Transformers Sideswipe Costume

Three months ago, our son saw a YouTube video of a Transformer costume that actually transforms and the inevitable happened...he had to have it. Explaining to our toddler that this un-purchasable, decidedly DIY costume could not immediately be his was no easy task. But we chose to take it on as a family project, because we’re awesome. Or because we’re at the mercy of our 4-year-old. (Let’s go with we’re awesome.)

What followed was a 3-month relationship with cardboard and foam insulation. We sketched. We cut. We made design choices for the car. (Because did our son want Bumblebee or Optimus Prime, for which there are examples to emulate? Of course not! When your favorite color is red, your favorite Transformer is lesser-known Sideswipe, the red one.) I filled every tiny hole of corrugated cardboard with caulking (every. tiny. hole.). My husband developed an impressive technique with the electric foam cutter. We hot glued. We painted. We assembled.

We’ve spent more time and money on this thing than I care to admit. But it’s pretty epic, isn’t it?!

Sideswipe...transform!