Tag: Kids Army Gear

How To Make A Papier-Mâché Army Helmet

So craft is not really my thing but my son wanted an army helmet to play with, so we had a bash.

He actually wanted to paint his bike helmet but after I explained why that wasn’t such a great idea, we decided to go the papier-mâché route.

It was actually a fun thing to do together in the school holidays as well as a cheap activity, although being papier-mâché, it did mean we had to wait while it dried which is always annoying for a child.

And here is the end result – not too bad I think! He’s pleased with it anyway and it would go perfectly with many kids army costumes.

Papier-Mache Army Helmet

Things you will need:

  • A tape measure
  • A round balloon
  • Newspaper
  • A tub of multipurpose white glue (or flour and water)
  • Cardboard
  • Scotch tape
  • Acrylic paints and paint brushes

Steps:

Measure your child’s head around their forehead.

Blow up a balloon until it is slightly larger than the measurement you just took (say by an inch).

Measure The Balloon

Tear up some sheets of newspaper into pieces about 1″ x 2″.

Tear Up Some Newspaper

Prepare your glue. Either mix the multipurpose glue with water 3:1 or mix flour and water 2:1.

Find an old tub to prop the balloon up in (I used an empty sour cream tub). It won’t balance perfectly so you will need to keep a hand on it.

Dunk your pieces of newspaper into the glue and start layering them over the balloon.

Messy Time

Keep going until you have a good few layers of newspaper covering the top two thirds of the balloon.

Leave it to dry overnight or for 48 hours.

Leave To Dry

When the papier-mâché is dry and hard, pop the balloon and peel it away from the inside of the helmet.

Pop The Balloon

Measure your child’s head from the top of the skull to the top of their ear. Place the tape measure at the top of the helmet and mark about 10 points around that are the same distance as you just measured.

Trim The Helmet To Size

Using a marker pen, join up the 10 points and then cut the excess papier-mâché away.

Trace round the helmet onto a piece of cardboard to create the rim of the helmet. Draw an extra circle about 1 inch out from the tracing you just made and another one 1 inch in.

Create Rim

Cut around the outer and inner circles.

Cut Out The Rim

Make short cuts from the inside of the circle to the middle line. Fold the cardboard up along the middle line.

Create Internal Flap Of Rim

Cut out 6 very thin triangles from the outside to the middle line (make sure the points do not match up with the cuts from the inside). Also make sure they are evenly spaced around the helmet. (Note: mine were too big so I had to cover them with paper – oops!)

Using Scotch tape stick the edges of the 6 triangles together from underneath, allowing the rim to tilt downwards.

Allow Rim To Tilt

Join the helmet and rim together by sticking the flaps on the inside of the helmet rim up and into the helmet.

Stick Rim To Helmet

Check the fit and install a chin strap or internal padding (eg, foam) if need be. A chin strap can be fitted by carefully skewering a hole on each side and affixing string.

Get the paints ready and let your child loose designing his own camouflage pattern.

Painting The Helmet

Let it dry and enjoy this cheap and cheerful addition to your kids army gear collection.

Finished Army Helmet

For an army themed birthday party, why not prepare a number of helmets and let the kids decorate their own one to take home. If you can stand the mess that is! Don’t forget to provide some cheap rain ponchos or something to protect clothing.

Armouron Action Set Body Armour

If you are looking for some kids army gear for a birthday or Christmas present, look no further than the new Armouron body armour toy from Bandai. These colorful, customisable suits of armour allow children to dress up as knights and fight any make believe baddies that get in their way. The basic Armouron starter sets contain the basic suit, helmet and shield but there are also three accessory sets that can be bought as extras. These allow the basic suits to be personalised with embellishments such as spikes, flames and wings. More accessories including new weapons are expected to be introduced shortly.

The starter set of armour comes as a flat pack and needs to be constructed which adds to the fun of the toy. The build is easy and the connections are made with Snapperon clips. These clips are also used to fix on the accessories and as they come in different colors can be used as personalisation in their own right. Once built the high density foam armour is light to wear and easy to take apart and rebuild.

Currently only available in the UK, Armouron action sets are expected to reach the US before Christmas.

Please click for prices on the full range of Armouron

To complement the new Armouron army costumes for kids, a range of Armouron books has been released. If you want to encourage your kids to pick up a book and read, these are a great choice. They can follow the adventures of futuristic knights and then dress up in their suits and act out the various story lines. The idea of the suits is that they bestow upon the wearer special skills and abilities – kids are sure to take this idea to heart and have hours of creative role play fun with their friends.

