I know I'm probably going to get "boo"ed for this, but I don't care for it...
With the exception of the arms (which remind me of cannons and not sensors), the Project Phoenix artwork look better. Sadly, that doesn't seem to have translated to the mini though, as the mini looks almost anorexic with the narrowing of the waste and even the cockpit didn't transfer well.
The new Ostscout loses some of it's identity with that protruding cannon, instead of the recessed one from the original and PP version (which is too big on the PP mini). It also looks a little too thick in both arms and legs to be a Mech that only carries 4.5 tons of armor. With stats closer to the Spider than most others, it should be lean like the Spider. This one looks like it has barrels for legs and plenty of armor. The shoulder mounted jump jets are OK, although the 4 exhaust ports on each one seem crowded. I think one big vent on both sides would have been better. The cockpit is uninspiring too... For some reason it reminds me of the Exterminator.
I think if I was going to take a swing at painting one of these, I'd have to; bash new arms below the elbow, remove the medium laser and drill a new one in the center torso, replace the legs (maybe with the PP ones) and cut out the top two ports on each jump jet pack and modify the bottom two as a single one.
Maybe my problem is that all the new Classic designs have been such an improvement over the PP versions the level of expectation was set too high. Or may it just isn't too my taste. For those that do like it, my opinion shouldn't matter. For me, I am a little disappointed.
Caz
