Planet Figure gentlefolk,


I figure ('scuse the pun) that a few of you like me are Dredd heads and grew up with Judge Dredd and 2000 AD comics - especially if you hail from the shores of blighty.

I had already got the Dark World Creations Judge Dredd and I have Anderson and Death to do - I forked out the close to £40 each figure. Ouch I hear you cry. Yeah I agree but it's only once in a while you get the opportunity to get such figures.

So I splashed out on the Dredd and Lawmaster. Where I wasn't to disappointed with the first three figures because I knew I was getting some pretty well sculpted figures and I guess that Dark World have to cover the licensing fees for the figures - I took the hit on the first three.

I was gagging for a Lawmaster and when I saw the announcement here on Planet Figure I dropped off the deep end and ordered one.

It turned up during the week and I have just got round to opening it and drooling. Well I am not drooling too much. You can judge for yourselves the photo's will be attached. I was disappointed for the money shelled out.

The kit is more akin to Games Workshop plastic - not resin like the previous three kits (I might be mistaken about the previous three kits but I am pretty sure they are resin not plastic! If they are plastic wow!). The Lawmaster set is injection molded and although it's a lawmaster from the comic book Dredd it is very much in the same vein as the Games Workshop motorcycles.

As you see it comes in a nice slick box and packaging, The pose is very cool and the bike has all the bits but in the end I feel that I have been overcharged. I get that feeling whenever I buy from Games Workshop - the last thing I bought there was the Hobbits in barrels set - all half barrels I might add.

The Lawmaster/Dredd set is nice and it will go together well and will look cool but it is not ninety quids worth. If it had been resin I'd have taken it on the chin.

Dredd is a great favorite and I will be keeping this kit and making it but I do feel it is over priced. The consolation is that I can't get a Lawmaster/Dredd elsewhere.

Great buyers beware tale Adrian.
I'm also a big Dredd movie & comic fan, but there's no way I'll be shelling out £90 quid for this kit in 70mm.
I reckon one of the 1/6th ones coming out maybe a better bet perhaps.

Thanks for taking the time to share your impressions here.

Mike

Thanks for letting us in on this Adrian.

I had misgivings about this one when I saw the release announcement a few weeks ago. I nearly dropped my chips when I saw the price. I feel a little vindicated now after your heads up Adrian. Thanks mate, I feel your pain

Cheers,
Billy

I did get a bargain compared to this - A 1/3 scale bust of Dredd at http://www.fantasyrealms.co.uk.

This is huge and based on the comic version from way back. Large amount of Resin.

If Darkworlds's Lawmaster had been resin I feel they may have been justified but it being injection molded plastic it is over priced. Even considering the licensing fees. We can all look at Knight Models and complain about the cost but at around £40 for the 54mm figures you know that about 30% are fees to Marvel and DC and Star Wars...the same can be said about Dark World Dredd Figures - that doesn't equate to the Lawmaster the fee would be the same on that as it would on a standing figure.

Oh Dear ,that is a bit of a toy for 90 Bucks Adrian ,massive rip off

No Comment!

I was toying with buying one of these but won't bother now having seen what's in the box for the price. Thanks for an informative and honest review/summary Adrian.

Gary

Hi Adrian,
Not my area and I would normally leave well alone and not comment, but, this is reminiscent of the 70'/80's snap together kits - has it got made in Hong Kong stamped on it

When you consider you can get a half decent injection moulded 120mm mounted figure from the likes of Miniart from £15 to £25 delivered, this does seem very expensive for what it is. But, I guess thats the price of models from comics/movies with the licensing fees.

I think I would have felt the same as you, short changed, if I was in your position.

Lets hope it fits together well and you can make a good job of it with the brushes.
cheers
Richie

And his arms and legs are still really 'Skinny'. . ....... Adrian, I am sorry you took a mega hit on this piece! But thanks for the review! .. it will help others in the future, which is of little consolation to yourself. But thanks anyway!

Mark

Hi All

Rin here from Dark World Creations.
I have just read the review and I would like to clear up one point about Judge Dredd on his Lawmaster. This is a resin kit and not plastic our caster is DB Creative moulds and we have used a light purple colour in the resin to make our figures stand out. I agree if it was a plastic kit £96.40 would be excessive it clearly states on the website that our figure are cast in Polyurethane resin and they are cast in the UK.

I hope this clears up the issue and thanks
Rin

Rin

thanks for the input, however I am being honest, the feel of the kit is more plastic than resin - certainly the appearance has the feel more akin with a games workshop release especially with the big sprue. I did expect more for what I was charged. I took the hit as I wanted a Dredd and Lawmaster - yours is the only kit on the block - but when I see the St. George kit from Michael Kontraros at around £65 there is a huge difference. I know about the cost of Licence fees but this is overly expensive for what is provided.

Thanks Nap

I will say I hate to be negative. I always try and find the positive in anything I review or buy. It was my choice to buy the Dredd Lawmaster. I compare to like models - Knight and their Marvel/DC ranges and I still feel the Dredd is over priced.

It is good to get feedback from the manufacturer.

