Pilot in his Plane Costume

My son Jake, The Pilot! My husband and I created this costume. We started with a box, cutting out the top and bottom. Chicken wire was then molded around the box in the shape of the plane. The next step was to paper mache around the mold, leaving a decent size hole. The reason we left the hole is so that after the paper mache dried, we can cut and pull some of the chicken wiring out of the form to lessen the weight of the costume. We also wired the propeller and wing lights through it. We then patched up the hole and painted the plane. Finally we added the wing lights and propeller. The propeller was made from card board and painted black. It was wired to a small motor then to a button in the "cockpit". The wing lights were wired to a seperate button also in the "cockpit". Lastly, we attached straps so that my son could wear the plane. He loved pressing the buttons and making the propeller spin and lights turn on. I found a great pilot hat and bomber jacket to complete his look!