I'm sorry, what I meant to say was don't pay too much since you can still get new castings. Sometimes I'm amazed by people paying more than retail in auctions, occasionally because they're unaware the figures are not OOP.
That said, the figures weren't too bad back in the day. Not quite as good as the resin beasts (some of which I'll add to my goblin army at some point, but decent enough, if a bit chunky and stiffly-posed. Still, your suggestion of beardless dwarves (pitiful fellows!) sounds eminently reasonable.