Summer WonFes, aka the Black Sister Dilemma

Ah, Wonder Festival, the magical bi-annual event where both the big PVC manufacturers and small garage kit circles come together to display their upcoming offerings.  I always pay close attention to every WonFes report graciously posted by Nekomagic, usually resulting in much want on my behalf.

This half, I was completely captivated by Spare Tail's offering of Black Sister, a side character from the JRPG Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2.  She's the game's precocious tsundere sister of Black Heart, and represents the PSP game system.  Naturally, I'm a fan.

That gun, that outfit, those drills.

Thus begins my dilemma.  I found this garage kit on Yahoo Auctions Japan and it seems to be a legit kit.  For 15,000 yen.  Add to that the deputy fee and shipping, plus the rather hefty fee of getting her commissioned to paint, and it comes out to be upwards of $500 in total.

I know the collector's motto is "Don't think, buy," but in this case, I'm trying my best to hold out.  With garage kits like these, oftentimes a PVC will come out by a large manufacturer that will be less of an assault on the bank account, however in this case I don't know if that'll happen.  The only character from this series that I know got a PVC figure is Purple Heart by QuesQ, and it wasn't a very well-made PVC.

The Grail.

At this point I have a few options:

1. Don't think, buy
2. Buy and wait to get her painted
3. Buy and learn to paint
4. Don't buy and wait for a PVC that might not come

The fourth option is the most perilous one, as I really want this figure.  I'll think on it.