>>8896791Just got done building Megatron, OP. He's my first Flame Toys kit. I think I can answer some of your questions.
>plastic qualityA step above your average Bandai plamo, that's for sure. A lot thicker. Almost to the level of current plastics used on modern TFs. (Which has gotten thinner & more fragile.)
>fragilityThey're not going to survive a shelf dive onto a hardwood floor without something major breaking off. But that's a given with most models & figures. They're about on the same level of fragility as the typical Figma, so don't give them to your ham handed friend to play with.
>joints, articulationVERY tight when assembling. When attaching the lower torso to the hips, I left stress marks around the hip's ball joint base that left me concerned. The hip joints have screws in them, provided in the kit. Have a tiny phillips head on hand. After assembling, the joint movement is very smooth. Articulation is all you could want for a big beefy robot. No complaints there.
>How much paint aps do they need to look good?>Are stickers good,I just used some Gundam markers to pop out the panel lining and then a couple layers of Mr. Super Clear to seal everything. Even with my amatuer model skills, Megs turned out damned impressive to me. I really like the scroll work on his chest looks. A much better option than using the shiny scroll stickers provided. I applied the rest of the stickers to him. They're very shiny and continued to shine with the matte coat over them. Some lifting on the wrist stickers. Those tiny triangle on his hips were a bitch to apply.