ALL72056

This is the second set of Eastern tribes made by Dark & Light Alliance, and while many features are common to both, there are some notable differences too. These figures wear a circular helmet with a prominent crest cum nasal guard at the front, but otherwise lacking any protection for the face. They seem to wear long coats, over which they have various bits of plate armour such as a very ornate placard on the abdomen, vambraces on the lower arms and poleyns on the knees. They also wear thick belts which support a groin protector. However they appear to have non-metallic gauntlets and boots, so a rather odd range of body protection, made more strange by the fact that even those that are holding a large shield in the left hand also wear a vambrace on that arm, which must be quite uncomfortable and pretty pointless.

These are described as ‘light’, but in the real ancient or medieval world these come across as a lot heavier than most. True their weapons are a bit more appropriate, with four of the men being archers, although we thought the arrows these men are holding were quite short and unimpressive. They hold their supply of arrows in a triangular quiver on their backs, causing the arrows to appear in a fan shape, which looks pretty but is probably not the most practical arrangement. One also has his scimitar next to the quiver, which again is a surprising choice. The remaining two figures hold a spear, and have two more in a sort of rack on their back, though once more this is more of an exotic design concept than a practical method of carrying weapons.

The idea that these are light cavalry is further stretched by the horses, all of whom have a substantial peytral made of various forms of armour, and most also have a large chamfron protecting not just the forehead but almost the whole of the head. They look well capable to barrelling into an opponent, which makes us wonder what the ‘heavy’ cavalry must look like!

Those familiar with the Lord of the Rings world will already see the many similarities between these and the Easterlings, a resemblance that is further enhanced by the shield they carry, rectangular with cancave ends and a square and star design in the middle. However, regardless of any accidental resemblance to heavily trademarked characters, these are nicely sculpted figures, though most of the horses are much too wide for the riders to fit in the saddles, which is a serious problem. The equine poses are not great, and the man holding his spear across his face is not a success either, but once you manage to mount the rider on his animal, the interesting design of these men should make for a good-looking set of cavalry.