REVIEW: Art Figures 1:6 Heavy Armoured Special Cop (Dredd)

[JeffSaylor]

I Am The Law! Over 90 New Photos!...

(PLEASE NOTE: Custom-built bullet base not included. Also note that extra paint detail has been added to the figure, including movie accurate green paint applications to the med kit, knife, elbow, knee and toe pads, gun weathering, as well as more gold/bronze applied to the shoulder armor. All custom work done by Jeff Saylor).

CLICK HERE FOR OVER 90 NEW PHOTOS OF DREDD!

Now here is a figure that took everybody by surprise: Art Figures' 1:6th scale Heavy Armoured Special Cop. There was no prior hype for this figure, just a sudden outpouring of pre-order announcements back in May. The reason is rather obvious: it's Judge Dredd. More precisely, it's Karl Urban as the popular 2000AD future law enforcer from the underrated 2012 sci-fi film, Dredd. Heavy Armoured Special Cop? I think not. The bottom line is this figure wasn't fully sanctioned by 2000AD. In fact, it appears the Heavy Armoured Special Cop's pre-order announcement took 2000AD by surprise as well, with an attempt to block the collectible's release soon after. I don't know the full details of the situation or how it was resolved (if it even was), as I'm one of those collectors that immediately placed his pre-order and quickly put it out of mind. Thinking about a figure you really want for months until it is finally released (or not) can drive you mad. However, I did catch rumblings of the drama this summer, prompting me to check on the figure's pre-order status. Still a go.

I paid much closer attention to the situation back in September when I stumbled across this thread on our affiliate site OneSixthWarriors.com. Folks were very nervous that this figure wasn't coming out. That got me nervous too, so I watched the thread - fingers crossed - until the magic words were spoken: The figure was finally shipping.

Quite the ride, but I must say the wait has been worth it. While Dredd underperformed in theaters, positive word of mouth and a fast developing legend of fans helped push home video sales to record highs. During the week of its release in North America (January 8th), it was the number 1 selling DVD and Blu-ray with approximately 650,000 units sold. I'm one of those fans that caught this movie on Blu-ray... and loved it. Raw and gritty are the words I use most often to describe it, a serious visual treat for fans of the franchise. Like the X-Men movies, Dredd was given a more realistic makeover, trading in his vibrant comic yellow, green, red and blue outfit for rugged black SWAT-like, urban military sensibility. Best yet, Karl Urban - like Dredd in the comic -NEVER takes off his helmet. I love the redesign and Art Figures' 1:6 Heavy Armoured Special Cop action figure awesomely depicts this new and improved Dredd look.

There's not much to not like about this figure. $140 was the going pre-order rate (though it has since doubled on the aftermarket), an unheard number for a 1:6th scale collectible these days. To reflect that price, the figure does not include a stand, though I quickly remedied that problem with some spent shell casings (.22, .45 and 9mm), a metal rod and a plaque of wood painted black. The packaging is generic ("Artistic Interpretation," indeed!), but it more than gets the job done with its rugged cardboard construction and foam-lined interior (it even has a magnetic lid!).

Dredd's gear is all here:

Outfit:

• Judge Badge (Note that it reads "DAEDD," the "A" closely resembling an "R". Clever!)
• Helmet
• Leather Jacket
• Leather Pants
• Ballistic Vest
• Leather Boots
• Leather Gloves
• Breathing Respirator

Duty Belt:

• Belt Buckle
• Door Breach Mine
• Lawgiver Magazines (x4)
• Medi-Kit
• Knife
• Gas Grenade

Weapon:

• Lawgiver pistol w/ interchangeable silencer and holster

Getting Dredd ready to go right out of the pack is a mostly painless experience. First you'll want to place his Ballistic Vest on. It simply slides over the figure's head, while two elastic straps attached to the shoulder armor slide over Dredd's arms. Zip her up and you're good to go. The trickiest step of dressing up Dredd is getting his gear attached in the proper order on his duty belt. Use this WEBPAGE as reference. Be mindful that the belt must be strung through several loops attached to the Ballistic Vest and that some items, such as the Breathing Respirator bag and Gas Grenade, must be placed on the belt before you move on. Items like the magazine holders, knife and medi-kit can clip on after the belt is secured.

Speaking of magazines, as mentioned, Dredd only comes with four. That includes the one already in his Lawgiver. That means you're going to have an empty slot on the belt. I know some folks have positioned Dredd's left hand under the Lawgiver's grip, allowing them to take that clip out for displaying all four mags on the belt. Personally having one empty slot doesn't bother me. It shows Dredd has seen action. The Lawgiver itself is a fantastic sculpt and Art Figures gives collectors two display options: with the short standard muzzle attached or swapped out for the longer silencer. Both barrels attach via a small slotted peg and stay attached relatively well. My silencer is a hair loose, but nothing wrong for display. A quick solution I found for stowing the unused barrel: stuff it in Dredd's rebreather bag. By the way, the Breathing Respirator is purely for looks as it does not stay in Dredd's mouth.

Dredd's outfit is masterfully tailored, though attentive Dredd fans will note that several pieces of his armor are not painted film-accurate. Instead of black, Dredd's elbow, knee and toe pads (as well as his knife and medi-kit) are supposed to be a very dark green. In addition, Dredd's gold/bronze shoulder armor is very muted on the figure. An extra coat of gold followed by a black wash (also applied to his belt buckle to tone it down) will go a long way in making this figure stand out more like the movie Dredd. All small complaints in the scheme of things. The figure fans receive is truly amazing.

The body on this figure features firm articulation. It's slightly restricted by his pleather outfit, but that is to be expected. Art Figures used bendy hands on Dredd (thankfully already gloved), something that works in holding his Lawgiver, but would have worked much better had the hands been sculpted. Lastly we get to Dredd's helmeted head. Karl Urban is in the portrait and with the helmet on, the illusion that this is Dredd from the movie is complete. With the helmet removed... Karl Urban looks like a LEGO minifigure. The peg on top of his head is supposedly to keep his helmet in place. I suspect it has something more to do with those "licensing" rights. Regardless, Dredd never takes off his helmet and that is the way 100% of collectors will be displaying this figure. I read some people complain that his helmet sits too high, but to me it looks perfect. To push the helmet down any further would really make his head appear too small. That's just me and collectors are free to do as they wish by cutting off the peg on his head.

I'm not sure what Art Figures did to persuade 2000AD to allow them to release this figure (perhaps they didn't do anything!), and I honestly don't care. That's a fight for the big boys. This little boy couldn't be more happy with his 1:6th scale action figure of Dredd, err, Heavy Armoured Special Cop I'd like to say that this figure is still available at $140, but alas that boat has sailed. The good news is the Heavy Armoured Special Cop CAN still be purchased, albeit at slightly increased rates. Supply and demand folks. BlackOpsToys.com has him in-stock parted and mint-in-box priced at $210. Grab 'em while you can.


CLICK HERE FOR OVER 90 NEW PHOTOS OF DREDD!

(PLEASE NOTE: Custom-built bullet base not included. Also note that extra paint detail has been added to the figure, including movie accurate green paint applications to the med kit, knife, elbow, knee and toe pads, gun weathering, as well as more gold/bronze applied to the shoulder armor. All custom work done by Jeff Saylor).

- All Photos by Jeff Saylor

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