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Introduction
Mezco's new One:12 Collective series has been a huge hit, and they have expanded it quite a bit in 2016, with a bunch of Star Trek, DC, Marvel, and even Universal Monsters up for pre-order. But they haven't abandoned the initial lines either, including Judge Dredd.
The latest release in the series is the Lawmaster, the bad ass bike Dredd uses to enforce his brand of justice. The bike is available in two flavors - regular, which
is in a black and gray paint scheme and runs about $125, and a Previews exclusive, which is in blue and includes a new Dredd figure, wearing a blue costume. This
latter version will cost you about $240 depending on the retailer, and is the version I'm checking out tonight.
Click on the image below for a Life Size version
Packaging - ***1/2
The large yellow outer box is covered by a black slip cover. While the syle is plain, it's also classy, and I love the logo design. Open up the yellow box itself,
and you'll find two more white boxes, one for the figure and one for the vehicle. Both are packed neatly and carefully inside, and everything is collector
friendly of course. There's even a small instruction sheet, which you may find useful for locating the various buttons for the lights and sounds.
Sculpting - ****
If you liked the sculpting on the earlier Dredds, you'll like this one - no big surprise there. Everything is clean and neat, with sharp edges on the helmet, shoulder
pads, badge, knee pads, and boots. I particularly love the belt, which is made from a softer material but still retains plenty of detail.
This guy is a bit bigger than you might expect for 1/12, standing about 6 1/2" tall. Considering the character, that makes sense.
The hands are sculpted to work with the various accessories or with key poses. As with earlier releases, the shoulder pads and badge are held in place with magnets, and these are VERY tight. It feels to me like they've upped the strength with this release, and they won't fall off with normal handling. Of course, the badge tends to spin around, and you'll have to adjust it every time you pick him up, but that's not an issue. The placement of the magnets allow some latitude in the placement of the pads, particularly with the left shoulder. While the pad itself is fairly symmetrical in shape, the magnet is closer to one side than the other. That means you can place the pad higher or lower on the shoulder, depending on the stance or look you're going for.
But it's the bike that really shines this time, being an all new item. The features are excellent, with some great texturing and extras that make it realistic and highly detailed. Dredd actually fits on it cleanly, able to put his feet on the supports, hands on the handlebars, and back in the seat, all looking just about perfect. He can ride it, he can sit on it with one foot supporting it, he can hold both handlebars or one or none - it all looks great. Too often vehicles in this scale don't allow the figure to work correctly, but that's not an issue here.
Along with all the great detail work - look at how cool the guns and mechanics on the side of the engine are! - the bike also has quite a bit of heft. With the sound and light features, as well as real rubber tires, it gives the impression that you're getting something more than just a cheap toy for your money.
Paint - ***1/2
Dredd has some battle damage - on him as well as on the Lawmaster - and it's generally well done and realistic. The lines are quite clean, especially on the vehicle,
but there's also a greasy, mechanical look that adds to the realism. I'm not sure I'm loving the blue over the darker version, but I can't say that the work isn't just
as clean and well done.
One of my favorite features is the printed computer screen between the handlebars. It's tough to see when it's not lit up, but there's a ton of detail.
I did have a couple issues with the figure itself that pulled down this score slightly. The work on the face isn't quite as detailed as we've seen with some of the other Dredds, and the skin tone appears to be the color the head was cast in. While that lends it a bit of translucence that gives it depth, it can also allow some of the details to get lost, like the expressive mouth.
There's also a couple edges on the costume - like around the badge symbol on the forehead - that aren't quite as clean as we've seen in the past. While these things are very minor nits, combined they do pull him down slightly for me.
Articulation - ***1/2
If you've been happy with the underlying body in the past, you'll still be happy with it. No real changes here, and all the positives and negatives remain.
The upper body remains the best feature, with lots of mobility in the torso and arms. The hands swap easily as well, and the ball jointed neck allows for that extra personality in any pose. The suit isn't particularly restrictive, even with the chest and waist.
The lower bod isn't quite as good, and that's due mostly to the ankles. There's really no rocker movement, and almost no back and forth due to the restrictive boot sculpt. This isn't any different than any previous Dredd in this series, however.
The bike includes some of its own articulation. Of course, the rubber tires spin, but there's also a folding kick stand, and the front tire/assembly does turn slightly left to right. In back, there's a hidden compartment that opens, perfect for storing the handcuff accessory.
Accessories - ****
This version catches you up on just about all the various accessories that were released with previous Dredd figures. I'm not counting the Lawmaster as an accessory,
since that's pretty much the entire reason for buying this set.
The two pack comes with eight hands in total - I forgot to shoot two of them in the photo below. He comes wearing a gripping set, perfect for the weapons. He has a set of fists, as well as a second set with a pointing right and gesturing left. The two I forgot to shoot separately came in the bike box, not the figure box, and are perfectly sculpted to hold the handlebars with the index finger over each lever. The hands all swapped easily, and stayed on with normal handling.
With every release he's had his Lawgiver, with a second magazine. That second magazine goes inside a pouch on his belt, while he can hold Lawgiver or slip it in the holster on his right calf. The same is true of the small knife, which fits inside a sheath on his left calf.
There's also his baton, which is supposed to slip inside the small hanging loop on the left side of his belt, but it wasn't working for me. The fit was simply too tight, even at the thinner handle. There's a set of canister grenades as well, and these go inside the two loops on the back of the belt.
I mentioned the handcuffs earlier, and these fold and open. They also fit neatly in the compartment in the back of the bike. The only accessory he has that doesn't have a spot to specifically carry or store is the rifle, which was originally available with the Cursed Earth exclusive. Of course, he can simply hold this larger weapon in one or both hands.
