Coolest Homemade Wall-E Halloween Costume

Wall-E was created with the intention of being able to use my arms while still being able to roll around as much like Wall-E as possible. In order to do this I decided to use an office chair and build the Homemade Wall-E Halloween Costume around it, while using my feet to guide myself in the chair.

I first got a refrigerator box and condensed it to fit tight around the chair. It was then reinforced with foam insulation (by spraying the cardboard and the foam with spray adhesive foam glue). From there, the box was primed and painted to give it the rust feel you see. I recommend using acrylic paint in case you run into lousy weather like I did.

A large hole was cut in front of the box about 8 inches high by 15 inches wide. This part was used to create the trash compactor. I then used two hinges, eight screws and eight bolts to latch the cut out cardboard to open the door. Underneath it lie a show box that was glue with aluminum foil. I tied wire to the hatch and was able to pull from the inside to give the illusion of the door opening and closing! Also, the chest plate above the compactor was made with to go boxes and duct taped black, gray and yellow. It was then touched up with acrylic paint to get the rust feel!

I then took a break from the body to begin working on the arms which surprising was very easy. We had two reach and grab products called “gophers” lying around the house, however I saw them at Walmart for only $10. We used the cardboard box they came in and duct taped the claws to the hand portion. It was then primed as well and painted. By taping duct tape to the claw portion I was able to still grab things with Wall-Es hands, which gave the costume more realism. Each arm was painted in a black and white stripe fashion just like you see on “arm road blocks.”

The head was by far the most difficult to tackle. The eyes needed a glowing feel so I retrieved battery operated push in lights from Radioshack. Two aluminum foil plates where needed for each eye. After cutting and bending the plates it was attached by duct tape and cardboard. Glad Tupperware was then attached to the eye with the light underneath it. The rest of the back of the eye was made the same way and attached to one another through the heavy use of duct tape.

I then took a helmet and used tiny wiring to tie it to a secure light weight basket latched onto the helmet. The eyes were wired to this box and duct tape heavily so that the head could be moved easily! Gray pants that matched the duct tape were wrapped around the head for the neck. I cut a slit in the neck in order to have vision while the eyes sit firmly out above my head. This is a great trick since viewers focus in on the eyes of the costume as opposed to where your eyes actually are!

The wheels were once again created through cardboard. Two triangular rounded shapes were cut out of cardboard and painted black. They were attached by foam insulation being attached to each side for durability. I then painted perforated cardboard black, since it had a track feel to it, and attached it to the top of the cardboard based wheels.

From here I drilled holes in the top of the wheels so that I could slide a pole through each side. This pole was then slid through the back of the cardboard box that has become his body as well as through the other pair of wheels. Once the pole was through all I lifted it above the chair (being light weight since it is primarily cardboard reinforced) and secured the pole in front of the office char while the back kept it secure on the back. This allowed me to zoom around like wall-E.

While the Homemade Wall-E Halloween Costume was quite labor intensive it is overall very rewarding. I highly recommend the experience to anyone who likes a challenge. Hope you guys enjoy and please feel free to ask questions!
Time to make 32hrs +
Total cost to make $81
( home depot hinge and screws $8, foam insulation $21, duct tape glue $12, arms $20 if bought, led lights $10, office chair free off Craigslist, paint $10)

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