I will of course get images of the big Dredd when it's done.

As for this thread I will not harp on because I don't want to risk boring anyone.

One last point...I really enjoyed the last Dredd film with Karl Urban...it was a commercial flop...the producers didn't tie in toy and merchandise deals...apparently they were inexperienced in producing. There is a petition out there on the net to get another Dredd film made...I think there are enough Dredd heads out there to put pressure on the film world to get Dredd well and truly on the screen.

I don't usually indulge in these "tit for tat"s as they are ultimately non-productive, but the fact that the hue and cry was raised when this figure was first announced and there was nothing to objectively critique(!), compels me to join the fray.

I too have this figure (issue #10/100) and I received mine on Thursday. For the sake of complete transparency, I will state at the outset that I am a huge DWC fan, if only because of the quality of their work, the passion and commitment evinced therein, and their dedication to customer satisfaction. If that disqualifies me to provide a counterpoint to what has been said, then you need not read any further.

This is a resin kit, made in the UK. The engineering might be reminiscent of a styrene kit, but that is a credit to the collaboration between DWC and the casting service--and the obvious skillsets of the latter! I for one have never liked the now-prevalent trend of overengineering kits so as to extend mold life and perhaps draw attention away from less-than-optimal design and/or mask limited production capabilities. While it may appear simple--or rather, simplified--once dry-assembled, it immediately becomes apparent that the design is genius! The undercuts required to give the impression of a layered, multi-piece kit are all there, and the kit does not suffer one iota for its minimalist approach!

Minimalist approach notwithstanding, the kit is comprised of 29(!) exquisitely cast pieces (+ the logoed display plinth)--24 of the pieces dedicated to the Lawmaster. The Mega-City superbike is the Mk1 version, and it is based on--and faithful to--the 2000AD "blueprints" posted on the DWC FB page. Whether you agree with this particular set of blueprints vs. the countless iterations of the Lawmaster (and their riders!) published over the decades is entirely a subjective call--but a specious argument given the limitless artistic license evinced by the talented artists at 2000AD.

One thing that the minimalist approach will require is for the miniaturist to plan carefully, and bring his/her "A" game to the benches. I perhaps would have preferred separate exhausts, a separate eagle, and a separate 'Cyclops' Phylon TX laser, but I didn't design it--and the en suite approach will work equally as well. . . if you are up to to it! No DWC kit I have ever acquired (over a dozen as of this writing!) is a quick weekend project: these are every bit as challenging as their multi-piece over-engineered brethren, and will reward the effort committed handsomely! As I have referred to them since acquiring the 70mm Judge Dredd in early 2013, these are "onion figures". A figure that can appeal to--and be modelled by--miniaturists of virtually any skill/experience level. A beginner can take the figure at face value, and with basic skills and a relatively simple palette, achieve results that they will be proud to call their own. By the same token, advanced miniaturists can 'peel the onion' as far as they deem fit, and wring-out every nuance afforded by the masterful design and sculpture. The outcomes will vary, but I can assure you that the satisfaction derived from the doing and the finished piece will be very similarly gratifying.

Finally, the price point. I entered the ranks of this hobby when a 54mm foot was under US$3.00, and a 90mm foot were around US$15.00. A mounted 90 (or a 154mm foot) was right at or under US$50! So to me, everything is now ridiculously overpriced!! You decry a £96 msrp for a limited-edition, licensed product; but don't even cock an eyebrow at a like-scaled, similar product that is similarly priced! That is selective discrimination--or outright hypocrisy! DWC's foot figures are 35 quid, which converts, to ~44€--the last time I checked, that was pretty much the going rate for a 75mm foot figure, give or take! And, at the risk of repeating myself, these are licensed products!

I am very pleased--if not delighted!--with my latest acquisition. . . in all respects! It will be a masterpiece once it is done and it will be the centrepiece of my Mega-City display. But in the meantime, I have a particularly nefarious Dark Judge to finish . . .

From my point of view on price - I will buy from other manufacturers at similar prices - do I list or not?

Well lets look at Mitches Military Models £96 will get me two 200mm kits and about 1lb of resin - I just got a Dredd bust 1/3rd scale at £60 at 6kg of resin. I got a 1/6 scale London after Midnight - Lon Chaney kit with London doorway from the US at just over $150 including shipping.

I fully understand about the Licensing and the fees involved however does £96 really get me a kit that is value for money. I do feel it is over priced. I too as soon as I opened the box did a dry fit and it all looks great and it is nicely engineered as pointed out but the sticky wicket is the price.

I feel that it would be better value if it were in line with Andrea (what can be compared? Indiana Jones and his dad on a motorcycle/sidecar), I am ordering the St. George kit that is mentioned on another thread - it is stunning and is around the same price as Dredd and the lawmaster, I'll let you figure out which is more value for money.

Believe me I too am fan of Dark World Miniatures....in the UK £96 buys me a tank full of petrol or a weeks groceries.

Maybe I am contradicting myself as I have mentioned several items that I have on my shelves and I'll add another - Moonsinger - a huge werewolf kit that was £70 including shipping.

