My little guy like most little boys, loves Thomas the Tank, but at 18 months old, I didn’t want a bulky train type costume, so we opted for Sir Topham Hatt, and I turned his red wagon into Thomas.
His part of the costume was simple. I found a little tux with tails and some gray pants at a thrift store. I purchased a little top hat and made a yellow vest from felt. Easy Peasy!
Our wagon has the wooden sides so I used them as supports for a new 13 gallon trash can, which I cut in half leaving about a 6 inches wide strip of the round part at the top (see picture). I fitted this into the frame with the round part hanging over the front of the wagon. I then cut a cardboard circle the size of the opening of the trashcan and covered it with spray foam, which I carved into the shape of Thomas’ face, and then covered in paper mache.
I cut a rubber ball in half for the eyes. I took a piece of linoleum turned backwards and spray painted it black to cover the transition from trashcan to face. I made the sides from 1/8″ Masonite and screwed them into the supports. The smoke stacks are made from salvaged cardboard tubes from the hardware store. The kind carpet comes on. I even added a steering wheel from one of his climbing toys. A little paint and Thomas was born!
This Thomas the Tank Engine and Sir Topham Hatt Costume was great, we didn’t have to carry him around and he was the hit of the fall festival. He rode around in that thing forever.
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You did a great job on this! I really love the Sir Topham Hat costume!!
I was looking for some ideas for Halloween and arrived on this site. This looks so great. What a pity I am not very handy.
Hey the little boy dressed as Sir Topham Hat is SUCH a cool idea! AND turning the wagon into Thomas, wowza, LOVE IT!!
this is so good it should be presented to producers of the programme. could be done up as a downloadable plan and also in a kit form. really good!
only one thing i say because im long time fan of Thomas and friends that is correct spelling of the one first known as ‘the fat controller’ and his name? Sir Topham Hatt (2-t)
thank you. hope to visit island of sodor some day :)
This is adorable! We’re going to try to build the train, but I have been unsuccessful in finding tails at the right size (that aren’t $100+) – if you still have your son’s and are interested in selling them, I’d love to buy his outfit!
Sorry just saw your comment. Sorry, my son’s outfit is long gone.Have you tried Ebay? They have some for about 25 there. Good luck!
We found our jacket at the consignment shop as a whole set, jacket, vest, bow tie, and pants for 8.50!
Found the yellow vest and bought 5 piece suit (black jacket with tails) at Sears online. Sent email to customer service representative who switched the black slacks to gray. Cost: $40. It’s adorable.