Managed to snag a Takara Roadbuster off of eBay, thought I would do a brief review for those who are interested.
Robot Mode:
Now first I would like to say I dont own the Hasbro version so I cannot really comment on the differences between the two, and secondly I recieved this loose of a China based eBayer, the version I recived has some differences to the version previewed earlier on this thread, so I'm not sure if it is a test shot or the figure has had some last minute changes.
I must say I really like the bot mode, love his proportions and my initial worries about his feet being too big disappeared once I got him displayed just so, the colour pallet is pleasing to the eye and screams Roadbuster. Lots of ratcheted joints is reasuring for stability, although I will say some of them seem pretty tight, especially the upper thigh ratchets which seem to be a bit on th squeeky side, leading me to think they may strip over time (time will tell on that one), if anyone can reply with similar problems with the Hasbro version I would appreciate it. Other tight joints include the bicep swivel and knee swivel , but these are not ratcheted so should not cause any problems in the future. Theres a nice level of articulation to the figure and I really like the customisable nature of the weaponry. Paint apps are very good with no blemishes.
One interesting point is the preview shot posted earlier in the thread shows Roadbuster to have very distinctive metallic green paint on his visor, however my version has very lightly tinted green light piping.
Again I'm not sure if this is a test shot or the figure has been subject to last minute changes, we shall see.
Alt Mode
Transformation is quite simple, but very rewarding, everything slots and tabs away nicely, there is very litte kibble. The alt mode is very pleasing to the eye and there are plenty of 5mm slots to accomadate and customise the weaponry.
In summary I am very happy with this figure, some of the joints are quite tight in places and some of the ratchets may be prone to stripping which is a bit of a worry, however as I have mentioned this may not be the retail version of the figure. Also the figure came loose so no sticker sheet as with the Hasbro version but I belive that the Takara versions dont come with sticker sheets anyway.