Plastic Green Toy Soldier With Flamethrower Costume

My company, like many, were putting on a Halloween costume contest. I had one costume, Assassin's Creed III, I wanted to finish before then but I ran out of time to properly execute. So, I needed to find something else that would tickle my fancy and make in a reasonable time frame. I had seen others make the Plastic Green Toy Soldier costume and felt that that was exactly what I wanted to do.

Now, I understand that there are many tutorials on this costume theme but I have yet to see someone do the flamethrower prop and this is what this particular Instructable will be focusing on. I will include my trials and tribulations with the rest of the costume as well.

*note* I finished the costume just in time and entered the contest and won first place receiving a $50 generic gift card. Here's to owning Assassin's Creed III. ^________^

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SUPPLIES
General

1. 1 QT - satin finish interior house paint - color - medium to light grey
2. 1 can (spray paint) - primer - grey
   Do not get black or white. It will take more paint to cover and kill the color beneath.
3. 4 cans 7 cans (spray paint) - high gloss - Meadow Green
   Found this color sold by Home Depot. I think it works the best. Reason, if you had to find an outside object you cannot paint and hoping get a green color that matches like I did, this medium like emerald green is perfect.
4. Glue gun
5. Generic white glue (water soluble or not. NO super glue. Did not work. I tried. (Unless you got the industry grade))
6. 1 awesome scissors 
   I bought these scissors to cut thin wire and now I use them to cut everything like thick paper rolls or plastic bottles.

Flamethrower

1. 1/2 YD of stretchy fabric like shirt material.
2. 2 plastic wiffle balls (baseball size) No foam. Paint would eat it I just found a video explaining that it is possible to spray paint foam without the the foam dissolving in the process. It has to do with the length at which you hit the foam. The video explained that at 12 inches you are safe and the paint goes on perfectly. Here is the youtube video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBABqYL8GLg)
3. 3 FT of rope.
   Little on the thick side. It is to be the hose from the rifle to the pack of the flamethrower. I had decorative cord you would line pillows, curtains and such with.
4. 3 sheets of card stock paper or card board
5. 2 - 2 foot tube containers with 2 lids
   I had 1 packaging tube container with 2 lids and 2 - 4 inch thick random tube rolls I think originally were for labels. Whatever you can find.
6. 1 - 2 paper roll(s) Toilet or paper towel rolls work.
7. 1 cheap grocery bag (the kind you bring to keep from using plastic or paper bags at a grocery)
8. 1 thin - squaty box that the lid opens from one side
9. 2 T shape 1 inch PVC hinges
10. 2 pill bottles (supplement or aspirin or the like)
11. 1 wooden pole - mop poll, painter roller extension poll or the cheap Pimp Daddy cane I had left over works too.
12. 2 paper cups

General Soldier Attire

1. 1 Helmet (Army, police brigade, etc.)
2. 1 pair of gloves
   I used those cheap knitted cotton gloves that are like a dollar
3. 1 Long sleeved dress shirt
4. 1 pair of pants - not fitted. (after you paint it, even loose was hard to put on)
5. 1 pair of pantyhose
   People in the past had suggested to spray paint it. I think they are high. I strongly suggest getting emerald or kelly green stockings/pantyhose.
6. 1 pair of boots
   Doesn't really matter how high they go. No one notices that. I used a knee high pair that the paints covered half of it up. Worked great.

Extras

1. 1 Grenade - plastic toy
2. 1 Machete - plastic toy
3. 1 Cardboard box big enough for stand
    

