At the right (bottom on mobile) you can see the earliest painted shots of the third small line 3.5 inch figures from Jazwares. The line starts off super strong with great sculpts for Espio and Vector (and in another post, Super Sonic & Super Shadow). All these shots are by Jazwares themselves, and were taken pre-approval by Sega, but it is highly likely that the final figures will look exactly the same. There isn't really much fault to find here, with great paint jobs all around, and the Chaotix members looking just like they should. Just look at all the detail on Espio! From 'ninja wrapped' socks to his detailed glove cuffs, he's a winner for sure!
One small paint anomaly here could be that Espio's back spike isn't green, but it could change. Vector will be at least 4 inches high, so they ARE paying attention to scale for these guys now. It is expected that Vector & Espio will be released in a comic 2 pack. Notice also that they both have 'waist' joints as well. 

Vector & Espio come in another Comic 2-pak, the first for this third wave. It's great to be able to get these guys together, & Espio is a constant fan favorite. They look good in their pack, you can clearly see the details on the figures, like Vector's chain & Espio's shoe accents. You can also notice that the issue they come with is 138, which is not a modern one. It had a somewhat-focus on the Chaotix (which is why they selected it, so that it makes sense with the figures) and lets people in on a back-issue, which is convenient. The box-back has profiles, & a very ARBITRARY 'line' chart for the figures. 

Both photos by Jazwares, discovered by TSSZ and Kari

Here are the first shots of these figures out of the box. Vector has an extra joint in his tail, that lets him rotate the end of it, which is a nice touch. Both figures look good, but watch out for Espio! He can have messy paint.

Vector actually has an extra joint, more than those of other figures. You can twist him at the middle, neck, and tail tip. His necklace covers the neck joint, and looks great at the same time. The chain does not have actual holes in it, due to his small scale. His wrists can twist at the back cuff, not at the hand.

He's easy to stand (without a stand) as his feet are so large, and also his tail is almost always touching the ground. His joints are all stiff enough that you should be able to pose him however you want. The bottoms of his shoes are also blank/white.

With this size comparison, you can see they're paying more attention to scale with these guys. Vector is LARGE and Espio is no small matter either. Their pack actually appears larger on the shelf too. Vector's pose-ability is limited by short legs, but he feels really solid & quality, and has good joints. Espio has the above-mentioned joint problems, but should at least stand up for you, and pose well too. The bottom line: GET this set! The great sculpting is so well done and accurate & it's great to finally get Chaotix figures!

Size comparison

He looks proportional, and has all of the expected joints the other figures do

His tail can't rotate, and his shoe-bottoms are just blank/white. Those are only minor things though, and it doesn't really affect his play or display value. His ninja-posed (2 fingers) hand adds character. However, as seen above this figure CAN have problems, such as NO STOPS at all on his elbows, so they go 180 degrees. (the 'stop' is the little plastic corner that you'll see on most figures) You can't detect this in the package. They're also trying to 'self-shade' his eye-corners by adding a black rim.

Owned by Mighty the TacodilloOwned by Mighty the Tacodillo

Then, look at his knee, it's on backward, and his elbow is also too short/wrong upper arm. (werehog knee) You can see fingers in the photo because they don't stand well with these flaws.