Introduction: Toy Green Army Man Halloween Costume

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About: Civil engineer, shade-tree carpenter, Hot Wheels collector, cosplay dabbler, Scout dad/leader, Lego fan, and Mustang owner.

If you were once a kid like me, then you probably played with little plastic green army men.  They were one of my favorite cheap toys from childhood.  And if you have kids like me, then you are familiar with the movie Toy Story.  My favorite Toy Story character is not Buzz or Woody, but the little green men hopping around yelling 'hutt, hutt, hutt'.  When the annual halloween party that my family attends went with a Disney/Pixar theme, I knew I had to BE a toy green army man.

With the right clothes this is actually an easy outfit to make, is inexpensive, very original, and will be a hit at your costume party.

Materials you need:
Jacket - I used an Army BDU from Ebay.  Or try an Army Surplus
Pants - Army pants or any cargo pants that have leg pockets
Utility Belt - Another Ebay or Army Surplus purchase
Boots
Helmet
Panty Hose/stockings
Balloon
Toy Gun
Plywood scrap
Screws
Primer - aeresol
Green Paint - About 12 aeresol cans

Step 1: Select Your Green

When I began this project, I picked the cheapest, most readily available green spray paint I could find.  They were around one dollar per can and I used about a dozen.  You will also need primer.  The clothes just soak up the paint without it.

Next, I purchased several versions of green halloween facepaint to try to match the spray paint.  I was not happy with the results and went another direction (pantyhose).  More on that in step 5.

Step 2: Prime / Paint Clothes

The MOST IMPORTANT step in creating this costume is the primer.  I tried to pant the pants without primer and it just soaked up the paint.

Prime the jacket, pants, shoes, and utility belt.  The primer will make the clothing stiff, but it is the only way to get a consistent green on so many different types of surfaces.

Paint all the items.  This will take 2 or 3 (or 4) coats.  You will know how much paint you need once you start painting.

Again, the more layers of primer and paint that you apply will stiffen the outfit.  But once you start wearing it, it will loosen up.

Step 3: Baseplate/Foot Piece

The baseplate that you stand on is really the one accessory that makes your costume look like a real toy army man.

Freehand draw the shape of the baseplate onto a scrap piece of 1/4" plywood based on an actual toy army man.  It is almost 3ft long and 18in wide and looks like a golf green.

Cut the shape out with a jigsaw and sand as needed.

Prime and paint.  Again, PRIME first so that all the items will be the same shade of green.

I used three short screws and from the bottom of the baseplate screwed through the board and into the sole of ONE boot.  I only attached one boot so I could walk around.  When I stopped, I could just set my other foot in the proper position.

Tip:  You can actually cut the baseplate into two halves and screw each piece to its respective boot.  Then you can walk easier (like a set of snow shoes).

Step 4: Prime / Paint Accessories

The helmet I used was a child's plastic army helmet.  I tried on a real army helmet at an Army Surplus, but it didn't fit as tight on my head as I thought it should.  The child's plastic army helmet fit perfectly around my head (okay it was a little tight), and it was only a few dollars.

Any toy gun or rifle will work.  I found a black machine gun at a halloween superstore.

I used a utility belt and pouches that I bought from Ebay for under five dollars.  An Army Surplus has a lot of different versions to pick from also.

Prime everything first and paint.

Step 5: The Faceless Man

I tried several different green face paints to find a color match.  I also tried to mixing green with red, black, and white to make a green that matched.  All were unsuccessful.

This is where the balloon and panty hose were used.  I cut the feet out of a pair of panty hose for use over my hands.  I used the ..ummm... 'main' portion of the panty hose to go over my head.

Put the balloon in the 'main' portion of the panty hose and inflate to somewhere near the size of your head.  This is the one place I DID NOT use the primer.  Since you are going to be wearing panty hose that are spray painted, you need to breath as much as possible.

Hang the balloon and paint the panty hose green.  I only used a couple of coats because I didn't want the paint to gum up or stick to the balloon.

Repeat for the 'gloves'.

Step 6: Stand Still

Strike the Army Man pose.

Hang out with all of your favorite Toy Story characters.

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