Flamethrower supplies used

1. Glue gun
2. Generic white glue (water soluble or not. NO super glue. Did not work. I tried. (Unless you got he industry grade))
3. 1 cutting utensil or scissors.
   Used my awesome scissors. I bought these scissors to cut thin wire and now I use to cut everything like thick paper rolls or plastic bottles.
4. 1/2 YD of stretchy fabric like shirt material.
5. 2 plastic balls (baseball size) No foam. Paint would eat it.
6. 3 FT of rope.
   Little on the thick side. It is to be the hose from the rifle to the pack of the flamethrower. I had decorative cord you would line pillows, curtains and such with.
7. 3 sheets of card stock paper or card board
8. 2 - 2 foot tube containers
   I had 1 packaging tube container with 2 lids and 2 - 4 inch thick random tube rolls I think originally were for labels. Whatever you can find.
9. 1 - 2 paper roll(s) Toilet or paper towel rolls work.
10. 1 cheap grocery bag (the kind you bring to keep from using plastic or paper bags at a grocery)
11. 1 thin - squaty box that the lid opens from one side
12. 2 T shape 1 inch PVC hinges
13. 2 pill bottles (supplement or aspirin or the like)
14. 1 wooden pole - mop poll, painter roller extension poll or the cheap Pimp Daddy cane I had left over works too.
15. 2 paper cups

Issue:
When I bought the PVC "T" pieces I had hoped they were close enough to stay on the wooden poll. Got home and started fit everything together and was close but it still slipped a bit back and forth to the point where I did not think glue would be enough to keep them from moving.

Solution:
Place a piece between the PVC "T" and the poll to make up the space. In this case, I use the paper roll.

Construction:

1. Cut down the middle of the paper roll
2. Wrapped it around the wooden poll in the place you want both riffle handles to remain when finished.
3. Slip the PVC "T" over the paper roll piece.
4. Squirt white glue inside the middle area to seal the paper to the PVC piece.
5. Squirt white glue around the edge of the PVC piece and the wooden piece.
6. Repeat for the second and final riffle handle.
7. Let it set and dry.

Construction:

1. Take a tube lid and cut a hole in it. I used the wire cutting scissors. (Might as well do both lids at the same time. You will need the second one to have a hole also for later).
2. Use white glue to line the edge around the lid.
3. Place the lid into a paper cup and set aside so that the glue can set and dry.
4. Handles - take both plastic pill bottles and cut off the lid shown in picture #5. This is to make sure that it fits around the PVC piece and also to get rid of the threading. 
5. The fit between the PVC piece and the bottle may not be snug. Option, cut another paper roll piece and hot glue around the PVC end sticking out from the riffle stock found in picture #6 and #7. Once the glue has cooled and set, hot glue again around paper roll piece and place the bottle around the PVC/ paper roll piece and let the glue cool and set.
6. Repeat 4 - 5 for second handle.
7. Last, hot gluing the hole in the lid/paper cup and place one end of the wooden poll into the cup piece. Let the glue cool and set and Wha-la. Rifle stock is finished.

Construction:

1. Take a small swatch of fabric (doesn't have to be stretchy) and pull it throw the ring of the snap hook key chain holder seen in picture #2.
2. Hot glue the fabric swatch on both ends to wooden end of the rifle.
3. I made it too uneven so I glued a piece of paper on top and wrapped it around creating a smoother surface seen in picture #4 - #5.
4. NOW FOR THE OTHER END used attache to the backpack
5. Take the second lid (from packaging tube) with hole, you made earlier, and pull one end of the cord through.
6. Hot glue the cord end to the lid.
7. Pull the other end of the cord throw a simple key chain ring.
8. Cut off excess if the cord turns out to be too long like it was for me seen in picture #8.
9. Hot glue cord end together and seal with fabric swatch with hot glue seen in picture #9.

Issue:
I needed 3 main tube like structures for the backpack. Preferably the middle one taller then the two on the side. I only had one packaging tube container that I could cut in half. I needed 3 total. I had 2 smaller, very thick paper rolls used for labels.

Solution:
Glue the 2 smaller thick rolls to make one slightly taller tube to go in the middle. By luck, the lid that came with the packaging tube also fit the 2 smaller tubes made into 1. I now have my 3.

Construction:

1. Take packing tube and mark off halfway point.
2. Cut in half using at the mark.
3. Cut 2 swatches of stretchy shirt like fabric.
4. Place wiffle ball in middle of fabric swatch and tie off fabric around the ball into a knot. Repeat with second ball.
5. Place ball in one of the tube pieces with knot facing inward.
6. Hot glue edges of ball to edges of tube seen in picture #7 - #8.
7. White glue other end of the tube around the rim. seen in picture #9 - #10.
8. Place that end on top of a thick paper seen in picture #11.
9. Once the glue has set, cut off excess paper around the rim of the tube in picture #12.
10. If you do not have a third tube like I did and had to put 2 cylinders together to make a long tube. I used white glue to glue the rim of 1 cylinder to another seen in picture #14.
11. White glue rim of paper cup and and attach to rim of the 3rd tube seen in picture #15.

