If you have a DIY spirit, a few supplies, and an ordinary 5 gallon bucket, you can make this 3D kids airplane wall art that resembles a vintage style biplane. The plane functions as an impressive piece of kids aviation wall decor as well as shelves. It’s perfect for children’s rooms with a transportation theme or for an airplane nursery.
Who knew a 5 gallon bucket could be so fun!
To build your own airplane wall art, you’ll need:
- 5 gallon bucket (approx. 14 inches tall with a 12 inch diameter at the top)
- Two 1×10 wood boards (6 feet or less in length)
- 4 wood dowels (36 inches long x 1 inch diameter)
- Eight toy wood wheels (I used these birch tread wheels)
- Two 6 inch lawnmower wheels, or make your own from wood circles
- Wood door knob
- very strong wood glue such as Titebond III
- J-B Weld epoxy or Gorilla Epoxy
- Rustoleum Metallic spray paint in your favorite metal color
- Rustoleum 2X UltraCover Paint & Primer spray paint
- 1/4 inch thick MDF or birch plywood panel
- 3/4 inch thick birch plywood or MDF panel
- Wood screws (3/4 inch, multipurpose)
- Bolts ( at least 3 inches long)
- Jigsaw
- Drill
- Utility knife
- Pencil
- Plastic drop cloth
- Blue tape (the type for sensitive surfaces works well)
- D rings (to attach to the back of the airplane wall art for hanging on the wall)
Ready? Let’s build that plane!
step 1: cut upper & lower wings
The first step in creating your 3D airplane wall art is to create the plane wings. The easiest route is to use two pre-primed 1×10 pine boards because 1) they are budget friendly and 2) that coat of white primer means you don’t have to waste time or energy priming them later on. The 1 inch (approximate) thickness of the wood is sturdy enough to make wings that will serve as shelves. The 10 inch width will need some adjusting though. If you purchase your boards at a place like Home Depot, one of the guys in their lumber department is usually available to shave them down to 9 inches wide with one of those gigantic power saws.
Now, it’s just a matter of cutting the boards to your preferred length. Feel free to cut your wings to lengths longer than the ones shown in the photo. (Save the wood scraps that you trim off the ends of the boards to use later in Step 4.)
After cutting wings to your desired length, next cut a small rectangular section from the lower wing as shown in the photo.
step 2: cut 2 wood circles
First Circle
Place the bucket top side down on a piece of 3/4 inch thick plywood and use a pencil to trace around the outer rim. Set the bucket aside, and use a jigsaw to cut along the pencil line to make a large wood circle. SAVE THIS CIRCLE TO USE LATER IN STEP 8.
Second Circle
Next, place the bucket bottom side down on a piece of 1/4 inch thick plywood or MDF, and trace around it with a pencil. Set the bucket aside again, and use a jigsaw to cut along the pencil line to make another circle. Secure this circle to the bottom of the bucket using a strong adhesive such as J-B Weld as well as bolts with flat heads. Make sure the bolts are positioned toward the center. Later, you’ll be attaching the plane’s propeller over the top of them, so the bolts won’t show when the airplane wall art is finished.
step 3: cut 2 openings in bucket sides
Next step, cut the lower airplane wing in half (see photo below), to make a lower left wing and a lower right wing.
Then, use a utility knife or other sharp cutting tool to cut two narrow rectangular openings in the bucket sides (as shown in the photo). Use the distance from E to F to determine how long to make the cut from G to H as well as the cut from R to S. The left and right lower airplane wings should fit snugly through these narrow cuts in the bucket sides.
From side view, each cut should look like this:
Test wings to see if they fit well through the bucket openings.
step 4: attach lower wing to nose
Temporarily remove the lower airplane wings from the bucket. Then gather some of the scrap pieces of boards left over from the cuts made in Step 1. Use a straight edge or level to get the sides of the lower wings evenly lined up as shown.
Stack the scrap pieces on top of the airplane lower wing sections, and use a pencil to mark holes. Drill holes as shown, going through all 3 layers.
Position lower airplane wings inside the bucket again
Next, insert bolts (about 3 inches long) into the drilled holes to secure the wood blocks above and below the lower wing sections, inside the bucket. This stabilizes and reconnects the lower airplane wing.
step 5: attach struts to airplane top wing
Now for the top wing. It’s easiest to do these next few steps with the top airplane wing upside down, as shown, lying on a flat level surface. I used small toy wheels as a decorative element and attached them using Titebond III wood glue.
