Quantity   Component name
1 × Seasonal Yoda from Home Depot Originally retailing for $199 at Home Depot, Master Yoyo's price dipped to a low of $50 after the Christmas season. Can be found for anywhere within that range on eBay/Offerup
1 × Adafruit PCA9865 16 Channel Servo Controller or a compatible clone
1 × ESP32-S3 (or any other Arduino-compatible MCU) I used an Adaftruit ESP32-S3 QtPy, but any MCU that can be wired to the PCA9865 ought to do the trick. If you want standalone animation playback from the mcu, get something fast.
1 × Jemmy Talk board or a DC motor module I use the Jemmy Talk from JMann on Haunt Forum as I had it on hand. You can substitute this for an l298n module, and drive the motor with arduino code.
1 × Optional: Secondary MCU to offload mouth animation features If you DIY instead of get a Jemmy Talk, I recommend separating control of the mouth animations from the rest of the servos, but you do you
1 × Optional: 3d printer, Laser Cutter Not mandatory, but definitely nice to have. Can also use a service to have parts printed or cut for you
1 × Wig hair punch tool, crepe hair I was put off by Master Yoda being completely hairless, so we learned how to punch in stage hair.