I think the 1ed Nekima was the model that spawned the most controversy of all metal miniatures produced by Wyrd. People complained about how difficult it is to assemble, how hard it is to transport and how wobly it is on tt.
I believe, Wyrd wanted to address this and actually, you know, make people happy, by scaling the model down so that it is easier to handle.
When I first saw the scale shot, I thought 'Well, isn't that what most of you people wanted anyway?'
I, BTW, also think she is too small, and worse sculpt overall than the first one, but that's mainly because I simply really like the old model and it fits my expectations of a wicked warrior/daemon lady pretty much, spot on.