I’ve had my Gigabot 3D printer for almost a decade now (wow) and every now and then the company behind it (re3D) have asked “Would you print something out for our in-house museum?” They’ve even offered to pay for the filament, shipping, etc. At one point, I *almost* sent them one of the spare heads from my Robby the Robot project, but the thought of all that sanding, priming, and painting scared me off.

Then a few months ago Jennifer from re3D reached out again. She asked if I’d be interested in making something, and even offered me some credit in their store. Well, I did have my eye on a set up fully-machined dual aluminum extruders as an upgrade for my Gigabot…. So I asked, “What would I have to make you in exchange for those parts?”

Jennifer almost immediately answered “Baby Yoda!” and the deal was struck. I figured with the filament cost probably coming in around $100, I was getting the better end of the deal. But of course, there was a lot of finish work required. And since Grogu has so many organic surfaces and details, it had to all be done by hand. I had to completely finish the replica too, which meant learning how to use an airbrush (well, it meant buying and airbrush and then learning how to use it). But I am extremely happy with how it came out. Now if I only could find the time to install those metal extruder mechanisms…