Takara has made toys in Japan for years, including TFs. Tomy bought Takara sometime in the last two or three years. I think Tomy is responsible for the Kiss Players and the ending of the TFC reissues, but they've also allowed for the Masterpiece line. I guess Japanese toy companies can be schizophrenic just like American ones.
Has anyone seen the prices for unmodified Masterpiece Megatrons on ebay? I was checking them out last night, and HOLY ****. I guess I might have to go with BBTS, even though they're modified, but they still have the cheapest price by far, and it doesn't involve having to import it, since they'll already have done that.