Micro Collection Yoda Blue 4-up Hardcopy: Above is pictured one of two different Yoda figures that have turned up, either as hardcopies or in the form of original wax sculptings (featured in a 1995 Toy Shop ad), from the Micro Collection's unproduced Dagobah playsets. The pictured figure stands about 21/2" high and has a lot of beautifully-sculpted detail, particularly around the face and base. Apparently, all the Dagobah figures would have included a similarly-formed base, sculpted so as to imitate the planet's swampy terrain, as the other existing Dagobah hardcopies and sculptings incorporate the same type of texture.
The Dagobah sets would have been an interesting addition to the Micro Collection line. To my knowledge, at least 7 different, production-quality prototypes have surfaced: Luke with Yoda on his back (sculpting), Yoda on hands and knees (sculpting), Yoda with cane (above), Luke in X-Wing gear (4-up), Luke standing on hands (4-up), Luke with saber (4-up), and R2-D2 (4-up). Judging from the several conceptual figures that exist for this set, it is a fair bet that Obi-Wan, and duelingVader figures would have eventually been included as well.
Of course, it should be remembered that this Yoda hardcopy, though it represents the prototype's true form, is a 1990s copy, likely made from molds of an original sculpting or legitimate hardcopy. It can be identified as such due to its being made of a blue urethane, which was not in use at Kenner during the time of the Micro Collection's development.
Description: Ron Salvatore