Finished GaoGaiGar. Overall it's a pretty good model kit, but it is definitely a model kit, not an action figure.
Negatives: The hands are annoying. Not the worst I've dealt with (the RG Gundam Astray Red Frame's hands are also articulated and pre-molded, but they're like a third of the size), but they're fiddly and tend to pop off at the knuckles due to being tiny ball joints connected to stiff hinges. Once they're in a pose, they're not going anywhere, but getting them into a pose can be frustrating. And they have to be folded just right to retract into the arms for Stealth Gao's engines or to fit into the Dividing Driver. The backs of the hands are also held on by tiny pegs and tend to fall off. Think I'll just treat them as partsforming if I ever transform it again. At least he doesn't have to worry about trying to hold anything, since GaoGaiGar doesn't
have any handheld weapons.
The helmet is also on the weak side. Getting the hinge between the front and back halves to peg in is tricky, it's a tiny thin clip in a tight spot. Then it's attached to a wired segment going down into the backpack, which not only makes it tough to get the angle right at this scale, it also restricts the neck joints. And the face guard being a separate tiny part barely held in by two other tiny parts makes it a bit of a balancing act to get it to hold on. Might try using some tape or something to attach the face into the helmet, see if it can still fold over GaiGar's head, and if it can I'mma glue that sucker in.
Also, I needed a tool to get the upper arms out of Liner Gao, and to line up the clips connecting Drill Gao to GaiGar's knees, but that might just be a me problem. I have big clumsy hands.
On the positives, he's nice and chunky, mostly solid (aside from the above, some of the red bits in the mane could use some glue), and aside from the neck he's pretty well articulated. He won't be doing any super-fancy kung fu tricks, but GaoGaiGar's not an agile machine anyway, he's a hulking bruiser. Kinda wish they'd included a stand for the Broken Magnum, but it's not a deal breaker.
Overall, I pretty much got what I expected. A small-scale GaoGaiGar to put in a menacing pose and stand on my shelf looking badass. I would not recommend him (or, really, any Real Grade) to anyone who isn't prepared to put some work into the build, but if you are, the King of Braves is a solid choice.
And I just got the "preorder processing soon" email for Goldymarg. Neat. (Of course, I just hit ship on my PoL a few days ago, sigh.)
Random size comparisons with Siege Megatron, a High Grade Zaku II, and an empty Monster can. Haven't done most of the stickers, won't bother using all of the little warning decals, but I'll probably use some of the metallic detail stickers, at least.