I am the original creator of this remix. First posted on Thingiverse in April 2022.

WHY I MADE IT?

Started with the Articulated Axolotl by WheatlyLaboratories. My daughter liked it… until my wife saw it and mentioned “the fringes on the axolotl are what make it cute.” So, of course my daughter no longer liked it. So, I found Zoid5's "Axolotl Head for Miniature Jointed Dragon", which I think ultimately came from schlossbauer's "Axolotl". Long story still long, I put the Axolotl head, Zoid5 likely cut from schlossbauers model, onto the Lizard body from WheatlyLaboratories, which I assume is from McGybeer, because WheatlyLaboratories' axolotl didn't get my wife's cuteness approval. My newer high res model is directly from MacGuybeer and schlossbauer.

I originally uploaded two versions. The angled slightly smaller lizard body WheatleyLaboratories uploaded at 45 degrees, I assume for smaller beds. And the slightly larger, high res lizard body uploaded by McGybeer, both allowed remixes. The larger one had a slightly scaled up head. Originally, the heads were flattened to better match the body dimensions. But I ended scaling the body up to match the original head due to requests in comments, along with the curled version I made curled myself. The new files are using modified versions of McGuybeer's lizard. He is an excellent modeler. Please support him. The Axolotl head is from Schlossbauers model, with extensive (for me) work making it more printer friendly.

FUN FACT: In Japan, axolotls are called "Oopa Loopas".

HOW TO PRINT:

• .10 -.20 layer height on .40mm nozzle,
• 2 or more walls,
• 10% or higher infill (20%+ has nicer weight),
• no supports needed.

Straight model can be scaled down to 70% and maintain articulation (YMMV). My daughter likes “babies” at 60%, but last segments of tail don't move much then. My usual settings are .12 layer height, 2 walls, 20% infill, scaled down 60%.

FILES

Axolotl_V2_6_Curled.stl - Thicker model, curled to fit on small beds, or scaling up.

Axolotl_V2_3_Curled_Flat.stl - Closer to original, flatter model

Axolotl_V2_6_Straight.stl - Thick model, Straight, and spaced. Best for scaling down.

Axolotl_V2_3_Straight_Flat_.stl - My daughters favorite, good for scaling down

Axolotl_V2beta_Curled_Painted.3mf - Painted version of the thick, curled, but the head is slightly more narrow than the others.

LICENSING: I cannot provide a license for this model, as all parts used to make it are non-commercial. I attempted to reach out to the owners of those models, but one of them has very strict licensing policy. So, none of us can make money from it, but we can all enjoy it free!

Original posting can be found here: Articulated Axolotl Enhanced by AKinferno - Thingiverse. This is still one of my favorite prints.

V2 Update Details:

I never had an issue with this model, but others have, so I made lots of changes to the model to make it easier to print. If you have trouble, let me know. I ensured the base was flat Previously, the fingers and parts of the gills had small, tiny spots on the bed. They are all connected now. The overhang under the jaw was a very steep angle. Now, the base of the head is almost flat, with very little overhang. Tried not to sacrifice cuteness, so the smile is still there, but more subtle. If anyone wants the old head on the new model, that can be done, just ask.

Used a higher resolution model for the head and the body. Removed a finger from the front hands and smoothed it out, since axolotl's are only supposed to have 4 fingers on their front hand. I tested pointing the fingers, but it wasn't as cute. I painted one of my last revisions to test with my ERCF. It is included as well. I will paint other models once the kinks are resolved.

I am planning for a V3. Blender practice and have a few ideas I want to test. Feedback is appreciated. Shout out to McGuybeer for making and sharing excellent models and Schlossbauers detailed axolotl model.

HISTORY

6/10/2023 - 2.7 posted. Thanks to SuperRoach for pointing out the floating pieces in PrusaSlicer. With the latest PrusaSlicer RC1, it renders the bottoms of the gills on the left side of the head floating. That wasn't the case previously. The new version 2.7 is posted to fix this issue.

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Since the 2.2 change, I loved the smoother head, but I thought the head on the thicker model has looked a bit too bullet shaped. The flat model proportions looked better, but I liked the thicker body. So, I finally updated it. 2.6 has a slightly flatter head, scaled up to match the height of the thicker model. It looks much better now, IMO.

With the experimental models, I started trying to improve visibility of the smile. Joker was the first attempt. I raised the edges of the smile, puffed up the cheeks around the smile and the eyebrow ridges. Had kids pick the best variant, printed it, and it looked like the Joker. Smiling, but something sinister behind it. Worth keeping, but not what I was going for. My younger thought it was scary. So, restarted with Smiley. Instead of moving the smile edge up toward the eye, I moved it deeper and up. I fluffed and pushed the cheeks up so it does reshape the eye slightly, but left the eyebrow ridges alone.

I would appreciate feedback. I think Smiley is my favorite version. He has a normal and wide model. I cleaned up and narrowed behind the gills, then realized I had inadvertantly widened the face. I had to revert to the older rear setup to narrow it. So kept both versions. He is currently just on the thick model, but I will add it to the flat model if the feedback is positive. And does the rear make a difference in print? I printed the wide one and think it looks good, would like opinions, my kids votes are split.

4/15/2023 - V2.6. Edited the head on thick model, added a couple experimental models with exaggerated facial expressions (Smiley and Joker).

3/8/2023 - V2.5 of thick body and 2.3 of flat body print great! All issues are resolved. The thick body had trouble with arm strength and mobility. I significantly remodeled the shoulder and hip pieces of the body to provide more clearance for the arms and legs to move. I was careful not to reduce the size of the base, so adhesion won't suffer.

I spent a bit of time on the head also. I deepened the crease around the eye, and the mouth, so the eyes and the smile stand out a little more. I improved the base of the right gill, so there is more contact near the head.

Test print is twinkling blue in the model photos. Be aware, at 60%, the last link of tail doesn't move. Arms still do. But that is what my daughter likes. Think this is the last needed change. I will also provide multicolor versions of each model this weekend. Happy Printing!

3/7/2023 - Test print was successful, but flexibility is limited. There shouldn't be an issue with the flat models, as they use the original body. Stretching the body made things fragile. So look for v2.5 of the thick body this evening with more space clearance for arms to move. Also, the smile fades at 70% scale, so I will increase depth of it for all models. Cuteness must be preserved :p

3/6/2023 - V2_4 - Updated the ‘straight’ model to strengthen the arms and legs. The ring attached to the shoulders is twice as thick as it was before. I did a quick/dirty edit of the rear legs too to achieve the same result. I stacked the 100% part with the 150% part. You will see them if you separate the model. I will fix this properly later, but this should ensure anyone printing now, won't have fragile limbs. I will update the other 3 versions tomorrow and should have the painted version of this model by this weekend.

3/4/2023 - V2_3 - Fixed a problem with the head being lower than the rest of the body.

3/3/2023 - V2.2 - Smoothed out the head. Now it looks like the rest of the body.

V2.0 Changes (2/20/2023):

• Articulating arms
• Easier to print (Lots of changes to head to improve this)
• Higher resolution model
• More accurate hands (Real axolotls have 4 fingers up front, 5 in the rear)
• Painted for multi-material / multi-color printing

6/12/2022: - Added a curled version, at the request of someone in comments, for smaller print beds. Or if you want to increase the size to 230% on a 220x220 bed, now you can!