I have two questions: 1. Regarding all 3 toys, are there any major differences between Takara and Hasbro material-wise? Watching a YouTube comparison video led me to believe Takara makes their molds from die-cast, or even metal. 2. Specifically Skywarp, why did Hasbro remove the snarling face and change it into a Starscream-esque smirk?
1) The only differences in materials are the usage of gloss or matte plastic. There's very little diecast in any version, just the front landing gear, and the structural frame of the torso. Takara Skywarp and Thundercracker are gloss plastic, and thus feel heavier/denser for it. Hasbro Skywarp is flat plastic, matching any of the Starscream releases. The only other differences are minor molding ones. Takara Seekers have sharp, pointed antennae on their wingtips. Hasbro's are a bit shorter and rounded off. It's so subtle you won't even notice. 2. No clue. And, umm... die-cast is metal. Zinc Alloy, to be precise. The molds themselves are made of steel, the toys are plastic and zinc.
I've heard that the Takara versions use a more fagile-feeling plastic and that you have to put most of the decals on yourself. The Takara versions blend character-accuracy with real-life accuracy (such as warning labels where they would be on a real F-15), while Hasbro has just gone all out in trying to match the character instead of trying to make it look like a scale model of an F-15, but at least you don't have to put the decals on. Hasbro also used a more "g1-toy" accurate purple on their Skywarp as opposed to what Takara used in addition to the yellow eyes, but Takara has some extra paint apps. As for the die-cast metal bit, my Hasbro MP Skywarp has die-cast metal in the foward landing gear and largley in the "sliding" transformation joint contained within the upper body in robot mode. I'd expect the same for the Starscream relase. According to one of the designers for Hasbro's MP Skywarp, it was felt the smirking face was a better fit for Skywarp's character than the snarl, and in the end they actually just re-used both of Starscream's faces (smirk and blank/stoic expressions) for Skywarp. I personally agree the smirk works better than a snarl for Skywarp, especially if it means being able to aquire the mold at a VERY good price compared to normal prices.
