New update.
I have received yet another replacement for one of my lost figures, and it is also another one that I thought would be extremely hard to find in good condition on the secondary market.
Last week, I was perusing eBay and came across a few sellers who actually had some vintage Car Robots Baldigus giftsets for sale. Though, all of them were pretty pricey, and some of which were the Korean version, which I did not want since Sonokong used the additional level of retooling that Hasbro had added to the figures for their Ruination version, so I wanted the original Takara version instead.
Of the few Takara versions for sale, the cheapest one was about $147, but was also incomplete. I really did not want to have to go through the hassle of hunting down additional parts for the set, so I passed on it. Then I came across a complete and mint in opened box version of the set, and which also just so happened to be located in my state. But, this set was priced at $200, way more than I was willing to pay. Still, it was the best option given the item's condition and location.
So, I put that $200 auction on my watchlist to keep an eye on it until I could save up so extra money later on. A few days later, I get an email from eBay telling me that the Baldigus seller is accept money offers for the item. I think to myself, "Okay, once I get a little more money, I'll make an offer and see if I can get it for a better price." I leave well enough alone for the time being.
Come this past Saturday and I wake up that morning to find another email from eBay. The seller himself/herself has made an offer to me (and possibly other potential buyers) that will expire in the next two days: For this offer, they lowered the price by a whopping 50%! My initial reaction is "Whoa, they must be really eager to get rid of this thing!"
But then I start to give it some serious consideration. I think to myself, "With that discount, I do have the money right now. My next paycheck doesn't come until well after the offer's deadline ends, and I can recuperate my losses and then some when next I do get paid. And, it's now even cheaper than how much I paid Tony Preto for my first Baldigus back at BotCon..."
So I went for it.
And, four days later, it arrived earlier today. I opened this thing and it is in great condition, as though this Baldigus has rarely, if it all, ever been played with or even handled. Most of the 5mm holes and the smaller holes for each little gun feel super tight. Like, almost too tight in some cases, as though I feared that I might accidentally break any of the pegs that are supposed to go into any of those holes. I remained careful and tried not to force anything too much, but overall, this is a really good quality condition for a version of a G1 mold that was first released about 20 years ago in 2000.
I do still want the Unite Warriors version, too, but I am glad to have gotten a new one of the original.