ALL72007

Dwarves as a race apart come from Germanic folklore, which seems to describe them as basically humanoid but short and unattractive, and says they live in mountains and in the earth. They are associated with mining and metalwork, and while their exact original characteristics are unclear, their presumed look and culture has many similarities with old Norse mythology. In the many modern games and stories in which they appear they are generally very strong and stocky, and when in battle they favour simple weapons and clothing, which would be much closer to the medieval reality. The figures in this set have something of a Viking look to them, as they all wear a mail hauberk and generally a long tunic, sometimes almost the full length of the body (which is not a lot when you are a dwarf of course). The helmets are varied, with many looking very Norse, and they have a wide belt from which a sword is suspended, and often a dagger too. Another favourite weapon is the axe, seen here on several, and we also see some hammers and spears. The round shields also look Viking, except that they are all held by a strap rather than the central bar grip of the Viking model, even though they have a central boss.

Their average height here is just over 20 mm, which makes them about 1.5 metres tall. That is certainly short by human standards, but not nearly as short as they are sometimes depicted in films in the modern era. The sculpting is generally very nice, with lots of detail, although inevitably the attempt to show the links in the mail fails at this scale. Dwarves have a great deal of hair, and this has been nicely done on these figures, which along with the height is probably the main reason why they would be difficult to use in a real-world scenario. The poses are typical of medieval figures, including holding swords and hammers directly over the head, where they cannot then be used to strike. This kind of flat pose is very common, however, and only the best sets manage to avoid it. There is a reasonable amount of action going on here, and since there is very little flash, these are decent sculpts.