Simply and Cheaply Add Repulsor Lights to Childs Iron Man Costume

We purchased this iron man costume for our 6 year old son, which came with a very nice 'muscle' bound body suit, a full-face helmet with a facepiece that opens and closes like the movies, and a pair of gloves. The bodysuit has a very nice light-up arc reactor and the gloves have glow-in-the-dark repulsors. The repulsors barely glow even when held up to a very bright light. How can you be iron man without repulsors!? Well, after a long exhaustive search, I found lights that were almost the perfect size for the little gloves. The lights I used are Nite Ize 'CLIPLIT', which I found on amazon: "Nite Ize NCL-03-02 ClipLit Carabiner LED Light, White" for $3.30 each. These lights turn on and off by twisting the lens and are fairly bright. Installing them is very easy and took about 15 minutes from start to finish. Let's begin!

Step 1: Mark a Circle in the Center of the Repulsor

Mark a circle in the center of the replulsor approximately 5/8" in diameter. You can use a coin, button, etc., to help with the tracing.

Step 2: Cut Out the Circle

Using a scissors, hobby knife, or hole punch, cut/remove the circle you drew in the previous step. Be careful not to cut through to the other side of the glove! Put some protective cardboard inside the glove to protect the other side from accidental cuts.

Step 3: Sand, Scuff, or Sandblast Lens (optional)

The clip lights come with a clear lens, which looks fine, but doesn't really match the arc reactor (chest) light, which has a frosted appearance. You can use a scotch-brite pad, sandpaper (600 grit), or sandblasting media to give the lens an opaque or foggy appearance. Clean the lens thoroughly after sanding is completed using soap and water and allow to completely dry.

Step 4: Unscrew Lenses and Attach to Glove

The last step is to attach the clip light to the glove. Unscrew the lens completely from the clip, taking care to not lose the small button battery inside. Push the lens into the hole you cut previously. It will be a little bit tight in the hole, which is what you will want. Eventually, you will glue the lens onto the glove, BUT, before doing this, re-install the clip onto the lens (don't need battery at this point) and turn the light to the 'on' position. For best comfort, turn the entire clip light and clip to point between the ring and middle finger. Once you have the light in position, unscrew the clip from the lens without letting the lens spin out of place in the glove. It's now time to secure the lens to the glove. For this, I recommend super glue (cyanoacrylate). Use just enough to bond the lens to the fabric. Allow plenty of time for the glue to cure before reassembling the clip and battery to the lens.

Alternately, you can drill 1/16" holes around the perimeter of the lens and sew it into the fabric, similar to how a button is attached to a piece of clothing.

Step 5: The Finished Product

The best thing about this project was the look on my son's face when I showed him his new gloves! Another great thing is that they increase the child's visibility and doubles as a flashlight. :)