My son chose to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween this year, which was certainly the most creative and challenging Toy Story costume to create.  I took many measurements of my son and drafted each of the patterns myself.  The body of his costume is all fabric, with craft foam trim.  I used flex-foam inside the body in order for his costume to have a good body and structure.  I made Buzz’ boots large enough that my son’s sneakers would fit inside.  I cut “ANDY” out of craft foam like a puzzle, to fit on the bottom of the right boot.  For Buzz’ helmet, I purchased a large plastic fishbowl, and cut a hole in the front for his face.  Buzz’ jetpack created the most challenge.  I wanted the wings to actually pop out and retract.  This took a long time to conceptualize, but I finally got it to work!  There is a string that is attached to a hook on the front of Buzz’ pants.  When the string is released, the wings release from the jetpack and pop out.  When the string is pulled back down to hook on his pants, the wings retract.  Success!  My son’s favorite part of the costume is the red laser beam that shoots out from his right forearm.  He loved showing people the red laser and watching it dance on the ground.  I tried to capture all of the details of Buzz Lightyear and recreate them for my son’s costume.  It was a very fun costume to brainstorm and create.  Children’s reactions to Buzz were the best.  Little kids thought he was the REAL Buzz Lightyear.  They were in awe of him.  One little boy wanted to take my son home with him, so “Andy’s” toy could live with him instead.  It was sweet.

 

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