Getter Arc

Review by JoshB

Getter Arc is the first diecast release from Icarus Toys as part of their United Gokin line. But who are Icarus Toys you might ask? It's actually quite interesting.

Remember Miracle Production who made that diecast Dairugger? Well one of the founders left Miracle Production in 2015 and went on tojoin BU Toys with Brands Unlimited. Eventually he left BU toys and went on to form a new company called Icarus Toys.

Now operating with real licenses, Icarus Toys has big plans for their United Gokin line. But first up is the Getter Arc.

Getter Arc was the last incarnation of Getter Robo to be designed by its original creator, Ken Ishikawa. Apparently it only saw life as a Manga, and has only been seen in toy form as a Revoltech.

The toy comes in a suprisingly large box measuring in at 15" x 13" x 3.5". The box features beautiful artwork of Getter Arc by Cho Limited and Agito.

Inside you get two clear plastic trays with all the parts secured.

The only assembly required is to attach the wing assembly to the back. It easily plugs in with a hexagional joint.

The wing assembly is quite nice. It's all plastic and features 9 removable blades. The joint allows the wing to rotate with a satisfying click.

Getter Arc has a light up feature that requires 2x LR41 batteries (not included). The light up eyes and chest are activated by a switch on the back next to the battery compartment door. Sadly, I did not have the batteries at the time of this review.

At about 9 inches tall, Getter Arc's slender proportions remind me of the aesthetic of the Aoshima Shin Gokin series. Getter Arc would fit right in despite being a little taller. Metal content is a lot less than the Shin Gokins though. In fact, the only external metal that I can tell is in the feet and in the waist. However the overall heft of the piece makes me think there are diecast internal parts as well.

Articulation is very good, but not as dynamic as your typical Bandai SRC. The head can only rotate and only has a single joint due to the electronics inside. The torso is on a ball joint and the waist has a nice clicky joint. Shoulders rotate, swivel and bend forward, and the shoulder pads are on a ball joint that connects to a series of hinges. Elbows are double jointed, but without collapsing arm panels they don't have a full range of motion. The legs have wonderful clicky joints in the hips, and the knees are also double jointed. Both the knees and the ankles feature pull-down joints to allow for a greater range of motion. Finally, the feet are on ball joints with articulated toes.

The mouth opens slightly.

Having never read the manga, I don't know when or why the wings swing up on the back of Getter Arc. But it looks cool in either mode.

The arm blades are removable and can be replaced with a set of larger arm blades. They fit in with friction and swap out easily.

Three sets of hands are included. The toy comes with the closed fists attached, but it also includes a set of open hands, and a set of weapon grabbing hands. All feature nice detail including painted fingernails. For some reason the weapon grasping hands have a firmer durometer of rubber, so are slightly harder to replace.

Getter's signature Double Tomahawks are included. They include extra parts to be held separately, or as one solid weapon.

Also included is a giant axe, which does not come apart. It does however feature very sharp spikey bits. It's heavy and solid, but not metal.

I mentioned earlier about it reminding me of the Aoshima gokins. Well, another way is Icarus Toys's use of transparent panels all over the toy to see the mechanical bits inside.

In all, I think this is a really well-done toy. There are no QC errors, nothing seems fragile, and lets face it, it's beautiful. The combination of metallic and glossy paint gives the toy an amazing sheen. Yes, there could be more metal on the outside, but the toy feels solid and substantial.

If you are interested in getting your own Getter Arc, check out www.toysrepublic.com or www.toyercity.com, or really wherever finer Japanese toys are sold.