“At The Academy Of Law’s Main Hoverport…”

“…Eager-eyed cadets file aboard an observation pod.”

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.

"Mongoose Publishing" WIPs - The Cadet Judge slowly had all his details picked out

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.

"Battlefront Miniatures" WIPs - A primed and shaded German 12cm Mortar Team

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…