I
am by no means an expert on Judge Dredd. I’d say I’m a casual fan
at best.
My
first exposure to Mega-City One’s most famous law enforcement
officer came by way of my favorite heavy metal band, Anthrax. Their
1987 album, Among
the Living,
featured a song called “I Am the Law”, a literal biography of
Judge Dredd:
It is, by the way, a fucking crime that neither Judge Dredd movie used this song; at least in the closing credits.
It’s
one of their most well-known songs and it led to Dredd becoming a
sort of mascot for the band, even appearing on their merchandise. My
first Anthrax t-shirt featured Dredd and one that I currently own
does, as well.
By
design Judge Joseph Dredd is one of the most iconic comic book
characters to come out of Great Britain. The badge, the shoulders,
the helmet, the jaw – all of it combines to make a memorable,
foreboding figure that was perfect to draw the attention of the
thrash metal fans of the 80s and 90s.
I
believe that first time I saw Dredd in a comic shop I was like, “Oh,
hey – they made a comic about the Anthrax mascot!”
Okay,
I don’t think that I was that
much of a rube about it, but Judge Dredd in comics (or magazines, as
it were) was definitely a novelty at first. I haven’t read a ton of
Dredd comics. I read crossovers with Batman and Aliens, and I know
I’ve read some collections with art from Simon Bisley and Alan
Grant. I love the idea of Judge Dredd, but in practice I can’t say
I’ve really kept up with the character.
My
point here is that it didn’t make a whole lot of sense for me to
spend money on a high-end Judge Dredd action figure. Or at least, it
didn’t seem
to. As
I think about it, I realize I have had and do have a decent number of
Dredd figures for someone that’s only a casual fan. I’ve got
Dredd, Anderson, and Death from 1999’s line of 2000 AD figures from
Re:Action (different than Funko’s ReAction). I’ve also got the
full series of minifigures from Mattel’s Mega Heroes line. They are
based on the comics, but released in 1995 to coincide with the
rotten, garbage, piece of trash Judge
Dredd
movie starring Sylvester Stallone and Rob Schneider.
I’ve
got several other Judges and Dredds from here and there – I used to
have large scale vinyl model figures of Dredd and Anderson, but those
didn’t survive my years of frequent moving. Heck, purely through
luck I’ve got Funko’s Mystery Mini Judge Dredd.
What
it comes down to is that Judge Dredd looks cool. I like owning cool
toys. After Mezco’s One:12 Collective delivered the very best
action figure I have ever owned with the Dark
Knight Returns Batman,
I couldn’t stop thinking about their Judge Dredd. I especially
couldn’t stop thinking about their Judge Dredd punching their
Batman in the face. And vice versa. Once the thing started shipping I
kept looking online; just checking it out. Then I saw the Previews
Exclusive version on Amazon for what I thought was a very fair price,
so I ordered.
That’s
where I am today. Was it the right decision? Does Mega-City One’s
finest measure up to the standard set by Gotham’s dark knight
detective? Read on and find out!
FIRST
GLANCE
Just
like the Batman figure, Mezco released several different versions of
Dredd. I ordered this one because I’ve always preferred blue Dredd
over black and also because the PX release includes a nifty poncho
from “The Cursed Earth” storyline as well as a big honkin’
rifle that the standard release does not include.
There
are other color differences between this and the regular release, but
it mostly comes down to personal preference.
This
is a stunning figure. I love the metallic color scheme. The flat
greens against the metallic blue and gold looks fantastic. That head
– that’s drokking Judge Dredd. All the way. And there are a ton
of accessories in this box.
PACKAGING
This
is the same gorgeous style of box that Batman was in. Apparently it’s
the standard for One:12 Collective releases, and I’m good with
that. It’s beautiful.
The
exterior shell is a plastic slipcover with various elements printed
on it such as the title logo, Judge Dredd’s helmet, and all of the
images of the figure on the back. The graphics are beautiful and
eye-catching and it’s clear that a lot of thought went into putting
over the fact that this is a deluxe toy. This piece slides off
easily.
The
box itself has a monochromatic image of Dredd on the back. It’s all
done in a lovely flat finish that looks so much classier than glossy
print. The box is made of a thick, sturdy cardboard.
The
front panel opens to reveal the figure and accessories and an
embossed golden judge shield. There are two magnets in the front
panel to keep it closed.
The
box opens easily. Inside there are two plastic trays, each with their
own cover. These separate easily and are not taped together, which I
liked. The bottom tray holds the arm and armature for the display
stand. Everything else in is in the top tray. The Exclusive Cursed
Earth poncho is polybagged in the bottom tray. The figure itself had
a couple of plastic pieces around it to protect against scratching.
