Quote Originally Posted by reillyd View Post
I wonder if Hasbro pressured Takara for consistent paint apps to prevent competition, or did Takara just underestimate how much of their base was overseas collectors? When it was different colours I was often on the fence, but extra accessories like arms-microns made it essential to buy a TakaraTomy spare
I wouldn't be surprised if it was Hasbro telling them to keep the toys the same, just to increase their own sales, from those western collectors who might have been buying the Japanese versions if they had better colours or accessories (which would be people like me who would pick and choose the various figures from Japan or Hasbro that appealed to me).
I used to buy a fair few regular retail toys from Japan, but this year it has dried up almost completely, thanks to the mainlines being identical and the over-priced Masterpiece toys limiting what I am comfortable with on the high-priced end of the scale. As such, I've only bought four of this years TakaraTomy TFs so far, missing a number of 2019 MPs and some one-off rarities.