Art Figures AF-015 1/6th scale Heavy Armoured Special Cop "DREDD" 12-inch figure Review II

continued from previous post...

Dredd is a 2012 science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra. Karl Urban stars as Judge Dredd, a law enforcer given the power of judge, jury and executioner in a vast, dystopic metropolis called Mega-City One that lies in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Dredd and his apprentice partner, Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), are forced to bring order to a 200-storey high-rise block of flats and deal with its resident drug lord, Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).

What can I say? Art Figures AF-015 1/6th scale Heavy Armoured Special Cop "DREDD" 12-inch figure is certainly worth the wait. Having seen other collectors post their pictures, I just couldn't wait to get hold of mine which was a little slow in arriving but arrive it did and as the saying goes "Better late than never". This is one of the best figures of the year for me and I'm very pleased with the overall quality in terms of materials used, the stitching of the entire outfit and the very nice details of all the accessories and parts. Some assembly is certainly necessary but nothing fell apart in the assembling process and everything came together nicely for a great overall look.

Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character whose comic strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running, having been featured since its second issue in 1977. Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence, and execute criminals at the scene of the crime. So great is the character's name recognition that his name is sometimes invoked over similar issues to those explored by the comic series, such as the police state, authoritarianism, and the rule of law.

Art Figures AF-015 1/6th scale Heavy Armoured Special Cop "DREDD" 12-inch figure is very much inspired by the 2012 movie version of Judge Dredd as portrayed by Karl Urban and being true to character, Urban never removes his helmet, requiring him to convey emotion without using his eyes.

Scroll down to see the rest of the pictures.
Click on them for bigger and better views.

Art Figures AF-015 1/6th scale Heavy Armoured Special Cop "Dredd" comes dressed in his costume of helmet with visor, bulletproof vest with badge / name plate, Tactical shoulder pads, Leather combat jacket, belt with eagle buckle, double magazine holders x 2, Stick grenade with Holder, Tactical folding knife, Gas mask in pouch, Smoke grenade with holder, First-aid kit, spare pistol clips / magazines x 3, Machine pistol with drop-down Holster, Leather combat pants, Combat gloves, Tactical knee pads, and Combat boots. Check out my part 1 review post HERE for a better look at all his 1/6 scale gear and accessories.

The setting of Judge Dredd is a dystopian future Earth damaged by a series of international conflicts; where much of the planet has become radioactive wasteland, and so populations have aggregated in enormous conurbations known as 'mega-cities'. The story is centred on the megalopolis of Mega-City One, on the east coast of North America.

For the 2012 "Dredd" movie, the filmmakers decided that Dredd should appear lean and fast like a boxer rather than bulky like "someone who spends hours sort of steroiding himself up." His Judge uniform was altered from the comic version; an extruded eagle statuette was removed from his shoulder pad to emphasise the outfit's functionality and give it a sense of realism. Dredd's costume was radically redesigned for the film, adding armor plates and reducing the size and prominence of the shoulder insignia.

Remaining faithful to the comic, Dredd's face, except for his mouth, is never shown and his helmet is not removed throughout the film. Karl Urban said: "He is supposed to be the faceless representative of the law and I think that is part of his enigma ... You wouldn't get to the end of a Sergio Leone Western and go, 'God, I didn't even know the character's name!' It's irrelevant.

Dredd's signature weapon, the "Lawgiver" was developed as a fully operational weapon based on a 9mm firing system, capable of firing ammunition and being changed from automatic to semi-auto fire. The Lawgivers seen in the film appear to be Glock 17 pistols housed in futuristic shells.

I think the filmmakers did a great job redesigning the Judges' uniform and staying as close as possible to the comic. Kudos to Art Figures for a highly accurate and amazingly detailed 1/6 scale version of the Judge Dredd costume. This is indeed a 12-inch figure that deserves mention for staying true to the 1:1 scale version of Dredd as he appears in the film.

There was another Judge Dredd film that was released in 1995 and it had Sylvester Stallone as Judge Joseph Dredd. Medicom Toys also released a 1/6 scale version of Stallone as Dredd in 1995 and I've posted a review of the 12-inch Judge Dredd figure on my toy blog as well. You can check out the post HERE with lots of pictures.

Close-up pictures of Art Figures AF-015 1/6th scale Heavy Armoured Special Cop "DREDD" 12-inch figure with all his gear and accessories. The basic outfit is great, the armor vest is outstanding and almost everything about this figure scores. I'm not too keen about the gloves as the fingers of the gloves are longer than the actual digits and it sometimes look like Dredd has long nails.

The "Lawgiver" is the standard pistol carried by the Judges in the film, including Dredd (Karl Urban) and Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), as well as Judges Lex (Langley Kirkwood), Chan (Karl Thaning), and Kaplan (Michele Levin). It can fire in several different modes, which are selected via voice activation, and features a digital display that keeps track of its remaining ammunition.

Close-up shots of the 1/6 scale "Lawgiver" pistol. The weapon's various fire modes include: Rapid Fire (fully automatic), Armor piercing rounds, Incendiary rounds (these appear to be white phosphorus), Stun (A non-lethal electric charge that incapacitates the target), "High-Ex" (High Explosive), Silencer Mode (The Lawgiver features a built-in suppressor that retracts into the frame when not in use), and "Hot Shot" - a superheated round capable of melting flesh. In the comics, these are heat seeking rounds that track targets based on their specific heat signature. However, it is not clear whether they retain this feature in the film.

When being psychically interrogated by Anderson, Kay (Wood Harris) fires a Lawgiver in his imagination, but it fails to wound her. Later, when he attempts to use Anderson's own Lawgiver on her, he finds that it is coded to its owner's DNA, and will self destruct if anyone else attempts to use it.

Check out the redesigned eagle on Dredd's shoulders

Scroll down to see the close-up shots of Dredd's helmet with visor. It is very well produced with battle damage.

Here's Dredd with his air breather which is kept in the pouch when not in use

Check out Dredd's very good-looking pair of boots as well - nicely done with great details

That's all for now. There is word going around that there could possibly be another 12-inch Judge figure by Art-Figures and this time it could be a female. Looks like 1/6 scale Judge Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) might be Dredd's partner in 2015.

Related posts:
September 2, 2007 – Judge Dredd figures in my collection (posted HERE)
April 3, 2009 – Medicom Toys RAH (Real Action Heroes) 1/6 scale Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd figure reviewed HERE
March 5, 2010 – ACE Girls Mission Judge Hershey 1:6 scale Figure Reviewed HERE
June 26, 2013 – Preview of Pop Culture Shock 1/4th scale Judge Death 2000 AD 21-inch tall Statue HERE
April 19, 2012 – Preview pictures of Sideshow Collectibles and Pop Culture Shock Judge Dredd 1:4th scale Diorama posted HERE