I have a set ordered at BBTS and in my Pile of Loot, but I saw these in person at my local comic shop the other day. They do look good, and I appreciate the new scale.
As others said, there are some things I like about these version better than Palisades. Certain characters have a better and more accurate likenes. I have a unique perspective because I never owned a Palisades figure until last month, and both sets are fresh to me. Since last month I have been buying the Palisades muppets like crazy, they are amazing and I have ammassed quite the set that are proudly displayed in a Detolf case in my living room. In fact, this is the only toy line my wife really likes.
If it weren't for Palisades I'd say these Diamond select muppets were perfect, but unfortunately for Diamond, they have some really stiff competition in what I have come to consider the best toyline of all time. And to those that say it's not fair to compare them, I disagree. We are not comparing apples to oranges, we are comparing apples to apples; one kermit to another. That is a perfectly reasonable comparison, and there are pros and cons to both sets.
I think Diamond could become a new favorite if they can go deep into character selection and surpass what Palisades was able to give us (this is a tall order though). And Palisades have those amazing playsets
I do like the Palisades scale better personally, but I always like larger figures, and that's just personal preference.
I really like these Diamond Select Muppets, but if I was going to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have bought them if it weren't for what was announced for series 2. They hit all my favorite characters, and that balcony had me pulling out my debit card real quick. I also was interested in this line because of the reputation of the Palisades line, I think many people are. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Diamond is riding the coat tails of Palisades, but I think many, myself included, hope that Diamond can pull off a lot of what made the Palisades line so great, and collect this line at it's start instead of paying secondary market prices.
I am happy to collect both sets. In a perfect world I would have some of Diamonds sculpts in Palisades scale, and you can't beat the texture that Palisades has with thier figures, but I appreciate both for what they are.
I do have a concern with Diamonds paint apps though. The comic shop I was at had several copies of each figure and some definately looked better than others. Especially in the eyes. There was some definite paint slop with they eyes of these figures.
The biggest discrepency though was with Camilla. One would be perfectly white, and the other had what looked like a tan wash in all of the crevices, giving it a dirtier look. It was quit the drastic difference.
I hope the ones I ordered have good paint apps.
I hope I don't sound overly critical. I'm really not, and think I have given a fair assessment. I appreciate both lines and consider both to be money well spent. I've pre-ordered wave 2 and plan to order every wave after.
Sorry for the long post.