| Hoth Wampa Cave (White Box) Engineering Pilot | |
| "Welcome to another Micro Collection prototype entry", says the happy unpainted Wampa micro
graciously waving to site visitors. The Wampa Cave shown here is typically referred to as an "EP"
or engineering pilot. The presence of the white box is typical on EP's of this nature. The box is
entirely white as the finished box probably was not completed at this point and the EP only needed to
serve to ensure all materials fit into the shell box properly. Engineering pilots like this piece may
also be used in what is referred to as a "drop test". During this test the box would be dropped and the
contents inspected to make sure the packaging suitably protected the innards. Production toys enjoy a
worldwide journey before reaching their ultimate retail destination so adequate packaging is essential
to ensure the consumer acquires an undamaged product at retail outlets.
As the photo conveys, all internal paperwork, inserts, playset, and figures are present. As you can see, the front box face contains writing in marker conveying the playset name and a few reference codes.
Here we see a front view of the micro figure bag. Take note that these are certainly no ordinary run-of-the-mill micro figures included in the EP playset. They are in fact test paints similar to the ones seen here, presumably utilized in paint mask development.
Finally we finish up with a view of the opposite figure bag side. If you look very carefully you'll notice an unpainted Bespin Luke is present in place of Han Hoth. "Thanks for viewing", says the happy test paint Wampa graciously directing site visitors towards the next entry. |
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| Description by: | Michael G. Mensinger |
| Photo: | Alex Sleder |
| From the collection of: | Alex Sleder |
| Country: | United States |
| Film: | Empire Strikes Back |
| Licensee: | Kenner |
| Year: | 1980 |
| Category: | Prototypes / Micro Collection |
