Bob the Mailman

Meet Bob.

There is a bit of a story here. Over 25 years ago my MIL purchased a mailman doll from a flea market and gave it to my 8 year old nephew. Just a silly doll, probably didn't cost more than a dollar. But with the help of his younger brother and a video camera my nephew made many stories about Bob. Then, like always happens, other toys and interests come along, and Bob and his videos were quietly forgotten.

20 years later my BIL asked me if I could convert all his old video tapes to DVD. I had the tools to do so, so I agreed. Amongst them were the Bob videos. After laughing my butt off at his antics, I thought it would be cool if I could include Bob with the DVDs, especially since my nephew is now a mailman.  Of course, the doll was old when my MIL got it, and by this time it had travelled into vintage status, so I couldn't find one to include with the DVDs. But I didn't give up, and 6 months of searching later I finally found one on eBay and gave him as a gag Christmas present.

That was 5 years ago. Thanks to eBay the Bob army now numbers 10. He has been found hanging from ceiling fans, gutters, windows, and one year a mini version was even found hiding in the Christmas tree. Greatest Wife Ever has crocheted a sailor outfit for one of them, and he will be found lurking in my BIL's cabin on their first cruise later this year.

Naturally once I bought a 3D printer I had to try to see if I could print him. After 25 different photo attempts in PrintU on MakerLab I finally got a 3D model I could work with. A lot of cleanup in Tinkercad and some painting in Bambu Studio & this is the result. He will now be tucked away until Christmas time. If you are feeling creative I would love some suggestions as to how he could show up at my BIL's house.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.