I cannot imagine that the 70’s classic anime Getter Robo can be made into perfect transformation figure in real life. The concept of transformation in the anime is just totally out of imagination and surreal. But the first perfect transformation Getter Robo figure had brought into real life in 1999. (Almost 25 years after this anime was aired.) Surprisingly, this figure is not designed by a big brand like Bandai, Aoshima, Kaiyodo … . But a small one-man band company “Studio Halfeye”.

Getter Robo was Studio Halfeye first ever figure release, before that they mostly did garage kits. Takashima Hajime is the founder of Studio Halfeye, also the designer, engineer, and manufacturer etc. He designed and engineered this perfect transformation Getter Robo by himself. Not only that, the mass production was not done in a factory, he did his own mass production by making each and single one of the figure by himself one by one.
Even though there’s little flaws here and there on the figure. But put into account that the figure was done in a limited resources environment, I still think that Mr. Hajime had done an outstanding job!!

Due to the transformation mechanism that Studio Halfeye has to implement, the designs of the three Getter Robo machines (Eagle, Jaguar, and Bear) are pretty complex. But they still maintained the original looks of the machines very well, and quite stylized.

Eagle – The top has all the signature designs of the original. In addition, Studio Halfeye added the thrusters on the back, which makes the Eagle looks even more like it is the speedy one. The unused robot parts are hidden on the bottom very well.

Jaguar – This is the weakest out of all three vehicles. Although it still maintained the looks of the original, there are a lot of small parts and pieces (body parts of robot mode) which are very visible. The entire machine overall felt very loose, parts are just not tuck in very well. However, it is forgivable, as most of the transformation mechanism are on the Jaguar and Bear.

Bear – This one is loosely based on the original anime design. However, I do think that this design is the best out of all three machines. First of all, the Studio Halfeye version improves the simple anime design. Secondly, there are about the same level of engineering designs as of the Jaguar, but this one has managed to hide all the unused parts seamlessly.

The Getter vehicles were quite impressive as how the design holds true to the original anime. Will the robot mode going to be as impressive? We will see one by one …

Getter 1

Obviously that when Mr. Takashima Hajime designed the transformation of this figure, he must be putting the Getter 1 as his initial design consideration. Out of all three Getter Robo, Getter 1 stays true to the original anime the most. This is understandable, cause this is the main robot.

Getter 1 is the only one comes with the accessory, the Getter Tomahawk, and it is indeed the only weaponry of this figure. There is sticker sheet included for the red stripes on the legs and eye on the head.

The most creative part is the cape, it is transformed from the Getter 2’s legs. It’s not perfect looking, but the design utilized the parts. Bravo to Mr. Takashima Hajime that he did not choose the lazy way out by using replacement part for the cape.

The Getter 1 is pretty articulated due to all the moving parts made for the transformation. But due to that, the joints are pretty loose, and can only be posed on a very static position.

Getter 2

This is the most difficult transformation and took me the most time to transform out of the three! (It is a pain to connect the Bear with the Jaguar!!)

The look of Getter 2 is the weakest of the three. It is just loosely based on the original design. There are big gaps between the chest and the waist where you can see thru all the mess hiding inside.

The Getter 2 got a very slim leg with a even slimmer feet, and the upper body is extremely heavy where most of the extra parts are moved to the back treated as a backpack (or fuel tank?). With that, Getter 2 has no chance to stand.

Both arms are the weapon of the Getter 2, the Getter claw and the Getter Drill, which looks great and with great articulation.

Both the transformation and posing are tough and difficult on this mode. Hence this is my first and also my last time to transform this figure into Getter 2!

Getter 3

Although not as good as Getter 1, Getter 3 still captures the original anime pretty well. (The upper body is way larger than the bottom tank.) Again, Mr. Takashima Hajime cleverly made good use of the Getter 2’s legs on the back as extra legs (stands) to support the figure. Great design!!

The transformation is amazing, especially how the long arms and hands are taken out from the feet of Getter 1 is just brilliant.

With the tank bottom and extra legs on the back, this is the most stable mode of all three.

In conclusion of my experience with the three robot modes, Getter 1 and 3 are both great in their own ways. Getter 2 is a failure. But overall, it is an excellent attempt for Mr. Takashima Hajime!!

Side Note: Studio Halfeye knew that the figure is not manufacturer made quality, they actually included a small screw driver for you to tighten the joints if getting loose after some movements.

“Although we don’t have the resources to bring out the perfect products just yet, we still try our best to take care of all the imperfection it has!”