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Let Groot take you for a swing

Lucky "Guardians of the Galaxy" fans are surprised with a life-size Groot swing in the geeky Web series "Super Fan Builds."

Bonnie Burton
Journalist Bonnie Burton writes about movies, TV shows, comics, science and robots. She is the author of the books Live or Die: Survival Hacks, Wizarding World: Movie Magic Amazing Artifacts, The Star Wars Craft Book, Girls Against Girls, Draw Star Wars, Planets in Peril and more! E-mail Bonnie.
Bonnie Burton
2 min read

Let Groot show you how heroes like to have fun. Break.com

"Guardians of the Galaxy" fans have already made their own dancing Baby Groot toys, Lego Groot tributes, Groot cookies and even a Groot sculpture made with a chainsaw. But this may be the ultimate Groot homage -- a life-size Groot swing.

The Groot swing was made for a new Web series appropriately called "Super Fan Builds," hosted by Alison Haislip. The bi-weekly show, presented by Break and hosted on the Awe Me channel on YouTube, features elaborate creations from Hollywood's top prop makers, Tim Baker Creations. In the show, they build detailed custom tributes for super-fans of comic books, video games, movies and pop culture franchises like "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Batman" and more.

In the debut episode, artist Tim Baker and his team create an awe-inspiring tribute to Groot from "Guardians of the Galaxy" for super fans Michael Coleman and son Patrick, who were nominated by Michael's wife, Karen.

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Groot's head will be cast it in fiberglass so it can withstand various weather conditions outside. Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET

Baker initially built a Groot swing maquette, or small scale model of the intended final sculpture, so all the angles could be properly determined before time-consuming welding began.

Initially, Groot's head is made from urethane foam, which is lightweight and easy to sculpt. Baker uses a curry comb, which is designed for grooming horses, to sculpt the foam into Groot's recognizable face.

The swing set itself is made from sturdy metal that can withstand both the weight of a child or an adult. After the frame is welded, the crew add foam elements that will make up Groot's body for the swing.

Inside Groot's arms and hands are steel rods and resin to make them stronger. In "Guardians of the Galaxy," Groot's hands and arms light up with a firefly effect. Baker and his team wanted to replicate the look so they used LED lights in the swing as well.

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Each panel on Groot's body is hand-carved from foam to look like pieces of driftwood. Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET

The entire swing is also covered in dark epoxy resin that bonds with fiberglass to form a strong, waterproof layer. The vines on Groot are made from ropes wrapped and threaded throughout the body.

The results are breath-taking, and the Coleman family flip out when they see the Groot swing in all its glory in their yard.

"It's too cool, I can't even talk about it," young Patrick said as he tries out the swing in the video.

If you have a super-fan to nominate, contact the producers of "Super Fan Builds" at superfanbuilds@break.com