How to Transform Yourself Into a Green Army Man

This page will show you how to transform yourself from an ordinary human into a plastic Green Army Man.

The first step is to collect all of the components associated with the costume.  A lot of the costume can be found at your local Army Surplus Store.I was able to find the helmet, belt, grenades, rain boots, face paint, canteen, and canteen holder at my local Army Surplus Store.  The gun was purchased at a Halloween store and the pants and jacket were found at a Goodwill Store.  When picking out the pants and jacket it is important to pick out a suitable material.  Certain materials will look more like plastic when painted than others.  Try to pick out a nylon material like the ones used in running gear rather than sweat pants material.  A rain suit would also work well.

Your goal when transforming into a plastic green army man should be to make everything related to your costume the same color.  The best way to do this is to paint everything.  Once acquire everything for your costume you need to paint it.  Take one element of your costume to your local paint store and have them color match paint to it.  In my case I took the canteen to the store and had them match paint to the color of the canteen.  Have the paint mixed in a semi gloss formula.

In order to make the costume look realistic everything must be painted the same color.  The best way to do this is with a spray gun.  You can purchase a cheap spray gun (that is capable of spraying latex paint) at Harbor Freight Tools for around $15.00.  this is not an option you can paint the costume with a brush, but it will not turn out as nice.
Lay your props on a tarp or a sheet of plastic in your driveway.  Spray one side of the props.  Let the paint dry.  Then flip them over and paint the other side.  Allow the paint to dry and clean the painting equipment.
Cut out a piece of plastic to act as a base for you to stand on.  Paint this piece of plastic to match the rest of the costume.

To make your hands look plastic use vinyl gloves and paint them to match the rest of the costume.  To paint them put the glove on and paint it using a brush.  Stick you hand in front of a forced air heater vent to speed up the drying process.  Once the paint is dry remove the glove and repeat the process for the other side.   Do not use gloves that are made of latex, and do not use gloves that have powder on them or the paint will not stick well.

To paint your face use camouflage face paint from an Army Surplus Store.  The face paint will have black on one end and green on the other.  First apply the black paint to your face as a base.  After your entire face is covered in black face paint use the green face paint to cover up the black face paint.  The black face paint will provide a perfect dark base for the green.  The two colors combined will match the army green color perfectly. 

Once everything is dry put on all of your gear and enjoy the compliments that you will get on your costume.  Try to stand perfectlly still with your eyes closed to add to the realism of the costume.