A very good topic!

Exactly these. I absolutely loved being able to choose between multiple decos. It's definitely not a case of superior vs. inferior. Taking a quick look at my collection, I chose:
- TG21 Springer over Thrilling 30, Platinum and LG
- TR Highbrow over LG and Retro
- Henkei Mirage over Classics, Timelines, Electro Disruptor, Generations
- Generations Blurr over United and Platinum
- TR Overlord over LG
...and many more.

I don't even care if they're show accurate or toy accurate or whatever. I just want as many variants as possible.

Sometimes I actually went with the Hasbro version because of the accessories. For example TR Topspin for the silver guns over LG (didn't want the targetmaster).

Matter of perspective and location. In my short list of examples above, all these choices were thankfully not made due to price and I thankfully had the opportunity to find everything on that list at more or less a similar price (within each figure).

Division?

 

Nope. I do not.

 

Somewhat. I usually got the Hasbro version since it was cheaper and easier to get most of the time. Most of the time the deco differences weren't worth the import premium, and in the case of the random chrome on the Henkei toys, they actually made the Takara version less appealing.

But once in a while, Takara did something that caught my eye, and I either got their version instead, or even got both. I got Henkei Hot Rod rather than CHUG Hot Shot because he had the missile launchers. I got Takara's Ultra Magnus because of the more toy-inspired deco, and because it came with a WST Alpha Trion rather than Minimus Ambus (who means nothing to me).

And I got both TRPMOP and Super Ginrai because they were different characters, and the molding changes helped give them distinct personalities.

So yeah, I miss having different options, even if I didn't often take advantage of the alternatives.

 

I'm totally fine with no premium finishes. But I do miss the random "new" stuff they would do. Like how they made legends Blackarachnia and Megatronia. Stuff like that I'd welcome

 

Yes. What had happened was that they diverged with Hasbro going the cheap route while Takara went the slightly better route. When that ended in POTP, it was a definite nosedive reversion to the mean. (It also ended my ability to sell TransFormers, because Takara's were all I could sell profitably - I was expected to compete with Ollies otherwise.) Fortunately the WFC trilogy upped Hasbro's game enough to be acceptable again and Selects has been great for variants. But I still miss having options in the event Hasbro's version doesn't turn out quite right.

 

I'd have paid so much for a Takara version of ER Sunstreaker. Or even a fully painted glossy gunmetal and black Bluestreak, although he doesn't need it as badly.

 

I don’t miss it at all. But Takara is now doing their premium deco line so it’s kinda coming back.

 

I'll echo the sentiment of missing having options, though I'm also one of those freaks that tended to prefer Hasbro's more toy inclined decoes and have kinda been left to dry for the most part since the merge

 

Not even remotely, they served as (generally) double priced versions that were in a lot of cases a small upgrade but in most a perfectly acceptable sidegrade. Obviously distribution issues and scalping led to some instances where the Takara versions were cheaper and easier to get that their domestic counterparts, but that's really down to a number of circumstances not really relevant to the figures themselves.

That said, I do miss the consistent claims that the Takara versions were using higher quality plastic based on nothing.

I'll also say that when I was living in the UK during Cybertron I was importing the GF releases to get around the whole "This figure is $40 in America so we'll sell it for 40 GBP!" "Isn't that double the cost for the exact same product?" "Why yes it is".

 

One point regarding price that's worth remembering is that for many parts of the world, the price difference was much smaller than for US/Canadian collectors, or they were even almost equivalent. I've had European friends who went with Takara half the time because local Hasbro toys were either so poorly distributed and/or so much more expensive than the US-equivalent price that they might as well go Takara. One friend basically went all in for Legends over Prime Wars just because getting an order into Amiami was simpler and more secure than hoping for local, and the price was barely different.

