Middle-earth Cavalry

Last week I received the latest sets from Dark/Light Alliance, consisting of two sets of Mounted Light Eastern Tribes, Southern Kingdom Warriors Heavy Cavalry, and Windy Bay Warriors Heavy Cavalry.

The figures were released a while back, but I was too slow to order them from my usual source, so had to wait for a restock since they sold out very quickly.

The first two sets are meant to represent Easterling cavalry. I've seen some mention that the "tribe" they're supposed to represent are known as the "Wasaki", but I'm not sure if this is a Peter Jackson term or if it came from somewhere else. The only reference I could find to the word was for a company that sells halal Wagyu.

The figures seem to be modeled after the Easterling Kataphrakts from GWs MESBG (though when I hear the word cataphract, I think of heavy cavalry rather than light cavalry).

Set 1 consists of two javalin men, and four archers.

Set 2 consists of a commander with a "glaive" (a GW appellation), a banner carrier, and four swordsmen.

The horses from both sets are identical, and come in six poses.

The next set of cavalry is meant to represent the Knights of Gondor. I don't think the term came from Tolkien, but rather originated from the video game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II.

Special Extended Edition: Director's Cut mod
for The Battle for Middle-earth II

The box art depicts knights reminescent of the Peter Jackson films, but the actual figures bear somewhat less of a resemblance in my opinion.

The figure are made with ring hands to accomodate the weapons supplied with the set (two styles of lance, three different types of sword, and an axe).

The horses come in six poses.

The final set is meant to represent the Swan-knights of Dol Amroth. The "Windy Bay" refers to "the windy Bay of Bel" mentioned in the poem The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon, which is an allusion to the Bay of Belfalas.

Swan-knights from Middle Earth mod
for Total War Kingdoms

The Knights of Dol Amroth are typically depicted wearing winged helms, but only one pose has such a helmet. Instead, they are distinguished by a winged badge on their right pauldron.

The figure are made with ring hands to accomodate the weapons supplied with the set (two styles of lance, three different types of sword, and a flail).

The horses are identical to the ones from the Southern Kingdoms set, but in a different colored plastic.

All in all, another nice effort by Alliance from their line of Middle-earth figures. I also think the mounts are much better than the undersized horses used in the previous set of Black Riders.