Thursday 17 November 2016

JDMG MC1 Med Judges, Tek Judges and Psi Judges

Continuing my reviews of the Mega City One Justice Department, I am going to concentrate on three of their important divisions this time - Med Division, Tek Division and Psi Division. Med Division formulates medical policy for the entire Justice Department. It is sub-divided into several critical units - Personnel Unit, Med-Lab, Psych Unit, Dream Police and Genetic Control. Med Division's brief is to protect the Justice Department from any agent threatening the health of its personnel.
The main body of the Tek judges is rarely seen on the streets of Mega City One. They exist to devise cutting-edge technologies to augment Justice Department operations. Tek-Div provides equipment, vehicles and weaponry to specifications demanded by the relevant divisions. Every Sector House will have a Tek Judge contingent. The principle Tek Division departments are Tek Labs, Engineer Corps, Fleet Services and the Forensics Squad.
One of the last Justice Department  divisions to be formed, Psi Division took advantage of the massive increase in psychic potential apparently generated by the Great Atomic War of 2070 to provide the Justice Department with a small, but indispensable organisation. Psi Judges are not unique to Mega City One, though whereas most other city-states train their psychics to the exclusion of all else, Psi Division produces operatives who are not only highly disciplined in the use of their strange powers, but are also fully-fledged Street Judges, able to outgun and out-think enemies of the Justice Department. Psi-Division is based at Omar House in Sector 44, within sight of the Grand Hall of Justice. It comprises three departments - Psi-School, Psi-Lab and Psi-Operations.
Of the two Med Judges shown above and below, the one at the far left, Med Judge Nash, has been detailed previously (see here ) as a member of Judge Scott's task force. Med Judge Nash will be a major player in my JDMG campaign. The female standing next to him is Med Judge Stallard. Med Judges are instantly identifiable by their red and white helmets and shoulder pads. Both figures were produced by Warlord Games. In JDMG, all Med Judges have the special rule, Healthy Hands. So long as the Med Judge survives the battle, he may use his Medic Talent on a force afterwards. Note that says "force" not "figure" so a single surviving Med Judge can heal a lot of wounded patients.
The first of my three Tek Judges is produced by Wargames Foundry as AD46 Tek Judge Deex. I saw no reason to change his name. I have said before that the Foundry figures are slightly taller than the Mongoose and Warlord Games figures but bear in mind that the Foundry figures come with integral metal bases and not slottatabs. So by sticking a Foundry figure onto a slottabase will automatically make him appear taller. Moving on, the remaining two figures were both produced by Warlord Games and they are Tek Judge Nielsson (second from right) and Tek Judge Forrester (at far right). In JDMG all Tek Judges have the special rule, Can We Fix It? The Tek Judge may attempt to repair any vehicle he is on board. Alternatively, he can also attempt to repair any vehicle he is in contact with, so long as the vehicle did not move last time its driver took his actions. The Tek Judge can attempt to restore a lost Hit or repair an existing critical hit by performing a Special Action and making a successful Will check.
These three famous Psi Judges have all appeared in the Judge Dredd comic series and are all made by Wargames Foundry. From left to right are AD17 Chief Psi Judge Omar, AD18 Psi Judge Anderson and AD42 Psi Judge Karyn. Psi Judge Omar became head of Psi Division after his predecessor, Judge Ecks was killed in the Apocalypse War. He personally assisted Judge Dredd in his investigation into the haunting of a Sector House, and later he exonerated Judge Anderson when she was accused of negligently permitting the Dark Judges to escape and threaten the city. When psi-criminal, Shojun the Warlord, unleashed the demonic Seven Samurai on the city, Omar volunteered to sacrifice his own life in a suicide attack to destroy them using a psionic amplifier. He was succeeded as head of Psi-Division by Psi Judge Shenker, the current holder of this office. Note that the Psi Division headquarters, Omar House, was named after Psi Judge Omar in honour of his sacrifice.
In the centre of this renowned trio is Psi Judge Anderson. The most famous of all Judges within Psi Division, Cassandra Anderson has fought against the enemies of, and made great sacrifices for, Mega City One. She is one of the premier psychics of her generation and has earned the utmost respect from Judge Dredd. In JDMG, she is a Level:17 Infantry Hero with numerous street skills and telepathic talents. It was a tough decision for me whether to choose this figure to represent Psi Judge Anderson in my campaign or use the Warlord Games version shown below. By a narrow margin, this version got my vote. In the Karl Urban Dredd movie, when Dredd asked Anderson why she didn't wear her helmet, she replied that the helmet interfered with her telepathic powers. I thought this was a good explanation of why Psi Judges are so often portrayed without their helmets on.
Psi Judge Karyn first worked with Dredd in the initial Raptaur invasion and would work alongside him several times afterwards. She primarily handled supernatural threats. Her career met an ignoble end in 2127. When she and Dredd led a rescue mission into the Undercity, they discovered the Shadow King had escaped there and spent the last four years building up an army of vampiric Troggies. After the creature possessed Dredd, she tried to emulate Anderson again by drawing its spirit into her mind to be imprisoned - the attempt went wrong and she was completely possessed. She is currently locked in a Psi-Division cell, and it is considered unlikely her mind can ever be retrieved.
These four Psi Judges were produced by Warlord Games, although the middle two were originally made by Mongoose Publishing. I have named all four them. At the far left is Psi Judge Devereux. She was originally meant to represent Psi Judge Anderson and was part of the Heroes of Mega City One boxed set. So that there could be no mistaking her for Anderson, I gave her black hair. She is one of my favourite Warlord Games figures. The other two female Psi Judges are the same figure but were bought and painted many years apart. Second from the left is Psi Judge Lister. Note that like Anderson above, her Lawgiver Pistol is in its boot holster. Second from the right is Psi Judge Gibson and she has been slightly converted with her arms being repositioned and I added a Lawgiver Mk.1 Pistol to her left hand. She was painted with Foundry paints whilst Lister was painted with Citadel paints, hence the slight difference in colours.
At the far right of this group is Exorcist Judge Sheady. Hailing from a sub-department of Psi Division, the Exorcist Judges are trained to tackle supernatural entities, such as demons, ghosts and spectres. In addition to their standard equipment, Exorcist Judges are armed with silver-coated boot knives.
Like most other specialist Judges (i.e. Tek and Med), Psi-Judges do not wear badges with their surnames imprinted on them. Instead their badges simply read 'PSI'. This has been apparent in several comic strips featuring the Psi-Judges (although not in all of them, with some artists simply depicting the Judge's surname instead). However, their badges do have their surname imprinted in very small letters on the reverse.

