Saw him today at TRU but passed. I doubt they'll finish off the decepticons, probably not even half. I think im just gonna focus on the autobots.

 

Nothing. I like Takara more.

 

Ah, fair enough then.

 

Waifu is always better than wife.

 

Some of us are in Japan and simply prefer the Takara release for easy access and exchanges in case of QC issues.  

 

Yep. I’m in Korea and I just prefer Japanese releases. I also had a crappy bee from Hasbro Asia. Bought TT and there were no flaws AND I preferred the more metallic finish. I’ve owned 4 MPM primes and all have not transformed correctly. But I prefer the lighter gray on the TT release. So now (especially because I don’t even like Bay movies/I’m just bored and have a lot of money and appreciate good toys) I am comfortable to always wait for TT with MPM releases.

 

Since I married into a Korean family I guess it would be waipuh.

 

Yup, that sounds totally fair. I personally have bought all Hasbro Asia releases and hasn't been a total bust so far. My MPM-04 isn't as bad as others, though, it's definitely the worst out of the bunch in terms of quality (those stress marks shouldn't be a thing considering it's a Masterpiece). My MPM-03 is actually fairly good (and may be a Takara—not sure). The only thing I found an issue with is his semi-loose ankles but then again, I've heard others had worse issues. My MPM-05 is perfect; I have no complaints. I'm hopeful the quality stays at that level moving forward.

 

For half price I don't care if it's not authentic, just as long as it's not terrible.

 

But...they’re identical in every way except the language on the box...

 

Yep

 

And the top of the door windows being painted white on the TT release.

 

Then I'll get to practice my Japanese when it arrives. lol

We didn't know they would be identical. Both MPM-3 and MPM-4 set the precedent that there would be differences. Should I go back to October and cancel my $65 preorder with Anime-Export? Should I have preordered at Robot Kingdom for $80? I have several reasons for buying Takara. Money, QC, and I respect their usual choice for paint apps and decos. Only exception was darker blues and dead eyes on Prime. But I'm sure in retrospect of the line they would have gone more toon initially. Sorry that's besides the topic.

Sure, Barricade's differences seem to in fact be non-existent, but I strongly prefer Takara still. Especially with rumors of KOs circulating... Gross. I shudder at the thought of getting one of those slates of shit in the mail. I also feel for the most part items coming from TT are more heavily scrutinized than just the general Hasbro Asia releases. I am confident that I made the correct choice.

 

boom. That's reason enough for me to justify my choice. Thanks.

 

MPM-5 Barricade is currently sitting at less than $70 USD (before shipping) at Amazon.co.jp. Not bad at all.

 

Easy to be sure - look at the box!  

 

I'll do that later today! It's supposed be the Hasbro version, but the eyes are gray like the Takara version and it's throwing me off. I'm not complaining either way  

 

TT MPM-Bee has a sparkle in the yellow paint and non painted eyes compared to the Hasbro MPM-Bee
TT MPM-Optimus has extra paint apps and in my figures tabs in pretty well in truck mode
For me it's worth the wait to see if TT MPM-Barricade has any differences

 

So I double checked the box and it's definitely the Hasbro version. Now, in real life, the eyes look a lot more gray but after taking a picture, I can now see subtle hints of blue. I guess I just expected something bluer like in some in-hand pictures. Perhaps something was changed in the last month and they're using a darker translucent plastic? I'm not quite sure.

 

Weren't the Hasbro version's eyes supposed to be painted blue? Just going off memory here, so I might be way off base.