Sculpts and paints are fantastic all around, with a wash used to bring out the details and give everything a worn, gritty look. This work on both guns is particularly nice, with even small details highlighted.
But wait - that's not all! Another extra from the Cursed Earth exclusive is the heavy cloak. This fits over his head, and has Velcro closures on either side. The neck has a sturdy wire running through the collar for posing, and the front has the badge printed on. Again, the dirty, weathered look works great, the materials are very high quality, and you should be able to adjust the pancho in such a way that it looks good on the shelf.
The final additional item is the stand. This is similar to the base we saw with the Toy Fair Spock, and is a great design. You can attach either the clear support rod or a simple foot peg to the logo base, depending on your pose and preference. You have to pop out the foot peg to put the clear support in place, but it works great and really adds to the value.
Sound Feature - ****
Here's how you do light and sound features! Both are controlled by a single set of batteries, and a single on/off switch. The battery compartment is on
the bottom, and houses 4 AAA batteries. They include a set as well. The switch is just behind this compartment, easily accessible at any time. If you forget to
switch it off, no worries, it will power down after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Switch it to the On position, and you can then use the buttons on the top and sides of the bike to activate the various features. For the sounds, there are two buttons on either side, and two on top. These buttons are actual sculpted features on the bike, so there's nothing about them that's obvious or obtrusive. Press the one on the left side and you'll get cannon and grenade launching sounds, press the one on the right and you get machine gun sounds. Press the small button below the left handlebar, and you get the motor starting up and revving, while the similar button to the right creates a sound like the motor revving up and changing gears. All the sounds are loud, realistic, and clear, and the buttons are sturdy and well designed.
Light Feature - ****
To go along with the sounds, there are nine areas that light up - nine! There are three buttons to activate the lights, all lined up in the center of the front
tank. Press the top button, and a bright spotlight between the handlebars lights up. Press the center button, and the four front 'headlights' illuminate. And press
the bottom button, and the three rear tail lights and center console computer light are activated. When you press the sound button mentioned earlier for the machine
guns or the cannon/launchers, and these light up like they are firing as well!
All the lights are super bright, and the buttons can be used individually or in combination. This is a terrific example of an easy to use light feature that works great and adds quite a bit of value to the collectible toy.
Outfit - ***1/2
This is a very bright outfit, much brighter than the earlier versions. The sparkly blue is definitely eye catching, although I'm not sure it's my favorite look
for the good Judge. In fact, I know it's not.
My favorite overall feature is that everything - all the accessories other than the rifle - have some place to go. While the bike houses the handcuffs, everything else fits on Dredd someplace. The stretchy outfit looks good, and I like the size and shape of the various pieces of armor. The tailoring and fit are great, and there's actually an improvement here over the earlier Dredd - the collar is a little shorter, and doesn't ride up as far on the neck and face.
It still has the slightly too big zipper however, which pulls it down slightly. While the color might not be my favorite, I'm not going to hold that aesthetic issue against them, but the zipper still annoys me.
Fun Factor - ****
The bike includes not only great looks, but great sound and light features that are easy to use and easy to show off when friends are oogling your collection. You'll
have a ton of different ways to pose the figure(s) with the vehicle, and you can change things up regularly without running out of options.
Value - Combo set *1/2; Bike Itself **1/2
The bike itself goes for $125 in basic black. That's an solid value, compared to other recent vehicle releases in this scale. For example, the recent BTAS Batmobile,
also 1:12, had fewer lights, no sounds at all, and a lighter, less weighty feel, all for $85. With the sheer amount of detail, the sound feature, and the additional
lights, this bike is easily worth the additional $40.
However, I'm grading the two pack, which was originally $240. That means the added figure raised the price $115, while a normal 1:12 figure only runs about $70. Where's that extra $45 coming from and going to? Of course it's an exclusive, which means (theoretically) a much lower production run. But is that really worth $45?
I highly recommend buying the bike, I'm just not sure that the exclusive is the right route this time.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. When slipping the hands onto the handlebars, be careful where you squeeze or press. The bike isn't particularly fragile, but you don't want to push
your luck. The instructions also point out to never zip the zipper up and down using the badge or badge chain, to avoid damaging them. Otherwise, you should be good
to go!
Overall - ****
Each year, we have a Poppies award for Best Vehicle or Play Set. Everyone else can just give up now, because the Lawmaster has it hands down. With a terrific
sculpt, excellent paint, and the sort of sound and light features that are actually worth the money, this vehicle blows everything else out of the water. If you
already have one of the One:12 Collective Dredds, do yourself a favor and grab him a ride - you won't be disappointed.
However, that doesn't necessarily mean you should grab this exclusive. My only complaint is with the price, and that complaint is only when buying the exclusive two pack with this blue Dredd. I'm not sure you can justify the extra $45, even with a lower production run.
Even at the higher price, I'm still going with a full four stars. That's because there are so many individual four star categories that they overwhelm the issue with price, at least for me. If you have a choice and don't really need a blue Dredd, then go with the standard Lawmaster. This is one of those situations where the regular release is preferable to the exclusive, unless you have some overwhelming need for the specificity of the exclusive.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ****
Sound Feature - ****
Light Feature - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - Combo set *1/2; Bike Itself **1/2
Overall - ****
Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
- Entertainment Earth has the exclusive bike and figure for $250, or just the bike itself for $125.
- or you can search ebay for a deal.
Related Links -
Other One:12 Collective releases include the NYCC exclusive Judge Dredd, the Toy
Fair exclusive Mr. Spock, the DKR Batman and Mutant two pack, the Batman exclusives, and the initial DKR Batman.
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
Discussion:
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
