How to Make a Toy Soldier Costume

Toy Army Men

If you are looking for a great Halloween costume that will fill your friends with nostalgia, consider assembling a toy solider costume. Kids love playing with toy army men and putting together a toy army man costume is fairly easy. Once you assemble the basic components, you can put together a great costume in about a day.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Skateboard deck
• Green spray paint
• Green face paint
• Power drill and screws
• Army fatigues (pants and jacket)
• Helmet
• Toy gun

1. Color match your spray paint to your face paint. This is the most crucial part of your costume. Perfectly matched paint will give you the uniform look on a toy army man. Spray a variety of paints on a piece of cardboard, then allow to dry. Compare the colors to the color of your face paint, and choose the paint that is the best match.

2. Attach the boots to the skateboard deck using a drill. Drill through the sole of the boot into the wood of the deck. The length of screw needed will depend on the height of your boots. Make sure the boots are attached wide enough apart to be comfortable. You have now created the plank for your toy soldier costume (as seen in the picture). Moving around like this will be challenging, but not impossible. It's like maneuvering uphill on a snowboard.

3. Coat all aspects of your costume with spray paint. This includes your boot-plank combo, clothing, helmet and toy gun. You need to do two coats for the best effect. Allow everything to dry.

4. Get dressed before applying the green face paint, so as to prevent you getting makeup all over your costume or other people. Starting with your face, apply an even layer of green face paint to your face, neck, hands, arms and any other exposed areas.

Tips & Warnings

• You could sew your own costume, but with the high numbers of military clothing available at second-hand stores, Army-Navy surplus shops and costume stores, you will save both time and money by buying a pre-made costume. You will need to find pants, jacket an army helmet and boots; all of which should be easy to find. You can find a dirt-cheap skatedeck at Wal-Mart, or at a second-hand store. All of your costume elements don't need to be the same color, since you'll be spray-painting everything the same color.

• Always use spray paint in a well-ventilated area. Depending on humidity, the paint may take up to 24 hours to dry. Allow the paint to cure outside, or in a well-ventilated workshop.

Resources

• A costume without the skatedeck bottom.