Judge Dredd: The Case of the Miniatures Block

Regular readers will know that my scale of choice for Judge Dredd miniatures is 15mm.

I chose this scale because it is cheap, easy to paint and the legendary Laserburn Lawmen are a perfect proxy for my favourite era of Judge Dredd, the 80s.  The problem is of course as with any tabletop game storage and transportation.  Taking a leaf out of the old Kenner Star Wars playbook I resolved to create a miniature storage case in the shape of a city block which could add some play element to my games whilst hiding away all the neat surprises I have in store for my players.

The Framework 

Fans of Aldi (a German discount retailer) will be familiar with the wonders of the middle aisle, and one such grocery shopping trip resulted in me bringing home this cheap plastic crafting drawer unit.  This was swiftly clad in sheets of foam core on three sides and a carry handle printed on my FDM printer was bolted to the top.

Balconies

I wanted to extend play in 3 dimensions so the inclusion of some elevated features was essential.  These consisted of 25mm wide strips of foam core hot glued at regular intervals up the block.  Most of my minis are based on 1p coins so this is perfect for stationing high level snipers or as a launchpad for boingers or skysurfers.

Exterior Features

I always picture these smaller blocks as being the work of brutalist architects.  They are concrete monstrosities more akin to prisons than homes but they attempt to offer at least windows and air conditioning.  

I modelled a couple of "skins" featuring a door and windows which could be 3D printed and then attached to the foamcore facade conveniently hiding some of the wiring from the lights.  This could easily be made from mountboard, cereal packet or even thick paper if you do not have a 3D printer, but I have made the files available on thingiverse for free just download Tower Block Apartment Front Skins.

Greeblies

No sci-fi model is complete until it is festooned with greeblies.  Some are necessary to hide wiring but all of them break up that monotonous concrete facade.  I downloaded some air con units from Thingiverse which were then printed out and positioned in the space between the apartment skins.

If you are interested I have written a blog about printing some of the Judge Dredd Greeblies.

Lighting and Signage

One of the core features of any block is its plethora of crappy.  Battery powered christmas lights are perfect for this and can also perform double duty as balcony illumination.  These were strung in a zig zag pattern and then embedded in the underside of the balconies.

I then modelled some light covers to hide the tiny LEDs which added a certain amount of light diffusion aswell.

Block Name Signage

I then modelled a light box and frame to house paper block name signs for each of the blocks in my sector.  This is a versatile system which incorporates 5mm magnets and magnetic strip so you can attach the sign to either side or top of the case.  The hand drawn lettering I feel really sums up the art style of Judge Dredd during my formative years and they are super easy to knock out.  Here are just two

I also modelled the infamous Peach Trees Block sign which I printed in transparent resin on my Photon Mono 4K.  

The lightbox design incorporates hollow areas in the corners for the magnets to attach the frame (also magnetised).  The inside of the box is covered with aluminium foil to aid light reflection.  Signs are easily attached and detached in seconds as your scenes change. 

The Roof

The top floor of the block would inevitably invite play so I made sure to create a 1" grid in the roof which was then further emphasized with short clippings of PLA filament to create a grid.  

This was then painted and covered in some flock to make a rooftop garden.  The carrying handle sticks out a bit but it's form over function 

It's Magnetic Man!

Storing miniatures is the key goal, so it was crucial to make sure that they didn't move around during transport.  I stuck some A4 magnetic sheet into each tray which has enough holding power to stop my minis from skating around uncontrollably.  This is quite cheap on eBay and a good solution for smaller minis or ones which don't weigh much.

For those of you using 1 pence or 2 pence pieces to base your minis, make sure that you use only pennies from 1992 onwards,  These are made of copper coated steel and are therefore magnetic.  If, like me, you were using up your penny jar and didn't know this when you based them, then you can use thin steel foil or more of the sheet you used to line your trays.

Posters and Grafitti

No block would be complete without the plethora of posters and block grafitti.  For my block This is still a work in progress which I have detailed in a seperate article - Judge Dredd: Miniature Posters for a Miniature Mega City One.

Is it Finished?

Whilst this is always going to be a work in progress, I think it is sufficiently finished to post this article with some photos.

Video Tour

Apologies for the vertical video but this thing is pretty big.

