Way back in December, I posted this article spotlighting Studio HalfEye: Led by Mr. Hajime Takashima who is perhaps THE best engineer in the toy industry, Studio HalfEye is a little known, garage toy company that produces some of the most amazing, intricate, and expensive toys on the market today. Studio HalfEye is known for it's $500 transforming die-cast Getter Robots. I have posted a couple of their fantastic feats of engineering marvel before including their stupendous transforming Go Dannar Robot. They should also be known for what they bill as the "smallest fully transforming robots" including the tiny four (4) inch Getter Robot below. Yikes! That's like a transforming mini figure!Text and pictures courtesy of Hobby Link Japan:
"Studio HalfEye's engineering in making Getter Robo's transformation a 3-D reality is second to none--but such precision work doesn't come cheap, with their masterpiece sets usually priced at over 25,000 yen. Now Studio HalfEye comes through with a transformation of a different sort: a line of mass-produced, more affordably priced Getter Robo sets! This entry in the line is the transformable 11cm Getter Dragon, formed by combining the Dragon, Raiga, and Poseidon vehicles. Add the included two Getter Tomahawks, and Getter Dragon is ready for action!" 5 inch transforming Getter Dragon above for $73 not including overseas shipping.
At the time, this little gem was backordered and only recently did it arrive on my doorstep. I am impressed with Studio HalfEye's more expensive transforming robots so when they came out with a line of mini-transforming robots at a somewhat affordable price, I coudn't resist, but didn't quite know what to expect. The first thing I noticed when i pulled it out of it's plastic box was that it was made out of some kind of plastic-resin material. It was separated into the three vehicles and I immediately picked up the red one which forms the head and shoulders of Getter Dragon. I was a little thrown off when I realized it was just a shell of a vehicle. There wasn't any mass to it at all. The same could be said for the other two vehicles. Like I said, I wasn't sure what to expect, so when the three vehicles actually turned out to be what seemed like three, cheap, flimsy gumball toys, I was slightly put off. However, I decided to put my judgement aside and transform the vehicles and form Getter Dragon. A few origami-like moves of twisting, turning and folding the various parts of each vehicle and it was in a state where you could put each piece together to form Getter Dragon. The head/shoulders of the Dragon Vehicle combined the best with the blue Liger vehicle arms/torso section. The bottom and legs formed with the Poseidon Vehicle but was not secured very confidently. The resulting Getter Dragon is about 4 inches tall so indeed very small and much like a mini-figure. Add the hands, feet and weapons and it looks very much like an action figure with very little hint of it's Frankenstein pedigree. Sacrifices were made with the separate vehicles to make a very compelling Getter Dragon figure in the end. Like I said, I didn't know what to expect, but am overall impressed with the engineering of the whole thing, especially given the size. However, I think being raised on old-skool transforming die-cast, I would have preferred the meatiness of transforming die-cast vehicles to make up a die-cast Getter Dragon.
At over $70, it's quite expensive for what you get, but if you're into the novelty of transforming mini-figures and a hard-core Getter collector, this is not a bad addition to your collection. I think my investment of $35 for a set of 3 inch mini transforming Votoms was a much better deal. What do you guys think? Leave me a comment with your opinion!!
5 comments:
man, I'm so glad you gave a review of this. I own the SHE perfect change getter, and I have just been content on having one--nevermind opening it. I 've heard nothing but good things about the SHE PCG, but the smaller figures were on my mind for some time! flimsy huh? pass.
However, thanks for bringing the AG 1/48 Votoms to my attention. ya know, I've seen these around, but decided on the Max Factory line. And now, I think I want both. I'm a big fan of Votoms, and I really find the whole layout by Takara appealing. This comment kind of went off the subject...anyway, thanks!
Hi, thanks for your comments. It's cool to find another Votoms fan here in the States. As you know, they are a bit under appreciated here.
Yeah, for the money, I would pass on this small transformable Getter Dragon. It's cool and all, but the novelty wears off quickly. I would much rather spend the money on one of the re-releases of the SOC Evangelion die cast figures. They are re-releasing the black and the silver one.
I recently purchased the CMS version Votoms Calamity Dog Zerberus in the limited edition blue pearl paint- it's really cool! Gallery forthcoming...
I also pre-ordered the Max Factory 6 inch Blood Sucker (black with the red spike shoulder thing). I can hardly wait until that bad boy shows up!
ooh...I have the blood sucker on preorder too. I like the design, but haven't seen the model in the animated series yet. by the way, if you haven't seen the OVA yet, I would say check it out. It gets better and better.
CM's VOTOMs? I'm glad you mentioned those because I was wondering if they were any good. If the VOTOMs bug is still strong after the Takara and Max Factory versions, then I'll look into those.
The Bandai Evas are something I wanted to get into. the only SOC I own is the testujin 28.
Update: I picked up the Simple Change Mightgaine and SImple Change Getter. I posted a little review of the Mightgaine at www.toyboxdx.com so you can go to the BBS and search "mightgaine" if you're interested. I want to get Might Kizer, but can't seem to get off the money--though there isn't anything else I'm interested in at the moment. I think it would be totally worth having, but damn. It's just a matter of time really. I've seriously considered following the SHE mightgaine line.
As for the little Getter, I'm really pleased with it. I definitely think SHE has gotten better and better with each release, but this Getter is quite charming! I placed him in front of some manga I own and he just looks great against the backdrop of Japanese and Chinese characters. Small yet satisfying. I dunno, it just seems to capture my imagination in a warm way.
--ji
ji,
thanks for circling back on this post! I checked out your review on toyboxdx. cool! those simple change mightgaine look pretty cool. a bit boxy for my taste, but cool nonetheless. Glad you like the getter.
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