I wrote a post awhile back saying that on the whole there is no real difference between Takara and non Takara versions to urge people not to waste money on imports that cost 2 to 3 times the Hasbro versions of the toys.
http://www.seibertron.com/forums/viewto ... sid=931980I've since opened up my BB08 Takara version, and did a comparison based on what I've read reported in various forums. Here's what I can verify:
1) Eyes: The eyes are molded differently. The Hasbro version has eyes that are flat, while the Takara has moulded pupils for eyes. But because it is black you need to strain a bit to see it. I personally don't like the pupils in robots.
2) Door opening: I've read someone write that it's difficult to pull the door away from the body during transformaton in Hasbro but it's fixed in Takara. Well, in my case, both are hard to pull away! My solution to both: first pull the door down, then away from the body while in car mode. I don't see much difference; maybe different people will.
As for quality overall, it's really hard to say. there is a fault in my Takara 08 foot automorph, while the Hasbro one swings away perfectly. I love this automorph... reminds me of Ironhide's (which by the way, is exactly the same in both Takara and Hasbro versions)