Judge Dredd: Miniature Posters for a Miniature Mega City One

One of the things that makes Mega City One come alive is the signage.  Consider this my attempt to gather some in-universe posters to adorn my Mega City One Storage Block.

In the metropolis of the future 96% of citizens are unemployed (some even unemployable) and so the only thing left to them is either crime or consumerism.  There is always a new craze sweeping the streets and these things don't just sell themselves, they require the efforts of countless marketing droids to dream up the latest zarjazz ad campaign.

One of the things I loved about the Dredd (2012) movie was the attention to detail that the production designers went to in populating the walls and foyer of Peach Trees to make it look like it was really lived in and dystopian.

I think there should be a juxtaposition between the official Justice department signage which features slogans like "The Law is Watching You" or "Obey the Law" and the rampant consumerism posters of the mega corps.  It should feel like a living nightmare between the movies "1984" and "Idiocracy".

Posters on the Web

I've created posters for my games a number of times and even did one for Fratellis Pizza Truck Sign when I needed signage for the side of a Pizza Truck.

I did some research and found only a handful of ready to go posters such as this Psi Division recruitment poster by Miguel Mercado.  The Judge Dredd pages of Wargaming Girl's Blog is a treasure trove some beutiful 28 mm minis and scenery builds including this Get Ugly Billboard which is definitely what I am leaning towards.

Judge Dredd (In Universe) Posters

Cal is Watching You! - Who could forget Judge Caligula, the mad tyrant whose reign of terror brought Mega City One to its knees and sentenced an entire city to death.  Part of this story would form the basis for the Judge Dredd (1995) movie plot in which Dredd is framed for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment on Titan The locations may have changed but the sentiment is there and produces the memorable showdown with Mean Machine Angel. 

Cal introduced one of the greatest Alien species to have graced the pages of 2000AD, in the form of Kleggs.  They have to be one of my favourites, the crocodile headed, 8 foot tall monsters whose only thought was killing and eating raw meat.  I of course modelled these as one of my Mega City Gangs.

Get Ugly! - This mock advert graced the cover of Eagle Comics Presents Judge Dredd #25 (Nov 1985) and a bit of manipulation removes the Title leaving the gorgeous Brian Bolland artwork.  Whilst Otto Sump's Ugly Clinics are long past their heyday, the Ugly craze still has its devotees who wouldn't dream of changing.

Otto Sump is one of the most prolific entrepreneurs of early Dredd stories and the creator of the tasty and nutritious food substitute made from industrial waste known as Gunge.  

Gunge was an instant hit, being twice as nutritious as the current food alternative Munce.

I came across this Gunge image which was easily converted into a poster with a little bit of slimy text.

Otto Sump is such a goldmine of great imagery that it would literally be a crime to not include his tasty sewage in a can for my citizens to salivate over.

Sadly the Justice Department quickly put the kybosh on Otto Sump's culinary empire and outlawed the product and repurposed it for their own unflavoured Justice Department Rations.  Sump was unconcerned as there is nothing better for a businessman than having a steady stream of income from a Government contract.  

Uncle Umps Umpty Candy was another classic Dredd storyline and a pastiche on Willy Wonka.  Ump was just a kindly old man whose crime was to make candy which was deemed dangerously delicious by the Justice Department.  Uncle Ump ultimately wound up in a maximum security penal colony in space, far away from Mega City One and the many millions of potential addicts 

Homebrewed Advertisements

Ladies Night at Aggro Dome - The Aggro Dome is a popular venue for the upstanding law abiding citizen to vent their rage on a regular basis.  Why not have a good old fashioned bar brawl without the beer (because that's an illegal stimulant).  

Settle those neighbourly disputes in a safe and legal way by bashing each other over the head with a cricket bat.  All protective equipment available at a small rental fee.  Juveniles ages 5+ welcome.  

Bring your wife, mother, girl-friend or grandmother all are welcome and all ladies get in for free on Friday Night.

Landrover the Mega City Car You Can Rely On - The Land Rover City Car was one of the iconic vehicles created for the Judge Dredd (1985) movie.  

