How to put a costume on your Radio Flyer Wagon
- Dusty Santos
- Nov 4, 2015
- 5 min read
For the past two Halloweens I've put a costume on my daughters Radio Flyer. Last year I made it into a pirate ship, complete with mast and flag.
It was held together with duct tape and fell apart very quickly. The above pictures were taken before we went trick-or-treating. By the end of the night most of it was falling off. I'm proud of what I did because I learn A LOT from that experience.
What NOT to do:
No Duct Tape - duct tape can be strong if used correctly. Against kids legs going in and out and the ground constantly hitting it, not so much.
Don't build close to the ground. - It looks good in the pictures above but I built it so low that every curb and bump knocked the cardboard off. Duct tape can only be re-stuck so many times before it stops sticking.
No Small Pieces - When constructing the main shell, the more separate pieces there are the better. If you can keep the already connected boxes together it will save you in attaching it to you wagon.
Don't Rush it - The more time you have the better. Don't assume you will have the time. It will take longer than you expect, always.
Enough about what I did last Halloween, let’s talk about what I learned and did this time. Last night I made a covered western wagon...
What To Do:
Use Hot Glue - I was hesitant to use hot glue my first time. It does chip right off of your radio flyer afterwards and will hold much better than tape of any kind. I did the entire project with one pack of glue sticks and still have some left over. Go crazy with it, you want it very secure.
Build to the Height of the Original Wagon - To be clear, I am talking about the below height, not the above height. For two reasons. Number one, you don't want you hard worked creation to hit the ground and fall off. Number 2, hot gluing you box to the bottom of the wagon will help secure it a lot better than if it was just hanging off. The more points of attachment the better.
Keep it to 2 Main Pieces - Or one if you can. I picked 2 big long boxes that when broken down fit the length of the wagon. Egg carton delivery boxes worked perfectly, I got them from my local market basket.
Take Your Time - Your main shell will take longer than expected and what's going to make your project really pop will be the extras you put into it at the end.
Plan for Shipping - If you will stay at home then you are good, but if you're planning to bring the wagon with you somewhere, adding that extra few inches on the front and back can make the difference between fitting and not. Keep in mind you may need to take the top off and flip the handle underneath.
How I Made The Covered Wagon:
1. Made the Main Shell - I lined up the boxes, making sure the box's flaps over hung the top of the wagon for easy gluing. Then did some penciled outlines for the wheels and marked Left and Right sides. After that everything could be painted on them, attached to them, whatever, before putting them back onto the wagon. It is much easer to work on you table vs. sitting on the floor and sideways.
2, Cut out the wheels and spray painted the 2 shells black.
3. Measured, cut, and attached the "wood" slates onto the shells - This by far took the longest time. I opted to not use scissors because they tended to get stuck. Instead I used a sharp little knife. A box cutter or exacto knife will work just fine. I left the end of one of the sides uncovered so I could attach it to the other one.
4. Checked for places to hot glue - The box didn't fit exactly along the side of my wagon. After gluing the top and bottom of the boxes I found a lot of empty space. So wherever I could reach I placed hot glue, with spacers if need be. I didn't stress about getting every little space, I just did it until I felt it was secure.
5. Made my wheels - I'm pretty proud of how I did this one.
- First I found a plate that was roughly the same size as my wheels and used that as a template and cut all of my circles.
- Then I looked around my house for something 'spoke' like. I found a spice grinder. (Even if you can't find anything you can make it up) I cut out my spoke and lined it up on the circle.
- I put a hole through both of them using a glasses repair kit screw driver. (The point is that I used something small, you can use anything you want really) The hole in the wheel should be as close to center as possible. To do that I lined up a ruler across the middle and put a little line, then along the middle again cross wise and put another line. Where the lines intersected is where I put the hole. After the holes were in, I could spin the spoke around and trace it to make evenly spaced spokes. DON'T STRESS! IT IS CARDBOARD AND DOESN'T NEED TO BE EXACTLY EXACT!
- Colored my wheels - I erased pencil marks so the spokes looked like one continuous line. Then colored black around the edges and wood marks on the spokes themselves.
- Glued them on
7. Attached the cloth - I ordered burlap cloth for my canopy weeks in advance. I ordered my daughters costume the same day. It would be a disaster if things like that arrived late. All I did was cut holes in the cloth and put the canopy legs though. I was able to lift the cloth up and down as I needed to.
6. Final touches - I know it takes a while but when you get to the final touches like coloring the wood parts, your wagon will really start coming together. I used twine and attached all the stuff you see on the back. I was going to attach my daughters play kitchen pan too but it didn't have a hole in the handle. I found a tiny paint can and a battery powered tea light that just happen to fit. If you can find a cute little electric lantern that would be ideal. Although, the paint can/tea light combo made some wonderful clanging sounds as we went along.
Any extra touches you can think to add will really make your creation pop! Be inventive and don't be afraid to take ideas from other people you goggled. (After all that is how you found me :) isn't it?)
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