields with an inner ring. This second is something of a mystery, since it would seem to be of the old parma equestris type, which was a round shield with a central boss or design - we found no evidence for the inner ring. It is thought that the Greek style was the most common, so perhaps three of the four poses should have been given such a shield.

The two horses are nicely sculpted, and include a cloth but no saddle in the modern sense, which is correct for the period. However we did not like the first pose, with both left legs on the ground and both right well in the air.

Some elements of detail are missing, such as the means by which the men are holding their shield. The casting is average, with some flash round the seam, but nothing too serious. Textures such as the mail are nicely realised. The poses are quite flat, and every man has a nice straight back, so not particularly exciting figures to look at.

This is a fair set but fails to impress when compared to later products such as the set from Zvezda.