AHH, I caved and got him. I found a decently priced one located in the UK, and could not resist. I've wanted this figure for a while now but was worried because of all the complaints. But from my first impressions and preliminary unboxing, I absolutely ADORE him!! For a 1/6 connoisseur he has several undeniable faults, but for someone who just wanted THAT particular version of the character, he's delightful.
I don't have any pics yet, as I've only just barely handled him and had to put him back in the box straight away due to a lack of secure display area at the moment, but so far I am happy with this purchase. I really like the weathering on his clothing, it's much better and more detailed than I was expecting.
The box itself is simple but attractive -- I was worried it would have images based on later seasons of the show, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the promo pics used were from Season 4, which is my favourite season! My only previous experience with purchasing boxed 1/6 figures thus far is Sideshow and Hot Toys, so I wasn't sure how the overall presentation would compare, but the packaging is nicer than I'd thought it would be.
My biggest complaint about the figure itself would have to be the wrist joints -- I was prepared for this particular fault, but I mean.... WTF. I do NOT get why they would spend so much time on the details, going so far as to 'weathering' his arms with dirt and bruises, only to completely FAIL to cover his damn wrist joints??? It's a pretty glaring flaw, even to my relatively inexperienced eyes, and one I am already thinking of ways to cover up. This is where I wish the regular version of this figure came with the long-sleeved shirt, as now I'm going to have to scrounge around to find a suitable stand-in for it. But I simply could not justify paying an extra 150 GBP for ONE shirt....I mean, that is just ridiculous, even for this hobby. -_-
Prior to getting this figure, my main concern had been the sculpted hair -- from the production photos, it looked TERRIBLE. But in person, I found it didn't seem *that* bad. The paint job has a bit more detail when closely scrutinized than first appears. Oddly enough, I think this is one of those that looks better in-hand than it does in photos. The hair strands may not look 100% to-scale, but they don't look as ugly as I'd feared. It's a matter of personal taste, but I greatly prefer this official headsculpt to the custom/knock-off one with 'real' hair that is floating around on ebay. I like my Daryl to look a bit more 'burly' than the overly-gaunt version of the later seasons.
Despite its flaws, this figure captures *MY* preferred version of this character, so all in all, I am very pleased. ^.^