As you know, the molds for the 4" Removable Limbs C-3PO were re-used to create the Droids cartoon version of the figure. He was cast in yellow plastic and parts were painted blue and tan to match the cartoon. The resulting figure was very nice, and I have a couple loose ones and a couple carded ones in my collection. You know all that... but you may not know that Kenner actually considered doing the same thing with the 12" C-3PO. The result was this hand-painted mock-up:

I recently purchased this awesome piece from Ed A. Up until Eddie contacted me about it, I never even knew it existed. Note: Please DO NOT contact Eddie regarding this 3PO. He's been swamped with E-mails and calls since this article was posted. It's become an annoyance, and he doesn't want to field any more questions about it. The body is cast in yellow plastic, and the accents were hand-painted to match the 4" figure. Similar to the Droids C-3PO figure carrying case, this figure was considered for production, but ultimately rejected. So this mock-up is the only example in existence!!

This wasn't the first time Kenner considered re-using the vintage 12" C-3PO mold... they also tried to create a motorized, walking 12" C-3PO, and a "dirty" 12" C-3PO for the ESB line. Both of those concepts were also rejected, and only prototypes exist to tell the tale.