Monday 21 November 2016

JDMG MC1 Cadet Judges and Long Walk Judges

I could have called this post "The New and the Old" because I am looking at the two opposite ends of the Justice Department - Cadet Judges, who are are training to become fully-fledged Judges, and Long Walk Judges, who have come to the end of their career.
Though spending most of their time concealed within  the Academy of Law, Cadets are occasionally allowed into the city, under the strict watch of a Judge. Despite being barely in their teens, a well-trained Cadet has been the ultimate nemesis for more than one perp. A Cadet is inducted into the Academy either as a cloned infant (as Judge Dredd did), or as a child aged five (although older children have been recruited). After this, unsupervised contact with the city outside is forbidden, in order to maintain the strictest discipline and mental conditioning. Training usually lasts for 15 years, although in some exceptional cases, this is shortened by a few years. Cadet Judges must leave both the Academy and the city itself during their "Hot-dog Run" - a training mission into the Cursed Earth, to test the Cadets under combat conditions; fatalities are not unknown. A senior Judge will command and assess the Cadets during the Hot-dog Run. On graduating from the Academy, Cadets are known as Rookie Judges.
After a career on the streets of Mega City One, retiring Judges usually become Academy of Law Tutors or take the Long Walk, choosing to bring the Law to Lawless regions such as the Cursed Earth or the Undercity. Many die quickly to the hazards they encounter but a select few will survive, even thrive, on the adversity, becoming a dangerous force for those who choose to hide beyond the walls of Mega City One.
The four Cadet Judges to the left of my two photos directly above and below were produced by Mongoose Publishing. I have not yet named any of them. All four of them are the same sculpt but three have been converted. The one at the far left is the original sculpt. The Cadet second from the left has had his arms repositioned and his feet re-sculpted in different positions to the original. I also painted him as an African/American to further distinguish him from the others. For the Cadet third from the left, I added Milliput breasts to the figure to make her female and I repositioned her arms. For the other one, third from the right, I cut off his Lawgiver Pistol and glued it on his right hand. His arms have also been repositioned. I'm still not sure why I bought four of them but there was no way I could leave four looking the same.
The two Cadet Judges at the right were produced by Warlord Games and are, in my opinion, much better sculpts. Second from the right is Cadet Judge Aurens and at the far right is Cadet Judge Vincent, who is female. Will any of them see action in my JDMG campaign? Very possibly.
Moving on, these are to date, my only two Long Walk Judges. At the left is Judge William Minty, who was a very minor character in the comic series. He appeared in a one-off strip in 1980. In the story, Judge Dredd is assigned to assist an older Judge in the routine arrest of a gang of criminals. During the tracking down and apprehension of the 'perps' Dredd remarks on a number of flaws in Minty's methods. Eventually Minty is wounded when he hesitates to shoot one of the gang. As Minty recovers in hospital, Dredd informs him that he had to file an adverse report and that Minty is going to be retired from the streets. Minty gives a poignant response, "It had to come... I -I always knew you were on this case just to watch me... When you get old, you start gettin' strange notions... like maybe people aren't so bad. Maybe if we treat 'em with kindness, the good in them will come out! I guess that's when it's time to quit." Dredd explains that due to his excellent record Minty is eligible to become a Tutor at the Academy of Law. However Minty declines the offer "I've been on the streets too long, there's only one way for me... The Long Walk!" 
This excellent figure was sculpted by Hasslefree's Kevin White. It was designed as a limited edition figure for the Cancer Research and Multiple Sclerosis charities. When I ordered my figure, I also received a signed photo of Edmund Dehn, who plays Judge Minty in the fan film (see below). It is much treasured.

The other Long Walk Judge, whom I have not named yet, was produced by Warlord Games. He looks like he has been surviving outside for quite a while. He has either lost his Lawgiver Pistol or perhaps it ran out of ammo, and he has replaced it with a Sawed-Off Stump Gun. Note that he is using his left shoulder pad as knee pad, which is a nice touch.
I mentioned earlier that the actor, Edmund Dehn, played Judge Minty in a fan film. Here he is above in a scene from the film. You can watch it on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aavS_XUITXU&feature=youtu.be&list=PLHKk4pYwD-mJuItPtscho6JY5_eP9thTp
You can also find more information about the film here- http://www.judgeminty.com
I don't want to say too much about it in case you haven't seen it but I can highly recommend it. For a fan film, the production values are very high. Note how accurate his uniform and Lawgiver Pistol are.

