I've not gone back and read too far into the 57 pages of posts on this. Here's my 2 cents, coming from someone who's been buying this crap since Mospeada was still on the air.
CM's is a small company, even compared to Yamato. The cost to produce it was probably higher than anything else they've done, and the questionable demand for a product that isn't exactly a big property in Japan means this is a very low production run, considering CM's doesn't have huge runs in the first place. The fact that it's presold out everywhere cements the fact that there weren't that many to go around. This is the biggest reason the cost is so high.
As for the design, I can only speculate, as can everyone else. Unless you know somebody at CM's you can't state anything but your opinion, nor can I. Nobody here has held a finished sample to my knowledge, I know some have seen them up close, but even the ride armors were shown in the wrong state in official photos up until they were released.
I've heard tales from friends in the toy design/sculpting industry that often a client gives hardly any artwork or source material to help illustrate how something looks from all sides. I've got several Mospeada art books and there isn't a whole lot covering the whole Tlead/Legioss union. It seems the animators just kind of shoved them together and didn't account for real mass/physics to factor into it. It's also not uncommon for a studio to ignore what others have done, either for fear of a lawsuit or just plain old pride, and just reinvent the wheel.
Their take on the Legioss (from available pictures) is a bit odd, the legs fold up instead of slide, the tail fins appear to not slide down or pivot enough to clear the forearms. The Tlead looks pretty damn accurate, with only the huge bar connecting them being the white elephant. It could be better, it could be worse, but it is what it is and until somebody gets a finished production pice it's all speculation. I've got one ordered and I'll report my findings, as I'm sure others will too.
Is the toy worth $280? As a mass-produced toy from Bandai or Hasbro hell no. As a limited production niche market piece offering something people have waited 25 years for maybe. It all comes down to how much you want it. People comparing this to a Transformer toy in terms of price have no understanding of economics or production costs. And affordable Japanese toys is an oxymoron if I've ever heard one.
And one last comment. Anyone talking about Yamato's fair pricing for quality doesn't own one of their 1st Scopedogs, Garlands, Quedluun Rau or remembers paying $150 for the GBP-1 armor.
