Neanderthal vs. Denisovan vs. Homo Sapiens Set 1 (Linear-A)

The last million years has seen the rise of one of the most successful mammals of all time: humans, now the last of the genus Homo. It wasn’t so long ago that this wasn’t the case, as 50,000 years ago humans shared the world with at least 3 other Homo species. The most famous is the Neanderthal, from Europe, the original caveman. Others include hobbit man Homo floresiensis from Indonesia and the more recently discovered Denisovan man of Asia. These species are similar enough to humans that they rarely are made into models. So imagine my surprise when DTF member Ezicot brought this set to my attention. Naturally I wanted to grab it and so, I did!

Linear-A is a company that makes 1:72 scale models of ancient human armies, such as Greek and Romans. Some of the females are a tad sexualised (I will comment on this later), but is otherwise not terrible. This is the oldest set they have done, going the furthest back in time, providing 48 models with 12 different poses, each human species getting 4 models. Let’s get into it more!

We will start with the Denisovans. Denisovans are a species that is still being discovered and understood, with not enough fossil evidence to quite define them as their own species, most of the evidence being DNA samples. This set has one model carrying a set of sticks (maybe fire making?) and a pair of hunters carrying a deer, ready to be cooked and eaten. These are tiny models, being 1″ tall and between 0.7″ and 2″ long. It’s hard to know what they looked like, as the most evidence is teeth, finger bones and jaw bones, so this look of being slightly more ape like than Neanderthal works.

Next is the Neanderthals. Here we see the one female of the set, and here is a bit off. She is topless and carrying a spear. I wouldn’t mind so much if more of the models were like this, but it’s only her and another Neanderthal throwing a rock. seems a tad pandering to me. The final model is leaning on a spear, not bad. They measure 1.1″ high and up to 1.1″ long, so very small.

The eagle eyed may have noticed that, while I mentioned that each species had 4 models, I have only talked about three for the last two. This is because there is one that features both, the only one that has no link to hunting. It shows the taller Neanderthal with a shorter Denisovan, a friendly greeting, possibly a nod to the fact that Denisovan/Neanderthal hybrids have been found, suggesting they did interact. This model is 1″ tall and 0.8″ wide, and a very welcome addition to the set.

Finally we get to the survivors, Homo sapiens. This definitely feels like a group of hunters, looking, postulating or crouching with varying weapons, definitely more aggressive. They do look like humans, very hard to get wrong. They measure up to 1.4″ high and 0.9″ long. A decent set.

This is a surprising and intriguing set, definitely a unique one. It is said to be set 1, but when or if we do get set 2 is unknown. They are all made of brown plastic, so they can be painted, which I may do but haven’t yet. Model shops and eBay will likely have these and usually at a very reasonable price. If you like models or have limited space for a selection of hominids, this is a great set.