DIY "Iron Man" Armor
Iron Man made his comic book debut in March 1963 in Marvel Publishing's "Tales of Suspense" No. 39. In the years since then, the "Golden Avenger," created by Stan Lee, has been fighting communism, corporate crime and terrorism in the pages of his own books and, more recently, on the silver screen, where he is portrayed by actor Robert Downey, Jr. Fans who want to dress as "ol' Shellhead" for Halloween or a costume party can make their own Iron Man armor using some simple materials.
Things You'll Need
- Craft glue
- Scissors
- Black fabric marker
- String
- Red construction paper
- Yellow construction paper
- Red gloves
- Yellow sweatpants or leggings
- Red bike shorts
- Red T-shirt
- Yellow sweatshirt
- Round, battery-operated closet light
- 1 yard red fabric
- 2-inch Velcro strip
Instructions
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1
Drape the red fabric over your head to form a hood. Wrap it close around your face and bring the edges together under your chin. Glue the edges together with the craft glue, and cut the fabric as needed to cover your head and neck.
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2
Trace the outline of your face on a piece of yellow construction paper to form the Iron Man mask. Draw a flap on each side, from the top of the mask to the bottom, about 2 inches wide. Angle the top edge of each flap about 45 degrees. Draw an additional flap at the top of the mask, from side to side, about 4 inches high. Angle the edges of the top flap about 45 degrees. Draw two large slits for your eyes and one slit for your mouth. Cut out the mask, including the flaps and slits, with the scissors.
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3
Test fit the mask on your face and shape the side and top flaps around your head. Remove the mask, overlap the flap edges and glue the flaps together. Trim if needed to fit your head. Poke two holes near the side edges of the mask and attach a string to hold the mask on your head.
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4
Cut two pieces of red construction paper so that the paper is as wide as the length of your forearm between your wrist and elbow. Wrap the construction paper loosely around your forearms and glue the edges to form Iron Man's bracers.
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5
Cut two more pieces of red construction paper so that the paper is as wide as your shin is long. Wrap the paper loosely around your shins and glue the edges to form Iron Man's boots.
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6
Cut the sleeves off the red T-shirt. Use the black fabric marker to draw three thick horizontal lines between the top and the bottom of the stomach to give the appearance of segmented armor. Draw angled lines on the sides of the shirt between the armpits and the bottom of the ribs. Iron Man is frequently changing the design of his armor, so feel free to add any other details you like.
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7
Attach one side of the Velcro strip to the shirt in the center of the chest. Attach the other side of the Velcro strip to the battery-operated closet light. Attach the light to the shirt to create Iron Man's arc reactor chest piece.
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8
Put on the yellow sweatshirt and sweatpants. Put on the red T-shirt over the sweatshirt and the red bike shorts over the sweatpants. Roll up or trim the bike shorts' legs. Note: if you're using yellow leggings instead of sweatpants, then just pull the leggings over the bike shorts' legs.
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9
Pull the bracers over your forearms and put on the red gloves. Pull the paper boots over the bottom of the yellow sweatpants or leggings.
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10
Put on the red hood, tucking the bottom into your shirt collar. Put on the mask over the hood.
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11
Activate the arc reactor chest piece.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are confident of your craft skills, you could make the Iron Man mask out of papier mache, using a balloon as the basic shape. Once the papier mache dries, paint the mask yellow.
