The Thunderbolt goes together somewhat smoothly. The only real issue I had was the leg assembly which can take a little time due to the ball joint construction. The only other thing I found somewhat odd was the Machine Guns which are under-slung on the left arm. Without the art or another pre-assembled Thunderbolt as a reference you can find yourself a bit lost as to where they are supposed to go or attach. On a positive note though everything else is very straightforward and the Missile Launcher and Head assemblies are swap-able allowing players to build a more "classic" version of the Thunderbolt.
The Wasp is extremely straightforward with only having to attach the arms and head. Both arms fit snugly into their mounting points. The head also fit easily with no need for any real adjustment. I would recommend this model to any beginner as the 'Mech is a mainstay light 'Mech and goes together very easily.
the next easiest of the new Primitive 'Mechs to assemble, the Longbow is very straightforward. I would recommend though that anyone building this model make sure that both legs have some form of attachment point to the base (either on the flat or the toes for the behind foot) as it is needed for the structural integrity of this model. Otherwise it is an amazingly simple and easy model to assemble.
With this model I found myself tweaking the legs until I found a good pose for the 'Mech. Once I did though the torso is a simple attachment to the legs. With the 'Mechs arms I would recommend assembling the arms first. They have a huge range of motion and are extremely poseable giving the 'Mech a very fluid and natural look if done properly. For some reason the pose I did reminds me of the Angry Sasquatch in the Jacks Links Commercials
As far as scale most of them fall into scale with each other quite well. The only one which seems to be slightly larger then it should is the Thunderbolt which seems to be a bit bigger then it should be.
Overall Appearance -
All of the Mechs match thier artwork perfectly. they all laso seem to capture the sirit of thier "modern" counterparts very well. The Wasp, Longbow, and Thunderbolt I woudl reccomend to anyone seeking a mote classic feel then thier "reseen" counterparts.
The Banshee is in a class by itself with a "Deaths Head" that outclasses any version of the Atlas. I personally will be using all of these Mechs as thier more modern counterparts in my games.
Until next time -
CJ