Just to clarify--calling them mini-stars isn't how I'd ever teach it, nor how I think of the figure.  Jeff was asking about breaking it down into established contra figures and how it differed from a simple backtrack; I wanted to make sure that the triple-star aspect came across.  The dance is just so simple to actually do and teach in real time!

I also agree that the 1 and 1/2 trick is not something with wide utility.  That was more an example of how the figure can be adjusted on the fly, or for performance effect.  Our caller once used it during a show to help us reset after something went wrong; as I recall, two of the ladies were swapped, so they slowed down to one time around while the other pair did the full once and a half.  Other than that, though, you're right: there is very little call to use it (pun intended).  Half-sashayed, reverse stars, and mixed gender Fans are an easier way to keep it interesting.

And Chris is right, too--the fuzziness of the start and ending points on this kind of figure is what makes them poorly suited to contras in general, although it CAN be done crisply and in exact positions. Maybe it would help if the promenade or swing or other recovery figure ends in each couple's starting position, not the progressed one.  Which pretty much restricts the Fan to happening in the A part of the music, or very top of the B.

Neal