I've finally started a project I've been gathering materials for for a long time. And it's going to serve as a proof of concept as well as a trial run for similar projects in the near future. For now I'm just calling it "Squawkers Reborn" because, well, I'm lazy honestly is why.

I'm working with a "Squawkers McCaw" (Hasbro Fur-Real Friends) animatronic (one of several I have), a 3D printed macaw skull, some glass eyes looted off an old stuffed toy from Value Village, and some off-brand "lock-line" flexible pipes for support. I'll probably also stuff it when things are finalized.




The first step was to "skin" the bird. I chose to leave its original feet connected so that it can still use the designated perch, but I could have used 3D printed feet if I so chose. I'm left with two wings and the birds hollow body.





In theory the animatronic head could be detached and left in the body as well. This would allow its beak to snap shut on its own when released and would have already included perfectly fit eyes, but I'm concerned it would be too heavy to support.

The plan from here is to fill in the eye sockets of the skull with hot glue and set the eyes in place, then decide if I want to use this or the original head. From there I just need to keep the pipes in place and stuff it, if it works as desired I'll stitch it up.

Sorry for lack of updates on Squawkers, progress hasn't had much to show off lately. Just about everything that could have gone wrong went wrong in the best possible way (more on that later), and I've only just now gotten the rest of what I'll need.



Even hollowed out of all motors and electronics the head is so heavy that the bird leans forward and the feet are suspended off the ground. And the legs are absolutely tiny, meaning even with the plastic frame from the animatronic they aren't able to hold the bird up.

The good news is that the wings bend very nicely, and the bendable pipe makes for some convincing poses even now. Even though the head is so heavy the bird falls forward, it isn't so heavy that the pipe bends and it can't hold a pose.

I'm hoping some well placed beanbag filler will resolve this balance issue.





All of this means that when I start making birds from scratch, with properly proportioned legs and significantly lighter (non-opening though...) 3D printed beaks, these issues should be non-existent.

Any update on this? I would love to purchase some 3d printed feet inserts if anyone has a file to do so. Thanks!