It came in a couple of different versions, 31 were made for the movie including 2 fully road legal ones.  Based on a Land Rover Forward Control 101 chassis.  I remember seeing one of these as a teen at the Model Engineers Exhibition where they had a Judge Dredd movie display featuring the ABC Robot which demonstrated pneumatic animatronics.  It was pretty freaking awesome.

I am still looking for a good model that I can add to my collection of 15mm Judge Dredd Vehicles so if you know where one is please drop a comment in the box below. - https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/cursed-earth-taxi

Boing! - An old favourite and guaranteed to keep even a Dark Judge at bay, The all new Strawberry flavoured Boing! is the latest craze to hit the shelves.  But don't get carried away kids as you can only legally and safely use Boing! in your local Palais de Boing!

Boingers featured as a random encounter in my last Judge Dredd game and I custom crafted a couple of the sproingy fellons out of christmas decorations.  They worked out really well and I definitely should make some more now I have access to a resin 3D printer.  Check out my 15mm Boingers

No Illegal Aliens - Brian Bolland artwork to the rescue.  This cool mashup of Judge Dredd and a Mars Attacks alien was for a crossover comic by IDW.  This is a great cover and lends itself really well to a quick bit of photoshop to remove all the text.  This will look really great stuck to the side of my Block Storage Case.

Mantic Games published a 28mm wargame in the Mars Attacks universe and I would love to print off some 15mm aliens to be one of my Mega City Gangs.  

All I could find for free was a mars attacks alien head and I think there are some 15mm Horde of The Things minis out there which would do a better job. 

Marty McFly's Mopads - If you can't trust a used mopad salesman then who can you trust am I right?.  This was an experiment in AI generated content using the Text to Image art generator Marty McFly's Used Mopads Poster.

Ignoring all the controversy, I thought this was an excellent starting point although it took quite a few prompts to get something I was truly happy with as a starting point for this image. 

I'm looking at utilising AI more during game prep in the future and its use in games at my regular friday night sessions at Dragons Keep Roleplay Club is on the rise.  I for one welcome my new robot overlords.

Emphatically Yes trousers are one of the many Mega City corporations who hare handpicken to suppy only the best services and products to the Justice Department itself.  Avid readers of 2000AD will of course recognise the name or more likely recocnise the name of it's owner Phillip Janet Maybe.  

PJ has to be one of the greatest criminal minds of his era and one of Judge Dredd's erstwhile protagonists having murdered his way to being a millionaire and managed to outwit Dredd on many occassions.  However, just like the RCMP Dredd always gets his man and PJ Maybe finally met his end falling from a zoom car and exploding at the same time. 

Killdozer / Landcruiser One of the greatest toy merchandising deals of my childhood was the 2000AD & Matchbox "Adventure 2000" range of diecast vehicles which came out in 1977.  This was the vehicle of choice for Judge Dredd's famous excursion into the Cursed Earth in a bid to deliver the antidote to the 2T(fru)T virus to the inhabitants of Mega City Two.  

This cross country road trip was inspired by the Roger Zelazny Novel "Damnation Alley".  It was a rip snorting adventure which saw Dredd's team face challenge after challenge and steadily get whittled down to just one man.  Along the way we saw the Jolly Green Giant defeated, Mt Rushmore destroyed and were introduced to greats such as the Doomsday Dogs, the Angel Gang and Satanus.  The Killdozer of course was destroyed fairly early on in this mammoth trek, but it went out with a bang and was immortalised forecer in thousands of diecast toys around the country.

Not Dredd but the Sentiment is Right

Better Dead Than Red - Sums up all that post Apocalypse War, Sov Bloc hatred that followed the almost annihilation of Mega City One back in 2103.  There will be few alive today that remember those times but surviving Pre-Atomic blocks still carry the signs and scars of battle.

These will most likely adorn the walls of the Black Museum or perhaps some long forgotten bomb shelter or underground evacuation center. 

With its roots in the Communist Red Scare of 1950s America, this is a classic example of Cold War Propagandism which 2000AD emulated so well during the 80s when the news papers and TV were all consumed by the threat of a Russian disctator with access to a nuclear arsenal.  Nothing changes much then...

Offworld - The off world colonies are out of reach for most of the inhabitants of earth as they don't meet the strict genetic requirements.  For others it is a chance to start afresh and make a mess of a new planet.  At least you will be able to live side by side in peace with those pesky replicants we all hear about.

