Home >> Toys >> Other Toys

How to Make a Paratrooper by Hand

Originally introduced to the U.S. armed forces as an idea in 1919, during World War I, paratrooping was first used by Russian and German forces during the later part of the 1930s. Following suit, American paratrooping began during the early 1940s upon entrance into World War II and the development of an airborne division. Coinciding with World War I and World War II, the mass production of small, 2- to 3-inch toy soldier figures began to rise in popularity. Made originally from lead, the figures were switched to plastic during the 1950s.

Things You'll Need

Plastic sandwich bag
Scissors
Tape
Single hole puncher
Ruler
String
Rubber band
Plastic army man figure

Instructions

- 1
  Lay the plastic bag flat in front of you. Cut along the edges to create two square pieces of plastic. Cut four square pieces of tape. Place one square piece of tape on each corner of the square piece of plastic.
- 2
  Using the single hole puncher, punch a hole in the center of each square piece of tape. Measure 24 inches of string, using the ruler, and cut the string into four parts measuring 6 inches each.
- 3
  Tie one piece of string to each corner of the plastic square piece through the hole in the center of the tape on the corners. Fold the square plastic piece into a smaller square by quartering. Tie the small rubber band around the plastic to form a package-like appearance.
- 4
  Tie two pieces of string to the left side of the plastic army figure at the arm's crevice. Tie the remaining two pieces of string on the figure at the right arm's crevice.
- 5
  Deploy the paratrooper figure from tall heights after removing the rubber band from the plastic.

Other Toys