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Meat and Potatoes; 5.0
Perks; 5.0
Homer Factor; 5.0
Star Gaogaigar is approximately 5" tall and is loaded. The figure is classic super robot, composed of multiple vehicles; lion's head for the chest, bullettrain for shoulders, drill-tanks compose the legs, and finally there's a B-2 bomber with MASSIVE jet engines on the back. Yes, sounds weird, but it actually works. The piece is mostly black, white and red with gold high-lights.
In typical Kaiyodo fashion, the figure has tons, and tons, and tons of articulation and accessories. PLUS the box makes a good diorama to display the figure.
Meat and potatoes are trademark Kaiyodo; kinda off the wall but still AWESOME. Sure, Gundam pieces have joints in just about everything, but Kaiyodo joints are FUNCTIONAL. Not only can the arms rotate backwards and forwards, but there are extra joints all over the place that let you do little things like pose the figure into cool fighting positions like throwing a bunch, not just holding it's arm up. What's even more amazing is the fact this figure really isn't conducive to having great articulation. In the cartoon, this is a classic gestalt composed of; lion in the chest, drill-tank for legs, bullet-train for shoulders, and a flying-wing as a backpack. No, I'm not kidding, yet is looks very strange. Nonetheless, Kaiyodo managed to make this piece INCREDIBLY posable. Sculpt? Well, don't expect Gundam-esque realism, folks. This is a SUPER-ROBOT. Super-robots are about butt-kicking weapons and running around beating the snot out of Godzilla rejects, NOT about realism. Don't expect vents, maneuvering thrusters, and the like. You do get a good representation of the cartoon, though.
One small gripe; this is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back-heavy. The flying-wing backpack causes the entire figure to fall backwards, surprise, surprise. If you're going to display this thing, you will need to have it leaning against the back of your shelf.
Perks. wow. Typical Kaiyodo; lots of stuff. You get extra tests of hands, you get a giant drill-bit thing that is supposed to be the primary weapon (Hey, I don't ask questions, I just buy the stuff) and two more hands made of clear orange plastic that represent an energy punch on the right hand and an energy shield on the left hand. The hands are held in by friction only, but the connection is tight enough to hold but not so tight you can't switch hands easily. Oh, and one nice extra touch; the insert in the box is a nice space background, so you can use the box as a display case for the figure.
Homer factor? Simple reason for the high grade; Kaiyodo. I have a few books that mention this cartoon, and not really impressed. Ok, you take all these vehicles and make.... this? Oooookaaaaaaaaaaaaay... I'll stick my with the more traditional stuff, thank you. BUT... Kaiyodo made this? If Kaiyodo made a Batman figure, not only would it be able to duplicate every fighting stance known on this planet, but it would probably have a working utility belt... and the scary thing is that's not much of an exaggeration. Let's be frank, most of us buy stuff because of the character; we're Spawn fans, Trans-Fans, Batman fanatics, whatever. However, Kaiyodo is like Todd Toys in that it's not just the character but the rep; sculpts, articulation, extras, the whole smash. You EXPECT something that will leave you breathless.
And they delivered, in spades. Oh, word of warning, this thing is a Japanese import, so it ain't cheap. If you get this for less then $20.00, consider yourself VERY lucky. However, even if you spent the SRP of $30, you're still a very lucky collector to have in your hands an amazing piece of work.