This
is a fantastic box. It’s a perfect combination of everything that
collector packaging should be – it has a beautiful design, it’s
easy to open and remove the figure, and it’s also completely
resealable with no sign of damage; not even tape marks. Mezco put
together a box that is utilitarian and
attractive
and it might well be the best I’ve ever owned. I didn’t have even
a second of difficulty removing any piece of the toy from the box,
and that’s significant.
LOOKS
If
you know Judge Dredd at all, you know that first and foremost that
jaw had to be perfect.
It
is.
The
grimace that never ends is sculpted beautifully, with all of the
surrounding lines perps know and fear. There’s a small scar on
Dredd’s upper lip and just a bit of paint on the bottom of the jaw
for shading. The helmet is the right shape, with a clear, smoked
visor that shows you exactly as much of Joe’s face as we should
see. The paint is accurate and wonderful, right down to the lightning
bolt-shaped glare. The metallic blue matches that of Dredd’s
uniform and all of the painted detail is tight and precise.
The
uniform is some kind of spandex with a coat of glossy material over
it. I don’t know exactly what this is, but it’s reminiscent of
some of the materials used in the old Famous Covers line. It feels
quite a bit different, though, and I’m sure won’t deteriorate in
the same way (I’ll update you in a decade). This thing is a marvel
of modern engineering. It fits perfectly, it doesn’t scare me when
it stretches for me to pose the figure, and however it is attached to
the forearms and calves is some form of leprechaun magic because
there’s no way a figure with this kind of fabric clothing should be
able to move this way without everything becoming pulled out of place
or the movement being restricted.
The
metallic blue hue is consistent throughout, though there are spots of
brown on the legs. At first I thought this was some kind of weird
error, but then I realized it was actually part of the dirt deco
that’s on the boots (and the poncho). “The Cursed Earth”
details Dredd’s trek across a foul wasteland, so this deco is
appropriate. Normally I prefer clean or neutral decos, but this extra
paint is so well executed that I don’t mind. I don’t think the
standard version has this sort of thing.
The
zipper on Dredd’s uniform is about as small as it could be. The
pull is chained to his (perfectly executed) badge. There’s a note
somewhere in the included materials that says “DO NOT USE THE BADGE
OR CHAIN TO PULL THE ZIPPER, DUM-DUMS”.
Okay,
it doesn’t actually say that, but there is a warning not to do so.
I appreciate that, as most other toy manufacturers would have been
happy to let you find that out on your own. I was pleasantly
surprised by how easily the zipper does work. The pull slides up and
down with little effort. Actually, just the process of posing the
figure tends to push it down, though it’s easy enough to zip it
right back up once the desired pose is achieved.
All
of Judge Dredd’s bulky armor probably has you thinking that his
poseability is going to be pretty limited. Not so, thanks to the
drokking artistic geniuses at Mezco. Both of the shoulder pieces are
attached to the figure with magnets (how do they work?), as is the
badge. This means that the pieces can come off completely and have a
good bit of give as far as being moved around goes. The magnets
themselves are coated with a clear sealant so that they don’t rough
up the fabric of the uniform.
The
knee and elbow pads also seemed to me like they might be limiting
and would probably be a pain in the ass to keep in place. Once again
the fine folks at Mezco have come up with some brilliant engineering.
The pads are actually attached to the pivot points of the knees and
elbows through the uniform. The elastic straps are purely cosmetic. I
don’t understand how the uniform flexes and moves around these
joints, but sometimes it’s best to just accept things and move on.
Dredd’s
gloves are packed with sculpted detail, from the pouches to the
built-in knuckle dusters. The painted detail adds a ton. The knuckles
and pouch clasps are a bright silver and there’s a wash on the
hands to denote wear and/or grime.
The
utility belt is a thing of beauty, not just aesthetically, but from a
practical toy standpoint. The sculpt looks great and the American
eagle buckle is remarkable for the amount of detail and the precision
of the paint. But what made me adore it was all the spots to store
Dredd’s gear. There’s a strap with an eyelet on the end for his
nightstick:
As
well as loops for his grenades and a pouch for the spare clip for the
Lawgiver:
The
belt is soft plastic and moves quite easily, but stays wherever you
put it. The proof of this is that I have it sitting too high on the
figure in most of these pictures. Also, if this was a female figure I
would mention the butt, so yeah – Joe Dredd has a sweet can.
As
you can see above, the boots have storage for Dredd’s knife and
Lawgiver.
There’s
a ton of detail in the plating and buckles and the sculpted wear on
the oversized toes adds a lot of character. Like I said before, I’m
not usually a fan of “damaged” or “dirty” deco, but it’s
executed so well here that I can’t complain. Especially since it
fits the story of this Exclusive edition.