Issue:

1. I followed a really cute little blog called Wild Ink => LINK HERE for the main costume body. For some reason I thought they said to just spray paint on the shirt and pants without some sort of primer to set the fabric first. It just kept soaking up the spray paint. I went through 1 can just for one side on both the pants and shirt.
2. Killing the dark color for the cotton gloves.

Solution:

1. Bought a 1 quart of grey interior paint to set the fabric of the shirt and pants then follow up with the green spray paint. Worked great. WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE: Take 1 can of green spray paint and spray a small white card. Take that paint sample and get a color match done for a quart of high gloss interior paint and be done with it.
2. Spray paint white cotton gloves instead. The others really didn't work at all.

Preparation:

1. With am full amounts of time:  you should really prepare the surfaces by lightly sanding of all plastic items and after spraying primer let it set for a week.. BUT I didn't. soooooo, sprayed primer on all plastic surfaces such as grenade, helmet, machete, boots and flamethrower finished parts without any sort of preparation and only gave it a 1-2 days. The costume lasted 2 days wear.
2. made one pass painting the shirt and pants with the interior house paint. Just enough to cover using half the quart.
3. let the clothes dry and set otherwise the clothes will keep soaking up all of the paint on a quart and still take more.
4. make a second pass with the house paint and finish off the clothes.
5. let them dry and set again.

Green spray painting:

1. Hit the shirt and pants twice. Wait 12 hours in between both layers.
2. Hit the boots twice
3. Hit helmet, grenade, belt, machete, flamethrower parts, connecting cord with lid and key chain hook and cut out card board stand enough. However much it takes.
4. Hit white cotton gloves twice. After the second time letting the paint set, I put them on and hit them again where white was showing as it stretched over my hand.
5. Only hit the straps twice on the grocery bag.

Issue:
Needed to make the Flamethrower rifle part not be attached all the time to the pack so that I may set it down and not worry about having to carry it all the time or damage it.

Solution:
Take a "Snap Hook Key Holder" or spring loaded hook key chain thingy and attach to riffle and have the cord attached to the backpack have a ring on the other side that could temporarily attach to the riffle.

Construction:

1. Seam rip straps (about 3 inches) from all 4 places it attaches to the main body of the grocery bag seen in picture #2.
2. Try on bag and decide how much length of the strap you will need and mark it with a pen. For me it was 3 inches in on the strap from the edge of the grocery bag.
3. place bag in box seen in picture # 4.
4. Start hot gluing the marked points on the straps to the four corners of the box seen in picture #5 - #6.
5. Stuff the rest of the bag in the box and close it seen in picture #8 - #9.
6. Hot glue the lid shut.
7. Make a straight line of hot glue down the middle on the flat box surface and place the middle tube piece on it as seen in picture #13 - #14.
8. Do the same with the hot glue on the box for the let and right space beside the middle piece for the remaining 2 tube pieces seen in picture #15.
9. Next, take painted connecting cord with lid and glue lid with white glue to middle tube bottom. I say white because hot glue is thicker and will set before the lid is completely in the tube like it did for me. I had to re hit the area with green paint to cover the white showing.
10. Now you can take the other end of cord with key ring and attach to the key chain hook on the end of the riffle seen in picture #19.
11. Wha-la. You have flamethrower!

One last thing. The Kelly or Emerald green pantyhose I used to cover my face, the legs I flipped over my head and tucked under the back of my shirt. I would wear an undershirt and safety pin the edge of the pantyhose to the under shirt collar so the face cover does not ride up and expose your neck. .

You also see very well through them.

I have seen, though, people use face paint. I'm highly allergic to face paints. The option is yours.

This got raves from people all over and I highly suggest making one.

Cheers.