Prehistoric subjects are always tremendously difficult to research for obvious reasons. For a long time the only reference to a place called Troy was in the epic poem Iliad, which described a war between Greeks and that city. That account has been a best seller since ancient times, making the Trojan War well known down the centuries, yet to this day there is no proof that the war ever took place, and no other evidence for the existence of Troy. Nevertheless excavations at Hisarlik and new discoveries in Hittite records provide much circumstantial evidence for such a war, which is currently thought most likely to have happened in the 12th or 13th Century BCE, and we know that the Greeks had considerable contact with both colonies and neighbours in that region at the time, so regardless of the truth of the Iliad story, a set of warriors such as this from western Anatolia is an important part of the Greek/Hittite/Egyptian world of the period.

There are no known representations of these warriors, nor contemporary descriptions, so assessing accuracy must be in large measure based on what we do know of the neighbouring Greek and Hittite states. Caesar say that the design of this set was based on early period Mycenaeans with some aspects more appropriate for the 13th Century, which is probably as good a strategy as any, and also has the effect of providing some figures suitable for the early Mycenaean period.

The majority of the men wear a corselet of scale armour, with the rest wearing no more than a kilt - clearly heavy and light infantry respectively. On their head most have the helmet armoured with boar's tusks as is so often illustrated for the Mycenaeans throughout their history, with a variety of plumes and crests emerging from the top. Most of the heavies and even one of the lights have greaves on their shins, which was a device that the Mycenaeans experimented with for a short time but then seem to have abandoned. The shields are of two basic types, either round or oval with notches cut into each side. Round shields were normal at the time in the Greek world, but the second type is reminiscent of the old figure-of-eight shields which the early Mycenaeans used to carry, yet are both smaller and of a different design.

The poses are a pretty energetic lot with some nice ideas. In many cases the weapon and/or shield is separate (see the separate sprue (there are six) for these here), and this helps to make most of the poses nice and realistic (i.e. not flat as is often the case). The mixture of advancing and combat poses is very good, but unusually the two individual poses are not really distinct from the rest of them, so not necessarily officers.

Needless to say this is yet another top quality sculpting job from Caesar. Whether it is the scale armour, the robes or just the boots, detail everywhere is superb and beautifully realised in all its clear, crisp finery. With not a hint of flash or any excess plastic, these guys are a pleasure to examine. All the separate weapons fit the ring hands very well, and the shields are a fair fit onto pegs on the arms, although gluing is still advisable. Once again the multi-part mould means there are ring hands where other companies can't put them, greatly enhancing the realism.

Since neither we nor anyone else can be sure of how warriors from this area may have looked during the 13th century, we cannot really judge the accuracy with a score. However every assumption seems perfectly reasonable for the time and location, and we have no reason to suppose these figures are in any way inaccurate. With good poses and plenty of choice in terms of weapons and shields, not to mention a quality of sculpting and casting that any manufacturer would be proud of, this set really can't be faulted. Even if you are not interested in ancient figures, this set may just change your mind.