Conceptual Ben Figure From Unproduced Micro Dagobah Set: Though the translucent pink color of the piece renders its detailing nearly indistinguishable, the figure you see on the above right is, indeed, the Ben Kenobi counterpart to the conceptual Luke, Vader and Yoda Micro Collection Dagobah figures seen elsewhere on the Archive. While the other two figures are quite obviously cast in metal, this one was done in a rather rubbery, pink urethane.

As with the two aforementioned Dagobah figures, Ben has been attributed to noted role-play miniature manufacturer Ral Partha, whose sculptors sometimes did outside work for Kenner. The figure obviously lacks the refined detail of a production-quality Micro figure, a characteristic that can be attributed both to its quick sculpting at a 1:1 scale, and its "poured" method of casting. Production Micro figures were sculpted at a 4:1 scale and were "shot" by machine into their production molds, both processes which allowed for a maximum amount of refined detail.

Such hand-made conceptual figures should not be confused, however, with the many unlicensed metal figures that have been offered on the secondary market. Notably, Heritage issued a fairly well-known series of pewter figures that more-or-less resembled these conceptual pieces in detail.

The painted figure pictured alongside is a replica included for comparison.

Description: Ron Salvatore
Photo: Ron Salvatore
From the collection of Rob Amantea