 

Most of these analogues are mis-matched. "Henkei! Henkei!" was the Takara counterpart of both Classics and Universe. You're also missing "Reveal the Shield" (Hasbro) that ran alongside the original 2010 "Generations" line with "United" as both lines' Takara counterpart, and Takara's version of "Fall of Cybertron" and "Thrilling 30", which was also named "Generations" and even used the same logo as the Hasbro figures at the time. Takara's "Generations" line disappeared without any official announcement before Takara had completed its versions of Hasbro's "Thrilling 30" line-up, and instead released some of the remaining figures in the newly launched "Legends" line that was later continued as the Takara counterpart of "Titans Return", while the Takara counterpart of "Combiner Wars" was "Unite Warriors".


This is how it really looked:

Classics (Hasbro) - Henkei! Henkei! (TakaraTomy)
Universe (Hasbro) - Henkei! Henkei! (TakaraTomy)

Generations (Hasbro) - United (TakaraTomy)
Reveal the Shield (Hasbro) - United (TakaraTomy)

Generations: Fall of Cybertron (Hasbro) - Generations (TakaraTomy)
Generations: Thrilling 30 (Hasbro) - Generations (TakaraTomy) & Legends (TakaraTomy)

Combiner Wars (Hasbro) - Unite Warriors (TakaraTomy)

Titans Return (Hasbro) - Legends (TakaraTomy)


Additionally, some 2010 Generations, Thrilling 30 and Combiner Wars figures also had TakaraTomy counterparts in the Adventure toyline, Takara's version of the 2015 Robots in Disguise line.


By the point of Power of the Primes, the "brand unification" was already in effect. There was no Takara version of POTP.

 

After the stickers from Prime Wars went away it hasn’t been too much of a deal, however it would be really nice to see Kingdom Dinobot and Cheetor with all their show colors. It sucks that Premium Finish seems to be completely focused on current media, as I’d love BW-accurate versions of those two.

 

I do miss it a lot, actually. Some of the Takara repaints were amazing during the Henkei, United, Unite Warriors, and Legends eras.

 

I was a fan of the separation. I'm one of the seemingly few that like the toy accurate versions, so having the choice was pretty cool.

 

God, imagine if CW Computron was all we'd gotten.

 

They gave us the Seacons too! I’m holding out hope they redo Orthia, Predaking and Liokaiser. But seems unlikely at this point…

 

I like having the option of the Takara deco or the Hasbro deco. During Combiner Wars, I usually preferred the Hasbro deco compared to the slavish G1 accuracy of the Unite Warriors release. I found figures like the Stunticons to be very plain since they were almost 1 solid color. I do miss the unique molds like Blast Off and Computron. I don't miss Takara's QC. It was always terrible for me.

 

Not really. I only opted for Takara version in the past when there was a substantial difference (e.g. Car Robots Black Convoy, Micron Legend Overload, Mircon Legend Starscream, Micron Legend Shockwave, Micron Legend Powerlinx/red Thrust, Superlink Scorponok) or there wasn't a Hasbro version at the time (e.g. Superlink deluxe Grand Convoy, Superlink Megatron, Galaxy Force Stascream). However, I also bought the Hasbro releases of those examples (the exception being that I only bought the supreme class size of Energon Megatron not the smaller sized 2 pack with deluxe Energon Optimus Prime). I also opted for Superlink Superion and Superlink Bruticus and Superlink Buildron but, I don't recall if I got the Hasbro versions as well (probably not since the release schedule was terrible). I stopped collecting prior to "Henkei! Henkei!" existing but, I would have definitely skipped a lot of the 2006 Classics line if "Henkei! Henkie!" had been a thing at time.

It's easy to look at any random toy in Siege/Earthrise/Kingdom and wonder "what if?" but, I don't know if they would have really done anything differently since the "Premium Finish" line only ramps up all the dirt/grime in the name of show accuracy. Selection/choice of decos might have diminished as a result but, I'm fine with that as there is no longer a "Takara tax" which ramps up my purchase price considerably. However, all of decisions/experience are from back in the day when Takara only went with different decos rather than physically altering the toys as well. As a result, my focus is considerably more narrow than anyone that collected after Cybertron and until the end POTP.