My hobby shop has a copy in stock which I was able to unbox/inspect.
Best surprises:
Anti-Aircraft Artillery: the models are great and they’re BIG. A lot bigger than Germany’s artillery piece in AA42 1st ed. They feel…meaty. They new artillery pieces are also realy nice.
The figurines themselves are a good quality, nicely detailed (i.e. you can see individual bolts on tank tracks) but not a hude step up from current editions.
The chips are REALLY nice. They have a good quality to them, and they said Axis and Allies. Green additionnal color is a nice touch.
The board, as it was said before, is pretty big. Big enough anyways.
Not so good surprises:
The map feels stretched. Picture the world map in your head, grab both of the poles (North and South) and… pull hard. This is what it feels like. Japan looks a little like… Chile.
Germany border colors. I had a little trouble seeing the borders of Germany’s territories, especially early in the game, in 1st ed. That has not been fixed.
Cardboard ICs. Well, you know. At the same time, the cardboard is not cheapo. It a nice quality.
USSR and Germany control markers. They’re weird. The symbol is super small on chips that are the regular size.
Other than that, it’s AA42.