peale hows the quality of the takara versions and the imports compared to the US?
AFAIK, the quality is identical. Most time, the toy is also identical to it's US counterpart.
I know about the wallet lightening. These days I only buy Alternators (I don't like the others stuff, although I did buy a RiD Prime/Magnus combo) and @ $20.00 each average, they're pricey. I have to save up for them.