When the United Kingdom entered World War One in 1914, Australia and New Zealand pledged their support to the Mother Country, and proceeded to raise large numbers of troops who were despatched to Europe and the Middle East. These were formed into the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and with 'ANZAC' stamped on the stores it was inevitable that they became known as ANZAC infantry.

The poses are a fair collection for this subject, and include a marching figure and one throwing a grenade. All are good, well animated and lifelike. However the two men holding their rifles horizontally are a bit odd as both hold it with hands very widely spaced - one virtually holds his by the bayonet. The marching figure will be welcomed by many wargamers, but all are useful, though with only eight there is no room for any interesting 'character' poses.

The uniform is all correctly sculpted, as is the webbing. These troops are Australians - the only difference between Australians and New Zealanders being that the latter wore their slouch hats with a pronounced point later in the war rather than flat as here. Of course the realities of war soon meant the hats lost much of their shape, so these would serve almost as well as New Zealand troops. Though some have their hat brim turned up (on the left side, which is correct), there are many photographs to confirm that it was common for soldiers to have the brim down all the way round, like the majority of these figures. Some wear the standard tunic and others are in shirt sleeves. The most famous ANZAC action, Gallipoli, frequently took place during incredibly hot weather, and of course these men also participated in the Middle East campaigns, so such a look adds to the authentic appearance. The webbing is the British 1908 pattern which was worn by many Dominion troops. None of the figures are wearing full kit, but several wear the small pack that was assault order - either on the back or at the left hip - so kit is fine, although they could have given the marching figure full marching order.

Most of the figures have bayonets fixed, even the marching man. This was quite common, particularly at Gallipoli, where the front line was never very far away. All the men have rifles, and one is also throwing a stick grenade, a type which would later become synonymous with the German army. The officer is advancing with pistol in hand, but the set could have benefited from the inclusion of a machine gun (which would appear in a later set).

This set has clearly been created by one of the best HaT sculptors as the figures are delightfully proportioned and very animated. The level of detail is beyond reproach, and there is no flash to be removed. We particularly liked the non-uniform aspects, i.e. the shirt sleeves, which better reflects the realities of war than other sets usually do. There are certainly elements that we would have liked to see in this set which are not here, but this is an excellent collection of figures that will help complete many wargames and models of the 1914-18 period.