The Sherden are one of the more famous groups known collectively as the Sea Peoples. Their origins are obscure but historians delight in discussing theories and both Sardinia and Cyprus are thought possible. Already feared as pirates, they participated in attacks by the Sea Peoples on Egypt and it seems many were captured by Rameses II and subsequently fought for the Egyptians themselves, although some may have done so previously as mercenaries. They proved excellent warriors, even when defending Egypt from further Sea People incursions, and were employed both as shock troops and as a large part of the royal guard.

While images of the Sherden are few their distinguishing feature seems to have been the horned helmet. Some images also include a disc above the crown, and this is possibly a device added when they went into Egyptian service. They appear to have worn fabric or leather armour studded with metal over a kilt, and to carry a straight stabbing sword and a round shield. Unlike the Egyptians they had full beards and a moustache. All this has been accurately reproduced by Caesar on these figures, and from the evidence available we can find no accuracy problems here. There seem to be no images of the Sherden with spears, but their use seems perfectly reasonable so we feel those poses are easily justified.

There are the usual 12 Caesar poses (we will discuss the standard later), mostly of swordsmen and spearmen, and all are very good. The man being struck by an arrow is particularly unusual but very good, and by trimming off the arrow a perfectly usable healthy pose can be gained if required. There are no separate weapons or shields, but with this range of poses and only two weapons in use there is no need.

In our view no one does better sculpting than Caesar. The faces are incredible and all the detail is sharp and beautifully realised. Proportions are excellent and all the figures are extremely lifelike. The wounded man even has a pained expression. No flash or other excess plastic makes for another perfectly engineered set too.

The final figure is clearly not a Sherden. He is an Egyptian and he holds the most common form of standard. This takes the form of a fan made of ostrich feathers, or it may be a painted wooden copy representing this, with a streamer below, which has become wrapped around the staff on this figure. The figure is clearly a generic one for use with the Egyptian armies of the period, which would centre around 1200 BCE but could be used for quite a considerable period besides.

So in one set we find both enemies of and allies (or at least mercenaries) with New Kingdom Egyptians. If you wish to use them as enemies then trimming off the disc on the helmet would be one way of distinguishing them from Egyptian mercenaries (and perhaps remove the genital guard too). There is always the opportunity of more poses but basically this is one of those sets which has been beautifully produced and appears to be faultless.