31 comments:

  1. While I do like all the judges you have assembled here, I do have a fondness for the tech division. In games Psi division are (generally) more useful the techs win out for me overall as I would be happier getting under the bonnet of a car than in a perps head!

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    1. That's very interesting to hear, Clint. I'm delighted that someone appreciates the work done by Tek Division as they are so frequently overlooked. Good for you, mate!

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  2. I really enjoyed the background filler in this article Bryan. It was enlightening for me (a total noob to the subject) and a nice read, too boot.

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    1. Thanks, Steve. I like to add background info to figure reviews where I can. It helps explain who is who and what the differences between the departments are. The Justice Department is a huge organisation.

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  3. OOops I nearly forgot, I think these are your absolute best painted judges to date.

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    1. Aw, shucks. That's very kind of you to say so.

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  4. its true.... could take tips on how you get those faces looking so good. I find keeping a woman looking beautiful I the hardest. Something you seem to have nailed.

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    1. That is so kind of you to say, Hil. I don't really know how to respond other than saying it all comes down to lots of practice, a keen eye for detail and a steady hand.

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  5. I use photos and portraits to help me, but even so, you have made these latest ones look like real life film stars.

    excurse the typo in the previous post. Himself is nagging me to get on the laptop.

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    1. I too, like to use reference material whenever I can.

      Just tell Steve to learn to be more patient. Men, huh!? ;-)

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    2. HAHHAHAHAHAAHAHahhahahaaa, hmmmm Hils is just nodding behind my back.

      (message for you as well, on the other site mate)

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    3. Thanks for the heads up. Seen it and replied to it.

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  6. An enthrallingly informative article, Bryan, even for those of us who lived through so many of the exploits you've cataloged. I was especially impressed with both the painting and backstory of Psi Judge Omar, who sadly was taken from us far too early with the corking Shojun the Warlord saga. Though at least he went out with Cam Kennedy doing the artwork :-)

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    1. Thanks, Simon. I thought Judge Omar would have lasted longer. Mind you, Shenker has had a good run for his money, even if he has been ousted from the Council of Five. Nice to hear you praising Cam Kennedy. I have always been a big fan of his. He has a style i greatly admire.

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    2. Bizarrely Bryan, I hated Cam Kennedy during his run on "Judge Dredd", and only came to appreciate his artwork when he moved on to "Star Wars" when "Dark Horse Comics" had the licence. Since then though I've re-read many of his "Judge Dredd" stories and thoroughly enjoy them now.

      As an aside Omar's death was also interesting in being the reason behind McGruder's resignation as Chief Judge; albiet I think Cliff Robinson drew that follow-on tale.

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    3. I have always liked Cam Kennedy's artwork. I can remember liking the work he did for Commando comics (remember them?) many years ago before he joined the staff at 2000AD.