Armouron is aimed at children aged 4 and over, although the ideal height for a perfect fit is between 104-130cm. The accessory packs extend the excitement of the armour, by allowing for mixing and matching between add ons. They can be swapped out with friends costumes and help make the overall effect more fearsome.

Armouron Starter Sets

Kids can have lots of fun building these suits of armour by joining all of the pieces together. The enclosed Snapperons are easy to use and are included with the red or blue chest armour, helmet with visor and circular shield. Two sets are available – please click for more information and prices on the Red Starter Set or the Blue Starter Set

 

Armouron Accessory Set – Spikes

Extend the fun to be had with the Armouron costumes with the various accessory packs. They make the whole suit seem more knight-like with their five additional pieces. There are two pieces for the shoulders, one for the shield and two for the helmet. They are shaped as spikes, flames or wings, depending on the pack you buy. All pieces are easy to join to the main suit with the extra Snapperons that come with each set although you may need extras to fix all pieces. Packs of six gold or silver Snapperons can be purchased separately. Just make sure you have already bought the starter set of armour or the accessory pack will be no use to you.

Please click for more information and prices

 

Armouron Accessory Set – Flames

The accessory set also comes in a Flames design.

Please click for more information and prices

 

Armouron Accessory Sets – Wings

The accessory set also comes in a Wings design.

Please click for more information and prices

 

Armouron Snapperons 6 Clips

Snapperon clips join the different bits of the armour together, whether these are the main pieces or the accessories. These packs of six clips that come in gold or silver can also be used to further personalise your Armouron body armour.

Please click for more information and prices

 

Armouron Books

Armouron: The Armoured Ghost is one of the four books currently available in this new adventure series. This the start of the story when four young knights learn their craft and have to defeat the evil Armouronaut. For any boys into their adventure books, these will be a new series for them to become addicted to.

Please click for details of the full range

Army Costumes For Kids For Dressing Up Fun

Army costumes for kids may be needed for a fancy dress party or just for role play dressing up. They can be fun for both and come in a wide range of styles. The term covers quite a broad spectrum of military themed clothing so you can pick from various get ups from the army, navy or air force.

Your basic costume will comprise a uniform – this could be a real one, borrowed from friends or family or bought from an army supplies store, or those specifically made as costumes that can be bought online at places like Amazon or . A real one will obviously be a lot more authentic but if you are looking for kids army costumes, you will be stuck as they are not made in such small sizes.

Army Officer Costume

This Army Officer Costume comes in many sizes from child to adult.

Special Forces Kids Army Costume

This Special Forces Kids Army Costume is a jumpsuit that comprises a muscle chest, detachable face mask, goggles and helmet.

Desert Comando Kids Army Costume

This Desert Comando Kids Army Costume is a jumpsuit that comprises a padded chest, helmet with removable foam face mask and goggles.

The uniforms can be those from the lower ranks of the services or for something a bit more fancy, those for officers. The former would be better for role play and the latter for party wear. A basic uniform will comprise a shirt, pants and a cap. Once you have the uniform, you can then dress it up with accessories such as military boots, caps, helmets, replica weapons, dog tags, badges and bullet belts. But perhaps most importantly, don’t forget your camouflage makeup, to get you really into character.

Army fancy dress outfits are available for men and women as well as children. Some of those for ladies are very much on the sexy side and the army girl fancy dress costume is very popular these days. These are available in a wide array of camouflage patterns and come as short skirts or cut off shorts and tight tops, long or cropped. They can be worn with high heel boots to complete the look.

When looking for an army fancy dress costume, you first need to decide on which branch of the military you want to represent – army, navy or air force. You then need to consider whether you prefer a period, traditional or more modern costume and even whether you want a costume that represents the armed forces of another country. More unusual costumes are best found on Ebay where you can find , those worn in and even costumes amongst others. Once you have narrowed down the basic uniform, you can begin to accessorize and even go as far as restyling your hair to get the right look.

Army costumes are popular for fancy dress parties as they give off a sense of patriotism and power. But they are also worn by those in social groups whose hobby it is to role play military exercises in their free time. Similar events are also undertaken by businesses as part of team building workshops. You may also be looking for an army costume if you are an actor and have a relevant role that you need to get into character for.

Whichever uniform you go for, make sure it is realistic and made of good quality material. Costumes come in many age ranges and cost from $20 upwards. They are the perfect gift for a child with a large collection of other kids army gear.