Next, use glue to attach wood dowels (1 inch diameter) for the struts. These can be cut 15 to 17 inches long, depending on how much space you want between the upper and lower wings of your airplane art. The end of each dowel should fit inside the recessed center of each wheel.
Last, glue more toy wood wheels to the tops of the dowels as shown below.
step 6: attach top and bottom
Time to connect the major sections of your airplane decor together! Leave the upper airplane wing and struts in the same position as in Step 5. Flip the lower airplane wing and nose upside down from the position in Step 4. Place it as shown on top of the struts, and use wood screws and wood glue to secure everything together. For best appearance, countersink the screws.
Use additional dowels (1 inch diameter) to make 4 diagonal struts to support and connect the wing and the nose as shown below (airplane is still upside down in this photo, so the top wing is on the bottom).
step 7: attach propeller support
From the front, your 3D airplane wall art will now look like this. Use wood glue and a bolt to attach a 4 inch wood circle to the front of the airplane nose as shown, covering over the heads of the bolts added in Step 2. This will support the propeller. You can use a ready made wood disc like the one below, or you can simply cut a 4 inch circle from 3/4 inch thick MDF or plywood. For best results, countersink the bolt so that the head is slightly below the surface of the wood circle. This will make an even surface for attaching the airplane propeller later in Step 15.
step 8: attach back support circle
Take the circle cut from 3/4 inch plywood in step 2…..
…..and use screws to attach it to the open end of the bucket on the back side of the airplane. (Again, it’s easier to do this step with the plane positioned upside down, with the top wing lying on a flat level surface.)
step 9: create propeller
Use a pencil to draw a propeller shape on a sheet of 1/4 inch thick MDF. The propeller dimensions can be larger or smaller than the 20 inch x 3.5 inch propeller that I made below. A wood doorknob works well for the center.
Use a jigsaw to cut out the airplane propeller, and then sand away any rough edges.
step 10: wheels and support
Create V shaped supports for the plane wheels from MDF. Then use a wood dowel (about 1 inch in diameter) for the axle in between.
The easiest option for wheels for the airplane is just to use 6 inch lawn mower wheels.
If you do not want to purchase actual wheels, you can make them yourself using some wood craft supplies like the ones shown. For these, I used giant 6 inch buttons, some wood circles, and two wood half spheres (note that the half spheres are not glued to the wheels at this point–they will be attached in Step 14)
step 11: optional: add trim strip
This step is completely optional. As I was constructing this airplane, I didn’t like the appearance of the ridges on the end of the 5 gallon bucket and was looking for a way to cover them up. One of the employees at my local home improvement store suggested a strip of vinyl flooring. It worked like a charm—flexible, easy to cut, and easy to attach.
Just cut the vinyl strip to match the dimensions of the ridged section of the bucket. Then use multi-purpose screws to secure it.
step 12: attach axle and wheel support
While plane is still upside down, use a strong glue such as Titebond III wood glue or J-B Weld epoxy to attach the wheel support & axle.
step 13: paint
You’re in the home stretch now as it’s time for paint! Use a high performance metallic paint like Rustoleum Universal Metallic spray paint for the propeller, wheels and struts of the airplane. (I like this brand because it has so many different special effects and it covers beautifully.) Mask off any areas that you don’t want to be covered with paint by using plastic and blue tape.
Then, use a good quality paint for the rest of the airplane. I used Rustoleum 2X UltraCover Paint & Primer spray paint because it is formulated stick to just about anything, including plastic. There are very few spray paints that will actually adhere to plastic or PVC without flaking, peeling, or scratching off. The Rustoleum Ultra Cover includes primer and paint all in one product, too, so it’s a time saver. I used two coats of red, sanding in between each coat. Lightly sanding in between coats will give you a smoother finish.
step 14: attach wheels
After the paint is dry, use screws to attach wheels to axle.
Next use a strong adhesive to attach small birch half spheres to wheels to cover the screws. I used the regular J-B Weld epoxy because it was what I had on hand. However, it takes a few hours to cure so I used blue tape to hold the spheres in place until it sets. If I were doing this again, I would use a faster setting glue, like J-B Weld clear epoxy or Gorilla clear glue epoxy which will dry in 5 minutes.
step 15: attach propeller to airplane
Attach propeller to the nose of the airplane using a drill and wood screws.
Finally, use an epoxy adhesive to attach knob to propeller to cover screws.
step 16: kids airplane–all done!
Finished DIY 3D kids airplane wall art—ready to hang on the wall or decorate an amazing airplane themed nursery or playroom!
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