Just received the first wave and i'm pleasantly surprised. They all look great.
Ripley is so much better in person that i may actually prefer her to the first version, not only for the better paint application which compensate a bit for the inferior sculpt, i haven't realized until now that her hair are also pretty different, noticeable sculpt improvement when they're side by side.
The new accessories are just awesome and insanely detailed for this scale and i much prefer this version of Jonesy (my favourite one is still Space Suit version, but paint app on this one is incredible considering the scale, maybe i've got a very good one but it honestly looked like an Enterbay or Hot Toys piece in person, the eyes amazed me). But the Jumpsuit is downgraded unfortunately and not only for the lack of painted badge (which you can always hide with the flamethrower strap), color and especially finish are also preferable on the first version imo.
Same for Dallas actually, he looked so awfully glossy in pics but it's not that noticeable at all in person (still, matte FTW), the suit in general is better painted and i love the additional colored details and upgraded name tag.
Overall, i feel he is better than the first version but there's still downgrades, such as the cap being one main color instead of two and the lack of visible pink portion in the upper part of the suit. Also the material used for the 'glass' dome looks a bit more opaque, i'd say it's more screen accurate now but from a distance i think i prefer the old one as it pops more. No sticky paint whatsoever thankfully, a huge problem on earlier colored versions of this suit (Dallas and Kane, Lambert was perfect and that matte finish on her still looks amazing).
Never had the Alien prototype version before but i like this new one, materials feel great in hand, good paint app and it really is traslucent. I've never been the biggest fan of NECA Big Chaps displayed next to the Kotobukiya, but this is a welcome addition.
The new packages are lovely.
All in all i'm very happy with them (got an absolutely perfect bunch, as usual with Cosmic Group imported pieces), now i can't ****ing wait for Brett, Parker, Ash and the new Kane (and then regular versions of him, Dallas and Lambert), and the Diorama which i hope is still happening.
Then the Alien line will be finally on par with the Aliens one.. speaking of which, where's my Apone and swappable heads Gorman and Drake? And Ferro, and Spunkmeyer, and Dietrich, and Wierzbowski and Crowe? And Hicks headset and BD versions? And APC and diorama pieces? Still so much to do!