Are you looking for a super simple DIY transformer costume? You are in the right place. I created these Rescue Bot costumes 10 years ago when my sons were quite little.

Homemade Transformer Costume

If you are looking for the coolest Halloween transformer costumes created by a super creative dad or mom, then you might need to keep searching. This costume is one of my super easy, little kid friendly ideas that doesn’t involve a downloaded build plan or box cutters.

My idea is perfect for costume play, a dress up box or kids that prefer wearing something simple. I know some older kids are willing to suffer for a very cool costume. But little kids generally won’t wear something uncomfortable for very long. This is also a great idea for parents who don’t have lots of patience.

Rescue Bots Costume Ideas

The first thing I want to explain is that I am often inspired by deals I find at discount stores or thrift stores. And these Halloween costume ideas are no exception. I found generic superhero costumes at Target on clearance after Halloween one year. One red and one green. You don’t need the same costumes to copy my idea, for me that worked well but more importantly it inspired these costumes. 

These semi-homemade costumes are mostly store bought items or things we already owned. There was very little buying or creating necessary. The two things that I had to make was the Iron-On Transformer logos and the green construction hat. 

Transformer Logo

I made these costumes pre-Cricut or at least before I owned a Cricut. So if I was going to make them again, I’d likely just cut the transformer logo out of vinyl instead of printing the design on iron-on paper. Either way works, I just prefer using my Cricut machine for projects. If going the iron-on route, I’d recommend using iron-on paper for dark fabrics.

Green Construction Hard Hat

We already owned a toy hard hat that was yellow, so I opted to just spray paint it bright green. I think this is the best route for everyone because while green hard hats do exist, they aren’t common and as a result they are pricey. Plus you have an old one lying around or you find a cheap one at a thrift store, then just spray paint it the exact bright green color you want.

Heatwave Rescue Bot Costume Material List

• Red shirt, vest or costume kit like I found
• Firefight hat
• Red or black shorts or pants
• Firefighter rain boots (red or black boots would also work)
• Iron-On Transformer Logo

My boys loved the cape attached to the generic superhero sets we had but its not really necessary. You could also just attach a a small piece of fabric to the back of a t-shirt to create a similar look.

Boulder Rescue Bots Costume Material List

• Bright green vest or costume kit like I found
• Green or black shorts or pants
• Green rain boots
• Green hard hat
• Iron-On Transformer Logo

Transformer Rescue Bots

The Rescue Bots was an animated series from the Transformer franchise that was created for younger kids. It sought to teach kids about safety through robot adventures. The show aired from 2011-1016 and inspired storybooks and a toy line. It is currently the longest running Transformers series, the original 1980’s show only ran for about 3 years.

The main Transformer Rescue Bots are Chase, Heatwave, Blades and Boulder. Chase is a police vehicle robot, Heatwave is a fire truck robot, Blades is a helicopter robot, and Boulder is a construction robot. 

You could easily make a Chase Rescue Bots costume inspired by a blue police car and a police cap. Blades might be tougher but if you look below you will see I did make a helicopter costume from Disney Planes.

DIY Cardboard Costume Ideas

While robot costumes didn’t go the Home Depot, hot glue gun route for these costumes. I do other costumes that I made using cardboard boxes.

• Disney Planes Dusty Costume
• Disney Planes Helicopter Costume
• Disney Planes El Chupacabra
• Lil Dipper Planes Costume

Transformers Rescue Bots: Heatwave

Transformers Rescue Bots: Boulder

More Transformers Costume Ideas

Are you a transformers fan looking for some original transformers costumes or even a store-bought costume. I’ve linked to some great ideas below.

• Transformers Bumblebee Costumes on Amazon
• Homemade Bumblebee Transformer costume template
• Optimus Prime Costume on Etsy
• Optimus Prime Costume on Amazon

The boys had a blast running around the backyard pretending to be Heatwave and Boulder!

This post was originally published October 22, 2013.