Ya. Prices on them are going up. You can bet you'll get your $150 back if you choose to sell. No problem there. Take a look at this
Ebay item, here's a remote assessment for you.
For $199 you get the figure, but it comes with a multitude of issues:
- Head carapace is missing, you'll spend about
$40 for a facsimile replacement or upwards of US$60 for a genuine.
- The dorsal spike on the back is missing, too. There are a couple of options for this. At
US$22 you can have one ready to install or for
around US$7 you can buy one from Spain that needs to be painted to match the figure.
-Judging by the mouth cavity, it looks like the tongue is missing, too. You can buy the
split tongue halves for US$16.99 if you wanted to complete this figure.
So, purchasing this figure and bringing it up to a 'feature complete' state with the use of reproduction parts you'd be spending a total of US$263 - and that's with the cheap version of the spike.
...but wait! It doesn't end there! This figure has a number of other issue you might like to be aware of - many of which are irreversible damage and cannot be fixed. Let's check it out:
- The paint work on the head is noticeably damaged. It's chipped and worn in many places. I'd even say it's had a repaint applied to it. You can safely bet that the repainted areas
won't glow in the dark.
- The teeth look dirty and could possibly be cleaned depending on what the coating is. These can actually be pulled from the jaws and scrubbed, to be returned with no problem.
But these issues are real killers for the figure:
- The elbow spur on the right arm is broken.
- The slot where the dorsal crest is located is damaged.
- The tip of the tail is missing.
- There's a lot of scarring at the bases of the quad dorsal appendages.
Along with those 4 critical damage issues, 3 of which can't be repaired without replacing those parts I have my suspicions about some of this figure's other features. The arms may have collapsed into the torso and while this can be repaired, it's a fiddling job to compensate for the missing internal mounting pins. Also of note is the figure is photographed lying down in all shots. This would indicate to me that it has trouble standing and both legs are loose at the hips. This condition is easily fixed. I seriously doubt this figure can hold a pose with its arms. There is no indication whatsoever that the jaw activation mechanism is in working order and given all the other issues, it wouldn't surprise me if it's not functioning.
In this heavily degraded condition, the vendor is still asking for US$199 for it. (I offered him US$100, and he declined.) Eventually, he will sell it and get what he is asking. So don't feel bad about your figure. It's complete. Just make sure it's got all 12 fingers, the tail tip is present and the elbows have both spurs. Even without the dome and spike it would be better than this one on offer.
As for the glue and other discolorations of the head of your figure, that can't be altered. Sorry, but my experience has taught me not to mess with the paint work - even if someone else has already done so and wrecked it. Just leave it be. The only option I can offer is to clean off all the discoloration and glue, fill the gap with some decent long lasting filler material, mask the head and respray the surface with some glow in the dark paint. That's about the best you could do in terms of restoring it. I've never done this myself and wouldn't recommend it and you may just be best leaving it as is - especially if you don't want to degrade the figure any more. Mind you, if you do choose to do this, it can be considered to be a custom piece. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I have no idea why someone would mount a piece of wood inside the figure. You totally got me on that one. The fact that there is a piece of wood inside is a good indication that the figure has been previously opened and modified.
You can take the figure apart by undoing the 4 screws in its back and and any point, you can put the figure back together again if you feel uncomfortable with proceeding any further. That is, if the torso halves haven't been glued together. The presence of adhesive elsewhere on the figure suggest that dismantling it may not be possible.
If the figure hasn't had any glue to the torso, it can still be a stubborn piece of shit to get apart. I've had some real fights getting the halves to separate on some of these figures; but eventually I won the match. Every time. My fingers were sore and tired but the end result was the same. I got the halves apart and could work on the dismantled figure.
If the original anchors for the arms are still in place, they shouldn't be a problem. They both sit on the center mounting post, one on top of the other. It's likely that yours may have been replaced already. This can get
really interesting if that's the case.
If you do take it apart, it's easy to reassemble. Hold the front torso piece in your hand and add the head, legs and arms to it like you're making a sandwich. It's easiest if you orient the arms and legs downwards from their connection points so that they are hanging from the torso piece.
Then place the rear torso along with it's already attached pieces (all the spikes and tail) on top of that. Ensure everything is aligned properly and then squeeze the halves together. Then drive in the 4 screws.
Just make sure you get the right and left arms and legs on the correct sides of the body - or you'll be in for some serious lolz.
It's fiddling the first time you do it and does feel ungainly and cumbersome, but you won't break anything. You might like to get someone to give you a hand with the reassembly if you like.
-Windebieste.
