Review of Judge Dredd Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

Two SDCC's ago, I was as excited as the next nerd when I saw threeA, makers of many cool sixth scale figures, showing off a Judge Dredd. He's a classic character that hasn't gotten the toy love over the years that I think he deserves, but the situation has been changing. ThreeA have already been doing smaller 1/12 figures, as has Mezco, and while we never did get a good official Dredd figure from the most recent movie, we got some terrific bootlegs.

ThreeA is doing the 2000AD comic book version, and they are releasing at least two styles.  The standard I'm checking out tonight, complete with his black costume. The second version is based on the "Apocalypse War" look, with the blue suit and pancho. The standard will run you around $200 depending on the retailer, while the second is $10 - $20 more.

Packaging - ***1/2
I was a little concerned about the package, since threeA isn't known for their collector friendliness with the smaller series. But there's no need to fear - it's all good.

The design is terrific, using comic themed art and designs. The box has a cigar band wrapper on the outside, with the name in a highly reflective red. Even the inside of the band has artwork!

The box is very sturdy, made from high quality cardboard, and the interior plastic trays keep everything safe and sound. There's a couple annoying sealed bags (the one for the lower face plat is most egregious), but it's a relatively minor nit with an otherwise great looking package.

Sculpting - ****
This portrait should match the comic look, but maintain some realism as well. It's a fine line to walk between too cartoony and too realistic - threeA pulls it off perfectly.

There are two lower face plates, one with his usual grumpy look, and one with his bared teeth. Dredd is never a happy man. Both expressions are extreme, but both line up with his comic book persona quite nicely.

There's a lifelike texture as well, and even the bared teeth look amazing. This face plate sits below his nifty helmet, which is about right in terms of size and proportion. Edges on all the armored suit pieces are sharp and clean, giving them a metal appearance. The sculpted boots and shoulder plates look terrific, and there's a real metal chain for the badge.

He's about 12 1/4" tall, which works out pretty well in terms of relative scale. He stands great on his own thanks to the big feet and the two piece boot sculpt, and the hand sculpts work well with the various accessories. If I had one complaint in this category, it's that the tight grip hands are a little too tight to insert the Daystick without using some heat.

Paint - ***1/2
A very clean production paint job helps the excellent sculpt stand out. Edges are clean, and the finish and coverage of every color is consistent.

The key to realism here is the wear and tear. There's chips and scratches on the helmet, worn edges on the armor. The age effects on the plastic 'metal' is very impressive, and makes him stand out on the shelf.

Some of the human pieces aren't quite as realistic, however. There's something about the skin tone that's a little toy-ish to me, and the teeth could be a smidge cleaner. Some of the rubbery parts of the outfit - the gauntlets, boots, holster, etc. - aren't quite as realistic, although they do have a decent wash.

Perhaps the highlight, at least for me, is the belt, where the wash on the pouches and the detailed work on the buckle is really outstanding.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body works well here.  The thinner legs and arms give a real human too much of a lanky, extended look, but they work well with a comic book based character like Dredd.  It helps that they've padded up the torso a bit too, adding a little bulk where he needed it.

The ball jointed neck works well, and there's a skin covering over the neck itself. The shoulders are a bit restricted by the armor, although there is a ball joint where the left shoulder piece attaches to the costume, giving it a bit more mobility. The double pin elbows and rotating hinge wrists work great, and you should be able to get most arm poses without too much effort.

The torso isn't able to turn and bend very far, thanks to the costume. But the hips, knees, and ankles work well, and the two piece boot design gives the feet full mobility. Fairly deep stances are easy to maintain, and he can keep both feet flat on the ground.

Accessories - ***1/2
He's pretty well outfitted, and I think this version has it over the Apocalypse War release in this category.

He has plenty of hands - four sets in all. He comes wearing fists, and has a set of tight grip, medium grip, and gun grip to go with them. These swap easily, and they included a second set of wrist pegs just in case. However, because these wrists posts are such high quality - they use a metal screw through the ball instead of a plastic peg - it's unlikely you'll have any issues.

There's also the second face plate I mentioned in the Sculpt and Paint categories. To swap the faces, you have to pull the head back, and pull down on the face, jiggling it slightly to free it.  It's a tight fit, and takes a little effort. I think going with a magnet here, rather than the three posts they use, would have been a smarter move.

He has a nice assortment of weapons as well. There's the smaller MK1 that fits in the holster on his right calf, the MK2, the large Lawrod with removable stock, and the Daystick. All three of the guns have removable magazines, and both the MK1 and MK2 have little dials on the back that actually turn.

It's a good thing the mags remove, because you have to take out the one on the MK1 to get it inside the holster, and I wasn't able to get the gun far enough down to replace it. You'll see what I mean.

The sculpts and paint work on all the weapons is realistic and well done, and it will be tough to choose which ones you want in his hands in your display.

Outfit - ***
The one area where I have some nits is the outfit.

The black body suit looks good, and is stretchy enough to allow for posing. The tailoring is nice, and the padded torso adds some appropriate bulk.

The shoulder pad on the left side is attached to a ball joint, making it possible to move it around a bit for posing. The one on the left is not, stitched directly to the costume. A second joint there would have been helpful.

The holster on his calf is another annoyance. It's tough to get the MK1 in place, but doable. There's even a slot for the magazine to stick out from the back of the holster...but I can't get the gun down far enough to re-insert the magazine.

The belt looks fantastic, but I do wish it was a little looser around the waist. It tends to ride high on the hips, particularly in straight up stances.

Finally, there's my biggest nit. The badge. It's the right size, and I like the big metal chain that attaches it to the zipper. The badge is held in place on the chest with a magnet, but it sits too low. I know they were trying to fit it all in there with the huge pads, but the final result was a smidge annoying.

Fun Factor - ****
Posing and reposing - that's what you'll be doing with this guy.  Thanks to the solid articulation and nice assortment of extras (including the second face plate), you'll find a perfect pose...and then find an even better one the next time you pick him up.

Value - ***
You can find this guy for as little as $190 at my sponsors, and that's an awfully good price considering the quality and accessories.  Some places are at the $200 suggested retail, but that's still a solid value on today's market.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. The elbow and knees pads are unattached, so you can easily adjust them to you're preferred location.

The magazine on the MK1 tends to fall out too, so be careful when handling it. You don't want to drop it on your shag carpet.

Overall - ***1/2
If you think the only company making terrific sixth scale figures is Hot Toys, you need to get out into the market a bit more.  This is an example of an excellent figure at a good price, done in a style that's appropriate to the license. Is he perfect? Nah. But perfection is pretty rare from anyone, including the big HT.

Fans of the character will be pleased, and the overall quality is well above the price. I'm digging the guns in particular, and there's a ton of options when posing and displaying him.  I'd love to get this good of a movie based version from an established company as well, and maybe a comic Judge Death to go with.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - ***
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth doesn't have this version, but they have the Apocalypse War version for $220 and free shipping.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Judge Dredd reviews include the threeA Lawmaster and the threeA Dredd. I've also looked at several of the Mezco releases, including the black and white NYCC exclusive and the previews exclusive blue version with the Lawmaster. Other Dredd merchandise includes the PCS Judge Dredd statue, and their Judge Death statue.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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