ACCESSORIES
This
version of Judge Dredd comes with a poncho, a stand, four extra
hands, handcuffs, a rifle with a clip, a nightstick, a knife, two
grenades, the Lawgiver with two clips, and a resealable storage bag.
Whew.
The
extra hands consist of two fists, a pointer, and an open hand.
They’re soft plastic and switch out quite easily, but stay put.
Thanks to the material, it’s easy to get the appropriate hands to
hold whichever accessories you want. Putting Dredd’s finger on the
triggers of the guns is easy and posing him to hold the rifle is no
problem.
The
handcuffs are incredible. The sculpt of the eagle in the shape of
cuffs is great and the black wash over silver looks really good. What
is so amazing is their functionality.
Not only do they open and
close, there’s a double hinge in the middle so that they can be
folded in half. The forthcoming Lawmaster motorcycle features storage
for them.
Just
like Dredd’s jaw, the Lawgiver had to be good. And it is. This is
the Lawgiver MKII, complete with the dial for six different kinds of
ammo! The sculpt and paint are flawless. The clips slide fairly
securely into the slot, but can come free with little more than a
nudge. They don’t just fall out on their own, though, and that’s
the important part. The Lawgiver fits perfectly and securely into
Dredd’s hand or the boot holster.
The
nightstick, knife, and grenades look great.
Each has a couple of
paint apps to provide the necessary detail and fit in Dredd’s hand
or their corresponding storage spots. The nightstick takes a little
doing to get into the eyelet on his belt, but it fits and stays.
The
rifle, as you can see, looks awesome. It has tons of paint and a
painted cartridge in the clip. Dredd can hold it with one or both
hands. This is where the marvelous engineering of the shoulder armor
comes in – despite the bulk of those pieces, the figure can hold
this rifle in a number of two-handed poses.
The
poncho is a material similar to the uniform – it isn’t just a
piece of canvas like I initially thought. And not only does it have
the layer of slick material over it, it has some incredible mud
spatter deco around the bottom. The Dredd shield is printed on the
front in yellow. The collar has a wire at the top (!) so that it can
sit without obscuring Dredd’s face. There is Velcro along both
sides to close it around the figure’s arms.
This is a much nicer
accessory than I was expecting and I’ve got to say I’m thrilled
to have it.
The
stand consists of three pieces – the base, a peg, and an armature.
This is the same style of base that came with Batman, who is much
more likely to be doing wacky aerial stuff than Judge Dredd.
The
armature is great, though and I find it interesting that Mezco
included it. I wonder if the Star Trek and Frankenstein figures will
also have one.
FUN
This
figure is all kinds of fun. The poseability goes above and beyond
anything you’ve seen from a twelfth scale action figure. The head
and neck are jointed, the knees and elbows have double joints with
DEEP pivots, there’s a waist and abdominal joint, the shoulders
have an incredible range.
Due
to his design, Dredd can’t do quite
as much as Batman, but this is still an amazing figure to play with
and pose. I would say the biggest limitation comes from his feet,
which have a very shallow pivot. They do swivel, but they just aren’t
as functional as I was expecting. It’s not any kind of big deal at
all, but it is noticeable compared to the Batman figure.
Obviously
the huge number of accessories add a lot to the play value. Being
able to change up the look of the figure is great and the multitude
of weaponry make for near-endless posing options. This guy is going
to stand guard over my desk for a good, long while.
I
also want to emphasize that he’s much sturdier than you probably
think he is. I’m not saying that you should buy one for your kids,
but I would be much more comfortable handing this or Batman to my
eight year old son than I would any DC Collectibles release.
OVERALL
For
me this purchase was well worth it. While I’m not a Dredd mega-fan,
I love his iconic look and Mezco has delivered the last Judge Dredd
figure I will ever need to buy (except maybe for the black version
with the Lawmaster). I’d call this a must-have.
The
One:12 Collective series is a game changer. I can’t recommend
highly enough that any toy collector worth their salt find a figure
of a favorite character and buy one of these. You owe it to yourself
to own at least one of the very best action figures ever designed.
They’re truly remarkable and even as cheap as I am I feel like I
got my money’s worth.
5
out of 5
It’s
worth noting that the forthcoming Lawmaster (Dredd’s motorcycle)
has a deco that matches the regular release Dredd, while the Previews
Exclusive Lawmaster includes
a Dredd that matches its
unique deco. What that means is that this Dredd does not have a
corresponding Lawmaster. I don’t yet know if this means I’ll end
up buying a black Dredd and Lawmaster. I think to justify that one
I’d have to sell some other stuff.
Buy
this Previews Exclusive Judge Dredd from Amazon and help Needless
Things pay the bills!:
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