Roman-esque soldier uniform - from cardboard!

Step 8 Texture!

Texture was what my previous costume lacked. Without it, my costume looked like a piece of spray painted cardboard. I thought long and hard of what would work.

I don't recommend using hot-glue to make texture, though I think you could make some really creative shapes and such. Hot-glue has a high content of silicone in it, which makes it difficult to paint, or at least to keep the paint adhered to it. Also, hot-glue scratches easily and the paint will come with it. This is bad. I'm working with kids all day, so i want them to be able to touch it and punch my armor.

Glue, man! Glue!

I had a eureka moment as I looked thru my tool area - I have a huge bottle of wood glue. This is essentially really high viscosity Elmer's glue. If you have a lot of elmers, this will work just as well. To start with, I tested the glue/paint combo on a piece of cardboard.

Comments

[Galonii]

my son would like to know how durable your costume is being as it's made of cardboard?

[laernmoer]

How durable do you need it to be? mine lasted longer than a week.. cardboard is pretty tough stuff.. moreso when coated in glue..