Belegar Ironhammer review

As a long time dwarf collector, but lapsed Warhammer player, I was fairly ambivalent about the dwarfs release. My army is pretty much complete as it is, and the recent drive to bigger, dumber looking models has not been to my taste. The first wave of releases is, by now, pretty much old news and opinions can be found all over the web - good, bad and indifferent. I like to see the models in the flesh before I make up my mind, so I selected what looked to be the best of the bunch, Belegar Ironhammer.

As you would expect, the detail is (mostly) quite superb. The metal scroll work, the carved runes on the oathstone, the embroidery on the cloak are all lovely and crisp and should paint up a treat. Click on the image for a decent sized view and see for yourself. You might notice that some detail is lacking - the teeth for example are not sculpted and as usual the hair of the moustache is just two or three giant strands. But this is nitpicking, overall it is a very solid sculpt and one that I would consider using in my army.

I have seen some criticism of the pose. A better battle-ready stance would be to hold the shield at the front to protect the body. The shield would be more visible, but of course most of the beard and face would be obscured. I reckon the decision on the pose is a good one, it allows the maximum detail to be easily seen and thus should be easier to paint. It's also possible, as the second photo shows, to exclude the oathstone and have a more traditional base. Leaving the back banner off is also a possibility, there is a little groove in the rear of the armour that could easily be filled, or overlooked if the player wants to swap the banner in and out between games.

As a big fan of dwarfs and Norse imagery, this sculpt is a winner for me. Now, to see how it paints up.