ALL72041

Goblins are a feature of much European folklore, generally being described as small demonic creatures that are mischievous or positively evil. In the modern era they tend to be portrayed as small but ferocious fighters for a greater evil entity, something like a miniature orc. In this first set from Dark and Light Alliance we have 12 poses, all naked except for a loincloth, muscular if sometimes with a distended abdomen, and with a spikey, swept-back hairstyle. They stand about 19 to 20 mm tall (1.4 metres), so are about the same size as many of the orcs in this range, which surprises us. In this set they carry javelins, slings and crossbows, but the major weapon is the bow. Half the poses here are using one, which comes in several designs. All the poses are pretty good, although one of the crossbows is being held at an absurd angle to make the sculpting easier, but would cause the bolt to fall out.

As these are not a lot shorter than humans, they are about the same degree of difficulty to sculpt, and these are nicely done, including the ugly faces on heads with no neck, the pot-belly physique and the long, almost claw-like fingers. There is a fair amount of flash, but thanks to the poses and the compromises with the crossbow, there are no excess areas of plastic. Since these all carry missile weapons, the poses are no more lively than they need to be, so while the appearance is quite scruffy thanks to the flash, they are quite reasonable figures.