Dad Turns Son’s Wagon Into Amazing Rocket Ship

When you were a kid, did you have a Radio Flyer that looked like it could take off into the galaxy? If not, you’ll probably want to take tips from this professional do-it-yourself dad for future reference.

With just a few wooden beams and spare cardboard, Reddit user aparis1983 built a replica of a NASA shuttle for his son — and it doubled as his Halloween costume!

Not only are wagons practical for hauling around toys and sports equipment for any adventure, they can really become anything you want them to be. This Reddit user wanted to customize his son’s wagon into a rocket, but there are other cool DIY uses as well, like this wagon that became a storage bench. The versatility and creativity here show that the wagon is still a relevant childhood toy.

Keep reading below to find out how aparis1983 turned his son’s wagon into a rocket ship just by using a few basic materials and a lot of skill. You just might be inspired to make one yourself!

Aparis1983 started off with this little red wagon as the base for this project. In addition, he had to spend $10 on wood supplies.

First order of business? Sketch out a draft. He drew the desired shape of the shuttle out onto a piece of paper to give him guideline to use while building.

After making a rough sketch, his first step in building was to cut out a frame in the desired shape, which meant cutting and screwing the wood pieces together.

While the frames were built to fit tightly over the wagon, it wasn’t built to remain attached to it. This way, you are able to lift the rocket on and off without damaging the wagon.

The aileron, otherwise known as the side wings and the back fin, were finally all pieced together. Now, the next step was to begin building the body.

The dad caught some luck after a new family moved in next door. This meant that there was almost an unlimited amount of cardboard boxes that were free to use in this project.

All of the curved areas on the back boosters and nose of the rocket were fairly easy to build just by using the cardboard. The best part? He only spent $10 on this project for wood, plus a few cans of spray paint, because the cardboard was free!

When it came to making the actual rockets, he stacked three different sized plastic flowerpots and spray-painted them black.

In the meantime, the shuttle got painted white. This opaque look just took a total of three cans of spray paint.

Then, he added a trim using black duct tape, ensuring to get straight and even lines.

Some finishing details included the U.S. flag and NASA logo being glued on.

Now it’s time to launch!

Naturally, the pilot was dressed in an adorable spacesuit!

And aparis1983′s son even got to do a bit of exploration!