How to Build a Wooden Toy Soldier

Cut the hat and arms to size. A round dowel with the same or a slightly larger circumference than the clothespin is an excellent material to use as the hat because it has the necessary shape and will stand up to a lot of wear. Use a handsaw to cut it down to the size you want (tall beaver-skin hat or a shorter helmet). Cut the pointed ends off two wooden chopsticks to use as arms. Sand all three pieces until they're smooth, then continue sanding the dowel until it has a slightly rounded end.

Nail the dowel onto the rounded top of the clothespin. Position the hat and secure it first with wood glue. Once the glue has dried, drive a nail through the top of the hat into the body of the toy soldier.

Glue the arms to the sides of the clothespin. With the center split at the bottom of the clothespin acting as the soldier's legs, face the soldier toward you, then secure the arms to either side with wood glue. Wrap masking tape around the arms and body of the soldier to hold them in place until the glue dries.

Paint the soldier's clothes. Traditional wooden toy soldiers have black pants and hats with a red jacket, but you can paint the uniform in whatever way you wish. To make painting easier, first paint the front of the soldier, then wait for the paint to dry before painting the back.

Draw a face onto the round top of the clothespin. Use markers for these finer details, giving your soldier eyes, a nose and a mouth. You can also add ears and hair if you choose.

Add decorative features to your toy soldier. Use gold cord held in place with craft glue as the chinstrap for the helmet or as trim along the sides of the pants. Small black beads make excellent buttons.