Cardboard Buzz Lightyear jet pack with retractable wings in 30 minutes.

My 3 year old is a big Toy story fan. He has recently begun running around and acting like buzz lightyear. I thought it would be fun to make a quick cardboard cutout in the shape of buzz's wings. I got a little carried away. Overall, the project still only required a little string(or wire) a cardboard box, and a lot of duct tape.

Step 1: Obtain cardboard for the pieces.

I took one box and cut 3 pieces to form the main body and wings.

I had intended just to do a simple cutout, but then I decided to do retractable wings.

Lay out the pieces and cut them into the following pattern. Make sure the wings are going to fit inside the folded piece.

Comments

[a_martin001]

I just made these last weekend for Halloween. Overall they made a great impression.

some thoughts:
I made mine flip out using a rubber band assembly underneath the wings. It worked surprisingly well for a while but eventually the cardboard and rubber band lost strength so I taped them up/down depending on the situation.

Walking through doors/crowds of people is a huge pain, so making sure you can put the wings down is a must.

The wings will bend and take quite a bit of abuse, so I cut and attached wire from some old coathangers to the wings using duct tape in a "batwing" type of design. this was probably one of the best augmentations for aesthetics, durability and functionality.

I put glowsticks on the wingtips and jetpack to achieve a better effect at night.

When it is all said and done, these wings weigh about 3 pounds. That doesn't sound like much but to a little kid it might get tiring. Also, your back cant breathe at all through the duct tape so you sweat profusely.

Use duct tape to color them, since paint will chip off the cardboard easily. You can find most colors at target for 3 bucks a roll.

Also I got a cheap laser from a pet store in the bargain bin for about 2 dollars. It was the perfect size to attach to my arm.

Cheers!

[hargadd]

Here is a picture from the back of the wings. I used colored duck tape and permanent ink markers. I used pipe insulation to beef up the wing tips.

[Miskui]

WOW - that looks really good! Do they still fold in all the way or do the pipes get in the way? Even if they don't - wow! These are really pro! :) Awesome job!

[Nicola Tesla]

my little brother has the same potty!!!

[hargadd]

I made these wings with some adaptations from the tape sculpturing section and a pattern for the front portion. Here are some pictures of how it came out.

[amcayanan]

Ready to fly kid?

[genyoung]

You're a genius. My three-year-old was extremely happy.

[pooboy]

i watched the movie twice a day like every day for 3 years when i was really small

[Tobita]

lol, i loved the movie ALOT, i used to watch it sooo much(along with home alone(the first one)) the tape snapped when i was watching.

[elescape]

Yeah I was thinking like get some white stick on sheets(like what avery has) and just put that on top of it all, just adding it would look pretty cool with some flames.....hehe good luck

[Shifrin]

Haha, This is Cool!

[Shifrin]

You also can clean this up by making a cool paint job : )

[Very Keri]

This is adorable! I don't have kids, but I know plenty of rug rats and I love to keep little hands busy when I'm baby sitting! (it's not that I'm super cool Auntie Keri, my house is just NOT child proof) I would spray paint this whole thing white and let the little space cadet color the details with washable markers.

[c4l3b]

great idea Keri! I would be careful using spray paint. It can flake of off the cardboard and have a hard time drying anywhere there is tape. Another quick cheap solution would be white duct tape, or white shelf topping sheets... it sticks on like a giant sticker.

[Maxaxle]

Considering it's made of cardboard, that was incredibly well-working!

[Tvman]

AHAHAHA !!!!!!!!!!! i thought you were crazy and had to much time on your hands at first when i was readin the instructions but on that kid LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG HE CAN ZAP ME AT ANY MOMENT AHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol.....VERY CUTE IN THAT OUTFIT LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats the funnyest thing ive ever seen a kid wear lol............................. but still kick ass on the job dude

[PetervG]

Huh.. I thought it was Buzz Lightgear..

[c4l3b]

believe me. Its lightyear. I've seen the movie 7 billion times now.

[fishycracker]

ya its lightyear

[cpotoso]

If I make it adult-sized will it let me fly or simply "fall with style" :-)

[Aeshir]

Cool.

[Jezza Bear]

This is fantastic, have you got the measurements for adults between 5 ' 9" and 6' 0"......Why all the fun for the youngsters...To infinity and beyond :-)

[c4l3b]

I didn't measure this one. it would be just as easy for someone taller, but you probably want a stronger material. Cardboard wings that wide would probably bend very quickly.

[Kiteman]

How do you actually make them pop out?

[c4l3b]

I just pull them out. Sorry for the let down. I actually thought of rigging it with a simple pull string. It just isn't permanent enough to put that much thought into though.

[Kiteman]

Rats. I thought you'd put a bungee across the top, anchor them with a pin (grenade style), and when you pull it, WHAM, instant wings, plus the added benefit of nearby small children getting clipped.

[c4l3b]

I could add weights on the ends and maybe it would actually lift the child in the air upon release. hmmmm.... methinks you have a good plan. I wonder if its even still in one piece. He's been home with it all day.

[Shark500]

magic... i assume you could use drawstrings or perhaps some type of hairspray comustion chamber driving pistons down forcing the wings to fly out at an iresponsible speed.

[pinski1]

Wow, get a duck-tape Woody hat, and your all set.

[c4l3b]

I wish you hadn't said that.