Star Wars fan makes an unofficial Baby Yoda plush toy. The new character has arrived by surprise over the past several weeks, thanks to the highly popular Disney+ series, The Mandalorian.

The Yoda character made his first appearance in the Star Wars series almost 40 years ago and immediately stole fans’ hearts and minds. A pint-sized Jedi Master unlike any the franchise would ever create, Yoda was responsible for much of the training that turned the weak yet ambitious young Luke Skywalker into a powerful Jedi Knight. Unfortunately, by 1983, when Return of the Jedi was released, it was time to say goodbye to Yoda (or so fans thought) as George Lucas saw fit to kill the character off. For years, fans thought that Yoda would never be seen again, but when a new trilogy kicked off beginning with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 1999, Yoda eventually returned (or at least a slightly younger incarnation of the character did), and it was a sheer delight to see the Jedi Master engage in an actual lightsaber duel.

Related: Why Baby Yoda GIFS Were Removed From Giphy (It Wasn't Disney)

According to Comic Book, Russian Etsy user MelvonANDReine is creating plush Baby Yodas, which take 13-16 weeks to design and sit at 22cm (8.5 inches) tall. The figures are made from polymer clay and artificial fur. The plushes seem to be a response to there not being any official Baby Yoda toys available for sale this holiday season. There's an intense demand for merchandise related to the character, but only a limited number of products (t-shirts and mugs) are out. That's not good enough for some viewers, though, and one fan started to manufacture and sell their own take on Baby Yoda.

Mandalorian Baby Yoda concept art

Unfortunately, MelvonANDReine has stopped all orders for their Baby Yoda plush for the time being, “due to the large quantity of orders”. This means that only a lucky few were able to get an order in before the option disappeared. At this point, it’s unclear as to whether or not more Baby Yodas will become available from the seller, but as things currently stand, those who were lucky enough to put in their orders for the collectible won’t receive the finished product until June 2020. For their part, Disney has previously announced that Baby Yoda toys won’t hit stores until some point in 2020. While that means a bit of a wait either way, Disney’s official Mandalorian line is sure to be much cheaper than what MelvonANDReine is selling. The price of the artist’s Baby Yodas has been wiped from the Etsy site, but if the cost of any of their other collectibles such as Gremlins and Fantastic Beasts are an indication, Baby Yoda certainly did not come cheap.

It’s understandable that Star Wars fans would want to be able to buy Baby Yoda merchandise prior to Christmas, but Disney isn’t simply being stingy or short sighted here. The lack of merchandise corresponds directly with The Mandalorian writer/producer Jon Favreau, who did not want merchandise to reflect spoilers in the weekly series. This isn’t to say that die hard fans can’t seek out their own methods for obtaining a Baby Yoda or two, but keep in mind that any unofficial collectible purchased could be halted by Disney at any point, and those doling out large amounts of cash for one of MelvonANDReine’s creations would do well to ensure that should Disney step in before June 2020, there is a refund policy.

Next: Star Wars: Everything We Know About Yoda's Species

Source: Comic Book