I love that the corporate creations of Ridley Scott's Bladerunner and Alien universes have taken on a life of their own beyond the movie franchises.  You can see it all across geek culture in the huge number of T-Shirt designs that you can buy featuring the Weiland-Yutani or Tyrell Corp logos.  Other great sci-fi movies have followed suit with a plethora of tourism posters and fake corporate adverts for holidays on Tattooine or cab rides from Corbyn Dallas. 

Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave - The catchphrase of Torquemada the Grand Inquisitor and the villain of the 2000AD sister strip Nemesis the Warlock. 

When I was a regular reader there was a huge crossover with the ABC Warriors and Nemesis which was one of the first sightings of artwork by Simon Bisley.  The most famous of these robots being Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein who made their debut in the Pat Mills penned Ro-Busters strip.  I have a particular penchant for this pair who I swear must be inspired by R2-D2 and C3-P0.

Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave is one of those great lines which blends the sinister authoritarianism of Orwell's 1984, the quirky establishmentarianism of Empire and the British Ministry of War posters of WW2.  It's also a fitting title for 2000AD creator Pat Mill's book about the comics industry he helped to form.

12 Monkeys - If you haven't seen this fantastically trippy Terry Gilliam movie starring Bruce Willis then you should.  A central theme to the story being the proliferation of the mysterious 12 monkeys posters and grafitti in a pre-apocalypse New York.  Who is posting them up? What are the 12 monkeys? 00 What does it all mean?  The story unravels piece by piece as you are convinced that the main character is losing his mind as his reality and his future crumble.

Terry has always been a visionary when it comes to dreaming up dystopian futures.  My favourite has to be the amazing Brazil.  I should really get around to creating a storyline around guerilla plumber extraordinaire and bane of Central Services Harry Tuttle.

Download These Judge Dredd Mini Posters and More

If you need some quirky Judge Dredd Posters for your game and don't want to spend days scouring the internet like I did...  I've put all these and more together for in one Judge Dredd Miniposters JPG below which you can download below.

If you want me to make more posters or find some great Judge Dredd poster images to share, please feel free to comment in the box below.  Enjoy

Jessie's Prints - Episode 28 - Mega City One Street Furniture

This week, I are mostly been printing...  Street Furniture

Suicide Booth - Thingiverse: 734066

I'm a big fan of Futurama and there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to print off a few suicide booths for the citizens of Sector 55.  The model is very accurate but scaled far too large for my printer and so needed to shrink it to about 1% it's original size.  The model is also hollow and at my 15mm scale the walls became impossibly thin for my resin printer to print consistently.  

However, I did get a couple of decent prints which painted up nicely.  I also created some posters of the signage which I've included in my Judge Dredd Mini-Posters pack. 

Robot Food Stand - Thingiverse: 1645528

This is a great little model for designed for 28mm miniature wargaming game infinity but I thought it was such an interesting shape that it would make a great centrepiece for any plaza scene.

Printing in 15mm scale was easy enough although the robot arm is incredibly fiddly.  I chose to magnetise the roof of my stand to make painting and assembly easier which was a challenge at this scale.  The robot arm is a little too big for this model so I had it leaning out in "attract mode".

In my games this is going to be Klaw Dogs, their moto is "Served Robot Fresh" and you can download this signage in the Judge Dredd Mini Posters Pack.

Tardis - Thingiverse: 153977

I have always wanted my own tardis for a Judge Dredd game.  Not necessarily as a plot point but as a piece of background scenery.  I'm sure that if any of my Judges are out on patrol they will spot this immediately and either blow it up or have it taken away as an illegal structure without the correct city permits.

Needles to say, if Judges ever encounter a timelord, they should arrest them on sight as an illegal alien.  I believe that possession of a timetravel device also carries a significant sentence these days.

Holding Post -  Thingiverse: 6023582 

Having GM'd a few games now, the one functional (storywise) piece of street furniture I've always needed are holding posts.  These are the ubiquitious plascrete features that adorn the streets of Mega City One to which Judges cuff their arrested perps to await pickup from a pat-wagon. They are tough, tamperproof constructions designed to stay intact in all but the most extreme conditions.  They are able to withstand most vehicle impacts and abuse from smallarms or handheld tools making them the perfect safe and sturdy way to keep your perps locked up.

