As with so many armies it was the aim of Alexander to strike the fatal blow against his enemy with a charge of his heavy cavalry. The Companion cavalry, as depicted in this set, was the senior regiment of the whole army and the one with which Alexander himself fought.

This set contains four poses as is usual for HaT, with three of them being the aforementioned Companion Cavalry. These heavy cavalrymen were armed with a spear usually called a xyston, which was about 3 to 4 metres in length. This weapon has not been provided as HaT say they are unable to produce such a long and thin item for technical reasons. Three of the figures have been given ring hands for this weapon. The third pose from the left is rather curious as the spear is meant to be held in the right hand and is across the chest (there is a groove for this, which ruins the look of the figure). However the man also has a ring hand on his other arm which apparently was added by the factory in error and serves no purpose. Other than that the poses are OK.

The fourth figure (far right of the scan) is of a Prodromoi, which were Thracian light cavalry frequently used for scouting. However it seems they too carried a long xyston as their principal weapon.

All the Companions wear the usual boeotian helmet with plumes out of the top. Opinion is divided about whether this was a mark of rank or common to all, but it is easily removed if required. They also wear the usual cloak and a cuirass, and carry a straight sword. None have shields, which is also correct for Alexander's time. The Prodromoi man wears a Phrygian style helmet but no other armour as befits his light status. The helmet was replaced with the boeotian type during Alexander's campaign, so some head swapping is required if this later appearance is required.

There are three horse poses in this set, with one wearing a simple saddle cloth and the other two wearing a pantherskin shabraque over this. The shabraque is known to have been common in both the regiments represented here, but the simple saddle cloth may well have also been a familiar sight.

In line with the policy of this manufacturer to provide assorted extra weapons and accessories, this set includes six of the straight cavalry swords shown above, which could be used in this or other contemporary sets. However such a sword had a straight guard, not the angled one modelled here, the blade widened slightly towards the tip (to give more weight to the blow), rather than narrowing to a point, and it had a pommel, missing here, so this weapon is not well done.

Detail is very good on all these men and horses, and anatomy is spot on. There is no flash at all, and the men fit their horses very well. Apart from the rather spoiled pose already discussed we could find nothing much wrong with these men - a fine addition to the increasingly comprehensive range of figures for the wars of Alexander the Great.