      You are right that McGruder did resign as Chief Judge after the Seven Samurai incident but it should be noted that was after her first term as Chief Judge. She then took the Long Walk into the Cursed Earth, which had a very damaging effect on her mental health. Without checking I can't be sure about Cliff Robinson drawing the follow on tale, but I'm not going to argue.

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    4. Ah "The amazing foul-smelling bearded snake woman" - great Chief Judge ;-)

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    5. Ha, ha! Yes, indeed! Well remembered, Simon.

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  7. Nice work dude, my Med Judge is on the paint table as we speak alongside two SJS Judges and 3x indieclix are getting rebased.....

    Love the recap on some of the story lines too bud, Omar was awesome but Anderson, that saucy minx had to be number one pysker ever! Loved her in the Dredd film, in fact I may just watch that (again!) tonight.

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    1. Cheers, Andy. Good to hear you've started painting your Judges. I'm not surprised that your Med Judge jumped to the front of the queue. Quite right, too.

      I totally agree with you about Anderson in the recent "Dredd" movie. Olivia Thirlby absolutely nailed the part. I've watched that film a few times in the past couple of months but I'd happily watch it again... and again... and again!

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  8. Very nice painting, Bryan and for someone who is familiar with Judge Dread, but not an avid fan, very interesting to read about the different divisions. And I guess I should really get around to watching the Karl Urban Dread movie, as my only exposure was the Stall one one, which took a few liberties with the source material.

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    1. Thanks, Jez. My advice to you is go watch the Karl Urban "Dredd" film asap. It is vastly superior to the Stallone flop in every way and it has been a real inspiration to me on this project.

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  9. I loathe Sylvester Stallone`s acting with every inch of my fibre, and his non ability even to pronounce words properly while on set, aggravates me beyond belief. EXCEPT one and only one role he`s ever played, which I enjoyed thoroughly: and that`s his portrayal of Judge Dredd. I see JD as stilted and wooden, lacking in the finer sensibilities, and Stallone fits that persona to a tee haha. I know I`m a tiny minority of one here , but I actually really like that old film *chuckles*

    I know I know.... shoot me now.

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    1. Whilst I would agree that Stallone's wooden acting style would appear ideal for portraying Dredd There was just so much that was wrong with his performance. Taking his helmet off so we could see his face, his poor attempts at humour ("I knew you were going to say that!") and worst of all, kissing Hershey at the end. No, Steve, he was bad. Really, really bad. But of course, he was lumbered with a shite script.

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    2. *holds up a hand, like a kid in class*

      I just watched the movie with Stevie. Amazingly, its the first time I`ve ever seen it in my life. I have to say three things: 1 Wow I cant believe the film is so old, its so high tech it could have come out in the cinemas this week. 2 I absolutely loved every second of it; and 3 judging by the negativity about him - I was expecting Stallone to be simply awful, but I was surprised to see how well he fitted and acted the part. Its a solid thumbs up from me, and a thoroughly enjoyable evenings viewing. I think poor old Stallone is the guy everyone loves to hate.. its become almost an institution (and lets face it, he`s made some rotten stuff), but I think who ever cast him in this role knew what they were doing. If I were ever to played a Judge Dredd game.. in my head, I`d now see Stallone THE man hehe.

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    3. Well, obviously you are entitled to your opinion and I have no problem with that. Each to their own. I have noticed that neither you nor Steve have commented on the Karl Urban film. Have either of you seen it? If not, it may well change your opinion on the Stallone movie if and when you do see it. For me, when I picture Dredd in my head, I see only Karl Urban.

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    4. Not seen the Karl Urban version (I find him very wooden, even as Éomer in Lord of the Rings) but I`m sure I would like that version too.

      As an example, for me its the old the old Cartoon lord of the rings movie which EVERYONE hated. I loved it and still do, and even now with the Peter Jackson version out there, I still have a soft spot for that old 1978 cartoon. I`m bound to be like that with both versions of JD (I may prefer one over another, but I am sure I will always like both).

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  10. More smashing figs Bryan, I always liked the "Blonde Bombshell" PSI myself (more than Dredd if I'm honest, sorry).

    I liked both film myself and have to say I think a combination of the two would be the perfect mix for me, the effects from the first one and the actors from the second.

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Many thanks, Roger. Who doesn't like Anderson? i fell in love with her from the moment she first appeared in 2000AD to help Dredd battle Judge Death.

      The Stallone film did have some good moments, but for me, it palls badly when compared to the Karl Urban film. Yes, combine the two and you'd have a near perfect Dredd movie.

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  11. Have to agree the combination of the two movies would be awesome, back drop of the first with Dredd and Anderson from the second, but give them a decent villain to combat. Digression aside really like your attention to detail on the figures Bryan

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    1. I think a lot of Dredd fans would love to see your film idea implemented, Dave. That would certainly be the best of both worlds. Thanks for the compliments on my figure painting.

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