The holding post is my own design for my 15mm Judge Dredd miniatures but can easily be scaled up for 28mm games.  It makes a great addition as an objective marker or cover for games such as Warhammer 40K, Cyberpunk or infinity and is available for free download  at the link above.

Sci-Fi Benches - Thingiverse: 4293393

A rare model are this collection of benches designed specifically for Warlord Games Judge Dredd Miniatures wargame.  A great job on the model from Death Zap Studios who has also done some fantastic work on scenery and buildings for the Marvel Crisis Protocol boardgame.

Sci-Fi Merchant Stall v3 - Thingiverse: 5924557

This model is a fabulous set piece designed to complement any wasteland or outer rim world but I think it looks great in a Mega City One pop-up shop sort of fashion.  It's hard to keep track of the changing trends inside the city and these prefab pop-up structures change vendors on a weekly basis much like the tastes of your average citizen.  

I printed out a bunch of these funky little structures for my games.

Jessie's Prints - Episode 27 - Greeblies for my Mega City Miniature Storage Case

 

This week, I are mostly been printing...  Greeblies!

I've been working on my Mega City Miniatures Storage Case for a few weeks now and part of this project has involved me creating an printing accessories to stick on the side. Whilst these have been designed with my 15mm Judge Dredd games in mind, they are sufficiently dystopian to be used in any cyberpunk or shadowrun games.

Apartment Facades - Thingiverse 6001311

I needed a montonous series of identical facades for the front of the block.  So i quickly knocked these up in sketchup.  I made a left ahand and a right hand version for a little bit of variety and they print out in about 8 minutes on the Photon Mono X. 

Air Con Units - Thingiverse 4974429 

I didn't even bother scaling down these 28mm air conditioning units as they fit my needs perfectly and come in 4 different models including battle damaged versions.

Block Light Enclosures - Thingiverse 6012356

These simple shapes help to diffuse the light from the rice grain fairy lights I used to provide cheap and simple lighting to the block.  There is a small triangular detail at each should you wish to make these into futuristic street lamps.

Block Sign Box - Thingiverse

I cranked up the SLA printer for the first time in like forever with the express intention of printing out an enclosure which could house a string of the supercheap fairy lights I have used as lighting on my block.  The corners include recesses for magnets so that you can add different signs to represent different blocks in the Mega City.  

I keyed the mating surfaces to make gluing them together much easier  The box is self contained so you can mount it on the Top or sides of the block using magnets to add that little bit of variety.  I recommend covering the inside of the box with tinfoil to bounce the light around and give that extra punch.

Block Signs - Thingiverse: 6034749

My games mostly take place in Sector 55 and so I wanted block signs to reflect my little corner of Mega City One.  I made a blank lid which could be printed in transparent resin and either paper signs glued on top or if you want to go real fancy you can make individual models for each block with raised lettering.

These are split in half to fit on the bed of my Photon Mono 4K and I have included keyed edges to make it easy to glue them together.   

Another way to create your block signs would be to print them onto acetate or OHP paper and fix them with magnets on the outside using the alternative frame I modelled.  I've included a GIMP file in the download which you can use as a template for your block signs.

Jessie's Prints - Episode 26 - The TIme Traveller

This week, I are mostly been printing...  Steampunk Time Traveller Girl

Whilst crusing around the STL sites (as you do) for a version of the H.G. Wells time travelling sedan chair, I came across this wonderful model on the site Pinshape.

The Timetraveller by Gokcen Yuksek

Wow what a model.  It's big snd impressive and scratches that anime and steampunk itch.

This really stretched the capabilities of my Photon Mono X build volume.  The base had to be split in two and some of the months rails didn't print properly so some PLA was used to join the months together.  However, The figure printed perfectly first time and I excitedly glued her together and to her base.

She comes in 25 parts, the body and base (7), the hour ring (2), the month ring (1), a small square controller (not pictured) 1) and the year ring (13).  I resisted the temptation to glue everything together as the rings are meant to float freely allowing you to rotate them.

Gokcen has released several of her models for free on pinshape and most of them have this same whimsical steampunk aesthetic.  Don't be surprised if I have a go at one of her other models.