DIY Toy Soldiers Costume

One of our most favorite movies of all time is Toy Story. The Gardea family -Victor holding the CB radio, Vurukai holding a bazooka, Voozeki in the tank & Maribel holding the binoculars wanted to symbolize the movie, but place the focus on secondary characters. One of the biggest challenges we face is customizing my son's wheel chair.

We loved the toy soldier idea and decided to turn the chair into a toy tank. My husband used TinkerCad to design something that would accomodate my sons specific size. Once he had an idea of the shapes he needed he began gathering the cardboard and putting it together. The tank is 95% made from cardboard and a lot of Glue from a Hot Glue Gun.

It was difficult to find the breathable fabric we wanted so we ventured into the dye world of fabric - it was a challenge. The outfits were custom sewn by grandma . They were dyed to match the Kelly green color. It took multiple dye sessions to get the color we wanted.

The belts, accessories & helmets were found at the flea-market and hand painted to match the same color as our clothes.

The bazooka is made out of several pvc pipe pieces. There is a scope made of pvc connectors & the top pops up and was used to store the candy.

The tank is all recycled material that consist of cardboard, yoga foam mat, wood blocks, fabric cardboard tube, googly eyes & hot glue. We decided to make the chains sensory friendly so our son and any curious child could touch without being destroyed. Our tank also makes a shooting sound and flashes lights. There is a custom button connected to a toy gun that was taken apart and ran thru the end of the cannon.

Together we practiced to say "Andy's coming - FREEZE" and would hold our pose for a few seconds. The total spent was about $150 to make these costumes.

Tip: When working with hot glue get more than 1 to always have it hot and ready and you can move faster. Also buy some clamps to hold your pieces together while the glue dries for optimum results.

Thank you for the opportunity,
The Gardea's