This 28mm scale metal miniature of a Cadet Judge was produced by “Mongoose Publishing” and was one of my rewards from the company’s 2012 Kickstarter for the “Judge Dredd Miniatures Game: Block War”. The model is now long out of production (OOP) and was seemingly soon side-lined by two subsequent sculpts (representing both a male and female cadet) found inside the Justice Department boxed set.
“Inducted into the Academy either as a cloned infant or as a child aged five”, the figure was primed in “Citadel” Abaddon Black and had its boots, kneepads, belt, large pouch, elbow-pads and gloves painted with “Vallejo” Heavy Grey. These areas were subsequently shaded using some “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green.
The potential Judge candidate’s belt buckle and shoulder-pads were then given a layer of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, before being treated to a combination of Gold and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. I also ‘picked out’ the miniature’s lawgiver with a little “Vallejo” Gunmetal and later washed the firearm in “Citadel” Nuln Oil.
Finally, the cadet’s tongue was given a small application of “Vallejo” Heavy Red and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson, whilst his helmet received a few coats of watered-down “Vallejo” White. This eye-catching headpiece was initially shaded using a smidgeon of “Vallejo” Pale Grey, but I didn’t like the final result, so went back over it with another layer of watered-down White.
To be honest, this Cadet Judge was not all that much fun to work on, as some of the “Citadel” Shades I’ve previously used on its Justice Department predecessors have been retired by “Games Workshop”. In addition, the scale of the youngster seems a bit ‘out of kilter’ with the height of the fully-grown Street Judges, and the metal had a bizarre reaction with the “Vallejo” White on the helmet – which made it go all lumpy despite being watered-down. Ultimately, my biggest challenge though was that the (oldish) pot of “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green simply stained rather than shaded, and once dry created a plethora of annoying white crystals over the areas it had been applied to.
With my first “Mongoose Publishing” model finished in approximately four years, I’ve started work on the fifth of my Weekly Challenges, randomly chosen via a deck of playing cards. This time round I’ve got to paint a single 15mm-20mm miniature, so thought it might help break up my current “Flames Of War” Panzergrenadier push by “Battlefront Miniatures” to pigment one of their German 12cm Mortar Platoons instead…
I like your cadet judge. The contrast of the white helmet to the rest of the dark uniform is really striking. I don't think these older judge dredd minis are as good as the current Warlord games ones but you have done a great job of bringing it to life, despite your problems!
I am constantly amazed by how detailed those 15mm FoW minis are. They are packed with details and look amazing!
Oh dear that was a bit of an ordeal, I hope it doesn't put you right off the Mongoose stuff, as I know you were a bit "off" then anyway. Looks great to me by the way 😀.
What's the point of a random painting generator if you're just going to paint more Germans with it (LOL), seriously good to see you sticking with this even when you technically don't have too! (Duck's for cover 😉)
Cheers Roger.
Apart from the issue you had with the helmet, the cadet looks great: well painted and a nicely dynamic pose. Am I right in assuming that he has a white helmet because he's a cadet?
Great work on the judge cadet Simon, looks like the metal had a heat bloom when being cast, can cause all sorts of problems when you try adding paint, but you've covered it well. Nice start on the germans