Micro Collection Concept Vader from Unproduced Dagobah Playset: Though several "4-up" sculptings of figures slated for inclusion in the Micro Collection's never-produced Dagobah playset have surfaced over the past few years, they do not represent the earliest forms that figures from this playset took. Several 1:1 scale sculptings were created early-on, most likely as an aid in helping to flesh out the concept of this playset. From these figures, molds were apparently made, from which figures like the ones you see above were produced. Only the metal Vader figure in this image is genuine, the painted resin figure beside it being a repro that I've included for the sake of comparison. Genuine urethane castings of this Vader have turned up, however, both with a saber and without.

As you can see, while the figure is detailed, it is rather crude when compared to a production Micro figure. A great deal of precision would not have been needed for it to fullfill its purpose as an early conceptual model and so no further refinement was called for at this stage. A future step in this playset's development would have seen the idea of this figure translated into "4-up" sculptings and then hardcopies, which would have closely represented the appearance of the final toys.

For more information on the Micro Collection Dagobah playset, along with photos of the above mentioned wax figures, see Tomart's Action Figure Digest, issue # 21