23 comments:

  1. While I do like the Judge Cadets, I must say what a splendid job you have done on Judge Minty. And a Long Walk Judge is a fearsome opponent

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    1. Quite right, Clint. A Long Walk Judge has years and years of experience to call upon. Anyone who thinks they are past it is making a huge mistake.

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  2. Very nice models Bryan, got to meet Edmund this year on the set of their next fan film, he was a great guy to chat to as were all the cast and crew and interesting to see the film being made

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    1. I'm really pleased to hear that, Dave, and I'm very envious of you.

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    2. Thank's Bryan, was definitely one to scrub of the bucket list, looking forward to seeing the finished film

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  3. I really liked that fan film, I thought it brilliantly done. I'm really looking forward to the Strontium Dogs film too!!

    Nice collection dude, I think Minty is my fave and the Long Walk Judges would be the ones I would use most.

    Another corking post!

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    1. The fan film was excellent, Andy. Yes, I'm also eagerly awaiting the Strontium Dogs film. The trailer has really whetted my appetite.

      It is hard not to like Judge Minty. I do believe the figure is still available to but but stocks are running low.

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    2. Where would you get it from, just had a look on the HF site?

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    3. Andy, check out this link -
      http://www.warlordgames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6761
      All the details you need are there.

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  4. These are awesome, great paint jobs, Bryan. I religiously followed the comics.
    I wish these had come out back then. I would have every one.

    Its great to see you branching out in all these games.

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    1. Much appreciated, Roger. Judge Dredd has been a lifelong love of mine.

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  5. Lovely work. The Judge Minty figure is awesome. You can really see how much your enjoying this project some of your best work has come out in it.

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    1. Thanks, Simon. It's true, I am very much enjoying this project.

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  6. Very nice work Bryan, I like the cadets best myself, I do like to be different sometimes.


    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Being different is good, Roger. I like all of my Judge figures but there are some I like more than others.

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  7. Surely that's all the Judges now? Hang on, we haven't seen any non=MC1 Judges yet...or the vehicles. More Justice to come then. :)
    And I was unaware of that fan film, so thanks for the heads up. It did make me chuckle that parts of the Cursed Earth segment were shot in Wales = are they trying to tell us something?

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    1. No, Jez, that is not all of my Justice Department figures. Still to come are heavy armoured Judges, Judges on Lawmaster Bikes and Vehicles. Plus there are Brit Cit Judges, East Meg Judges, Hondo City Judges as well as an assortment of Judges from around the world.

      I could not possibly comment on the similarities between Wales and the Cursed Earth. :-)

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    2. The cursed earth is drier and they speak properly, otherwise pretty close.

      Roger (who lives about 2 miles from there (wales that is not the cursed earth).

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    3. Ha, ha, ha! Laughing my ass off, Roger!

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  8. I suppose that Cadet Judges do get live-action training, even if in a secure environment? I see no reason why you couldn't claim that any game which included them was just an "exercise"...

    As for the Long Walk Judge, it's good to see that even the anonymous one knows the importance of a good kneecap!

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    1. I totally agree with you, Hugh, regarding Cadets. Good point.

      As any reader of Judge Dredd will know the importance of a good knee-pad can not be overstated. :-)

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  9. Another awesome Mega-City One showcase, Bryan, packed full of variety and colour. I've always liked the cadet judges, ever since reading "The Hot Dog Run" with the original Judge Giant, and your paint-jobs have undoubtedly done them justice. Very nice work on both Minty and the Long Walk Judge too. Great posting :-)

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    1. Thanks, Simon. There have been quite a few "Hot-dog Run" stories in 2000AD and I've always found them very entertaining. As always, your comments are greatly appreciated.

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