Ultimately it was my choice and I am a fan of DWM and Dredd - but I expected more for my money and I am disappointed that the contents of the box are not as spectacular as I expected. I have three standing figures from the DWM Dredd series at around £35 each - as I say I understand that licensing has to play a part - the resin included for the lawmaster doesn't consist of £60 worth of resin because the licensing has been covered in the figure at £35. That is really the point...breaking the model down the lawmaster is costing £60 thereabouts. 1/35 Resin Quadbikes don't cost that much!

As I say it was my choice...I'll be making the kit but I will not be enjoying it as much as the 1/3rd scale bust at two thirds the price!

My price comparison was based on a recent release by a Continental manufacturer who essentially provided the same components plus a little extra scenic accessory, not on the mileage to be had from the given currency.

What brings "bang to the buck" for me is not the amount of raw materials, the number of pieces, the packaging, etc., but the quality of the finished product, and whether or not it satisfies my vision of the piece going-in, and/or the character/subject it portrays. For example, in this instance, I saw in a pre-release photo of the prototype that certain sub-assemblies had been bisected rather than pieced out, and yes, that was a concern. But, my trust in DWC over-rode that concern--and I, for one, am glad it did. Once assembled, there will be nothing to suggest under-engineering, short-changing, or anything along those lines.

I will concur with you that the Lawmaster in and of itself does not represent ~£60 of resin: no price point is representative of the amount of raw materials in any kit! However, the unknown in this instance are the design fees, engineering, and moulding costs associated with the complex component pieces, etc. As well as the fact that this offering is a LE of 100 pieces! Limited editions have never done particularly well in our world--we are after all miniaturists and modellers, not collectors; but the fact remains these are not only miniature kits, but items with a status of collectibility. As such, the price will be higher as the manufacturer must make their nut with significantly fewer items in circulation. "Their choice!", you say? Absolutely. . . same as it is our choice whether or not to invest our disposable cash on this, or any other kit.

And as a sidebar, licensing is a very complex issue. Dredd was most probably already covered (I say 'most probably', but a licensee may have to pay for every iteration of a given character/subject they choose to produce), but the Lawmaster might not have been. The original license might have been limited to foot figures and not any vehicles, scenic accessories, etc. I know of a gk manufacturer in the States back in the day who had the option to acquire the license for some of the vehicles in 2001, but was refused a license to depict any of the crew, etc.

"Value for money", the aforementioned "bang for the buck" is a subjective evaluation, much a long the lines of "degree of difficulty". But now that we've broached the subject, I have a question, if I may. If it "all looks great" and is "nicely engineered", etc., what would have swayed your verdict? What would have made the contents of the box as spectacular as you expected?

Best regards,

Augie

Augie

in many respects we come to similar points but from different angles - we will at the end of this discussion - I am sure beg to differ.

I cannot comment on whether the lawmaster was licenced or whether the Dredd licence was a whole but my point is that £60 for a Lawmaster ($90) is I think excessive. If I compare Knight Models bang for buck the Moon Knight figure is better value for money when you consider the amount of resin/metal involved, same for the Thor figure.

If we add into the mix the sculpting costs - I am only dabbling at the moment in manufacture - but sculpting can be subjective...the sculptor is not doing it for love.

As for your last comment about the kit being spectacular- I saw the completed unpainted model and immediately sent off for it - it looked spectacular. But when I opened it up - in my opinion - was not much better than the Games Workshop plastic kits that are presently available - chunky sprues, detail is not as deep and crisp as I would have expected on the bike. Someone mentioned that Dredd is a little skinny (I overlook that - but Dredd was beefy in the comics), the tyre is a little under detailed, the wheels are very smooth and lacking detail - yes this is representative of the comic book but some artistic input needs to be added. The front end engine section is a lump of resin with the tank on top and box bits picked out. There needed to be more detail added here with turbine looking detailing or plumbing - something to catch the eye. This is where it is mostly reminiscent of Games Workshop. I will add detailing but at £96 that shouldn't be the case!

Ultimately I am not overwhelmed. This is me and my opinions...I aired them here as an honest opinion and for no other reason - I don't want my money back, I don't want to sway people from buying but I am saying that I expected more for my buck...As I say I got the 1/3rd scale Dredd Bust which is overwhelming at two thirds the price of the DWM.

I love DWM I have lots of their figures and after paying for the item I also feel I am allowed to air my opinions.

". . . after paying for the item I also feel I am allowed to air my opinions."

ABSOLUTELY! And I would not have it any other way!!

But, and with all due respect, the initial posting, which set the stage for what followed, was a bit light in substance. Furthermore, it fueled the fires that were started L-O-N-G before the kit was even at the prototype stage.

As to the former, you have ably addressed your reservations in your last posting. And while I differ (though not entirely, I might add), it is welcome and constructive.

I hope that when you start the project, you will begin to enjoy it to the fullest. As yourself, I am looking forward to some tweaks here and there to the engine, etc. that will make good use of the spare parts bin, and make my one of a hundred truly one of a kind!

Best regards,

Augie

Cheers Augie