I can assume that TG17 Blaster is already out with TG18 Skywarp or....

 

Yes. Hence the in hand pictures in this very thread you posted in.

Randy

 

I really don't see any improvements, he looks dull and the wheels look weird being the flat yellow, the gold on the Hasbro version is much better.

Blaster should be bright and pop color wise, this looks like dead blaster that has faded out.

The white symbol bothered me but I just used a Repro label with the metallic back makes it look even more g1 to me.

 

TakTomy version looks more vibrant due to the grey shade use is of darker shade.

 

I know this has probably been asked/answered a million times, but why does Japanese/Takara releases always usually equal better paint apps?

 

iirc transformers is more collector-oriented and a smaller brand there, compared to hasbro not focusing as much on homages and fancy paint as much as getting stuff out there for cheap. basically quality over quantity.

 

Yup, that. Plus Hasbro budgets paint aps across an entire wave of figures (so that's how some figures have a ton of paint in the same wave where another figure gets by with much fewer paint aps in comparison), whereas Takara doesn't have that problem (their figures ship out in cases consisting solely of that particular figure rather than wave variations like Hasbro).