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Figures / Fantasy - 6mm to 49mm
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Displaying Reviews: 1 - 1
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Average Reviewer Rating:
 
Number of Reviews:
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The new range seems to be shaping-up nicely
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Reviewer
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Reviewed by Antar (Editor) (info@totalmodel.com) November 29, 2005
Every few months Games Workshop likes to launch or re-launch selected product lines from their 3 core ranges - Warhammer, Warhammer 40k and the Lord of the Rings. The year began with the arrival of the Ogre Kingdoms followed soon after by the Lustria campaign and the newly designed Space Marine Terminators. This Christmas it's the turn of the diminutive and perennially grumpy Dwarves to take centre stage. The sawn-off Vikings (as I see them) have been around for ages during which time they've been through a variety of design incarnations. Now, even as I right this review, an entirely new stumpy army is gathering on the horizon most of which will become available in the New Year. This set of Dwarf Warriors is one of many items scheduled release in early January 2006.
The Dwarf Warriors are the basic core unit of the Dwarf army. The box contains sufficient bits and pieces to build 16 complete figures and (as will become clear later) a lot more besides! The first thing I noticed was there are only 2 different kinds of sprue in the box - 4 of each - making 8 in total. Most army units come with some kind of command sprue which includes all the accessories for the Champion, Standard Bearer and Musician. In this instance, however, the designers have managed to cram all of these details into the sprues mentioned above. This means that each set effectively contains enough plastic gubbins to create 4 champions, 4 standard bearers (4 flags and 4 totems) and 4 musicians. The latter carries a large brazen trumpet which can be fitted with a bestial head to create a sort of carnyx.
The figure modelling is well up to the latest GW standards. Fans of the previous Dwarf range may recall that some of the core figures were blighted by a hideous mould mark which ran across the knuckles and proved a real chore to remove. This time round, thankfully, there's hardly a trace. The figures also seem a lot more compact and less like the pumped-up caricatures of previous incarnations. Details are sharp and clearly defined throughout with lots of raised detail to get your paint brush around. I was particularly impressed with the amount of decoration modelled on to many of the components. There seems to be a Dwarven symbol or devise emblazoned on every single item. Other icons swing from weapons and even beards!
Each figure is formed from a basic body molding, a head/beard piece - which plugs on to the front - and two arms. Strictly speaking there are four body types to choose from but these are so similar as to make no difference. The tooling is slightly different but the postures are identical. To be fair, once you've got the head on and (in all probability) equipped the character with a shield, there isn't going to be a lot of body to be seen! There are 6 different heads included, though one of these belongs to the Champion and so should only be used once. Again, there isn't a great deal of variantion on offer here - beard, helmet with something shaped like a nose in between - but then the Dwarven rank 'n' file aren't exactly noted for their individuality.
The preferred weapon of choice for any Dwarf worth his Mithryl is a hefty axe or hammer. Thankfully the designers have provided a whole arsenal of such goodies for you to choose from. One of the sprues includes 11 different weapons. Most are single handed axes, plus a couple of hammers, but there are some two handed examples as well. There's even a left-handed axe so that selected characters can be armed with a second weapon instead of a shield. Speaking of which, there are more than 50 shields spread across all eight sprues. By my careful reckoning this means that everyone in the unit gets to carry at least 3 shields each!
As I examined the sprues I noticed a small cluster of oddities tucked away in one corner. These included a set of ornate helmet visors and disembodied hand brandishing nothing more offensive than a tankard of beer (presumably for use with a certain Mr J Bugman!). Although welcome these items looked a little out of place. It wasn't until I flicked through the pages of the Dwarf Army book that I realised that this set also doubles as a veteran Longbeards unit. When you think about it, this makes perfect sense - not only for the collector, who can choose to build either unit - but also for GW.
This set contains a variety of different components all of which can be used to build, decorate or augment your warriors in different ways. In this respect alone it represents very good value for money. The pieces are well modelled and molded and (I can confirm) very easy to assemble. To be honest, until now I'd never really taken much notice of the GW Dwarves but the new range seems to be shaping-up nicely. This set of figures - together with all of the promotional material which is doing the rounds right now - has certainly convinced me to give them a much closer look!
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24
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26
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