ive got a good bit of each brand, most of Which I haven't opened due to life and ect ... rently ive been opening a few I've seen and heard conflicting things about various versions of each. Any one have a clear opinion over any version of any figure ? I'm especially concerned about Rodimus, grimlock, acid storm and othe seekers
Rodimus is a mess on the Hasbro end of things. He's been known to break IN the box, as well as on display. Takara wins that round. (Although, some of the chest mods on the Hasbro figure were nice.) Grimlock V1 is okay, but missing all the Takara exclusive accessories. V2 is a shade lighter and supposedly lighter in terms of plastic quality used and weight. Acid Storm is US only exclusive at the moment, no comparison. As for Starscream, he's been a mixed bag since they used the new MP-11 mold. Incorrectly assembled on some, missing pieces on others, while a good few were fine out of the box.
In general, Takara tends to have better qc(Takara is not perfect however). For MP11 Starscream Hasbro tightened up areas to hold the cockpit section place better in robot mode. On some samples they are too tight and some have the wrong parts. Takara's is said to have a looser cockpit section in robot mode(I don't have the Hasbro MP11 release to compare to). For Hasbro Rodimus, qc is sporadic, the elbow redesign is questionable and there are some with broken parts either over time or out of the box. Takara's initial MP9 release had various issues but some were fixed for the rerelease. Not sure of many differences with MP Prowl but my Hasbro Prowl has a side mirror that was bent/slightly cut) due to the way it was packaged in car mode(factory worker must've transformed it without realizing the mirror was snagged). Takara and Hasbro Asia MP10's are said to have tighter joints than the Hasbro TRU version(aside from YOTH). Hasbro's seeker, MP10 and Grimlock prices are steals IMO but over time I started going the Takara route because Hasbro takes a while to decide which ones to bring over and there's no telling which ones they'll bring over.
All versions of Masterpiece Rodimus Prime have issues. V1 or V2, Takara or Hasbro, original deco, or the black one. Takara and better QC, bad chrome on Ratchet and Ironhide, miss-assembly on Ramjet, floppy torso on Thrust, i don't think they have an advantage anymore.
I've never touched any of the rodimus primes I own due to fear of breaking. What's the ramjet, ironhide, ratchet issues ? My thrust doesn't seem too floppy but it's a little lose.
Ratchet and Ironhide have horrible chrome. You can rub it with your finger a few times and it fades to black or chips right off. Some of the worst chrome ever used by Takara.
I'm not sure anymore, TBH. Even though Takara does give off that more premium feel with their MP packaging, I'm starting to feel that QC is boils down to luck with either companies. to give an example: My MP1/MP4 has crooked chest window but my Hasbro 20th anniversary prime is perfectly aligned. One of my MP2 Ultra Magnus has upside down headlights and so on... It also seems like a lot of people prefer Has' MP10 over Tak's I don't own any of the figures of you listed but to throw in my 2 cents.
The newer Masterpiece Carbots are virtually identical between Hasbro and Takara. So Bumblebee, the Lamborghini's etc. Pretty much the same. The only exception might be prowl, I think the Hasbro white paint seems a little heavier on him. But the tooling and plastic is the same. Optimus is mixed. Some things are better on the Takara some are better on the Hasbro. Takara better matches the original toy, Hasbro the animation. It will honestly just be a matter of preference. Similarly Grimlock will depend on preferences. Different colors and tones but same molds and build quality. The Seekers are wildly different between the two brands. even more so once you account for the different tooling and merchant releases. In all cases the Hasbro versions are typically inferior to the Takara. different and not as striking paint (Hasbro paint is more animation with some splashes of interest. Takara opts for some more realistic markings) Seams don't mesh as well, etc. It's largely a moot point as the Seeker molds are pretty awful either way. Spindly piles of frustration. They look good standing there. But they might be the least "fun" of all the MP's. And honestly the Takara Seekers are so ungodly overpriced that for the awfulness of the Seeker molds, the much lower cost Hasbro ones do the job. The Hasbro Rodimus is a complete mess. Any version of MP-09 is bad, but that clear box TRU Hasbro one is just awful. I have never successfully transformed mine for fear of breaking it. The Takara MP-09 is worth the frustration for having the trailer. The Hasbro one you might contemplate tossing against a wall. The Takara MP-28 Hot Rod is a far superior figure to either earlier one.