They might be from a slightly better plastic this time around, as they don't have the cheap glossy look to them this time. Or perhaps it's just a different type of paint/finish. I dunno. But maybe you can see for yourself when you're up this way tomorrow J. Hopefully they've still got a few over there.
I pulled out my old Cinema Scene (which was astonishingly accessible) to compare the Skiff Guard figures, and from what I can tell, David and I already pointed out the two most noticeable differences. Barada's bandana is pretty much the same color of his face - a darker green, and not the orange/red color of the original. His whole face is much darker (green) all over this time too, not a nice wash like before.
And the Nikto's face that I pointed out is much greener all over too, so it looks quite a bit different than the original, which had more of a peach colored face. This one also has a black Vibro-axe thingy, instead of the dark brown/gold one he had the first time around. That's the only difference in the weapons.
The figure's pictures on the back of the box are actually of the ones from the Cinema Scene (at least paint-wise, on Nikto and Barada). Strange. I think the originals definitely looked better for those two guys...