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blazingphantom · 8 days ago

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How to Swear Like a Steam Engine (And Other Sentient Locomotive Slang)

If there’s one thing engines enjoy doing, it’s complaining and insulting each other, and they’ve developed their own slang to do it. Phrases like “fusspot,” “cinders and ashes!” and “bossy boiler” are common in the Railway Series, but there are many other terms.

The following list of phrases and expressions are commonly used by engines on American railroads, in particular on the Jefferson Great Divide Railway in the mountain west of the US. Some may be common in Sodor and the rest of Britain as well, others are specific to America. There are other lists on the internet documenting the various IRL slang used by human employees, and a lot of that is used by engines as well, but this is specifically the slang terms that were more or less developed within the locomotive subculture.

All Smoke and No Steam: All show and no substance. A person or engine who talks a good game or puts a lot of effort into appearing to be helpful but can’t back it up. An engine that’s making a huge cloud of smoke and a lot of noise looks impressive but if what’s coming out the smokestack is all smoke and no steam it’s not actually doing any work. Can also mean empty words or promises that won’t be fulfilled in the abstract.

“He’s all smoke and no steam!” = talks a good game, is all hat and no cattle, etc.

“That rule’s all smoke and no steam” can mean a rule isn’t / won’t be enforced, or that it will be enforced but it doesn’t actually make things better and is just a way of looking like something’s being done. E.g. “The new safety regulations are all smoke and no steam, management’s still going to come down harder for being late than for safety violations.”

“Their threats are all smoke and no steam” (when referring to customers/clients/workers) = they complain loudly but they’re not actually going to do anything like stop buying tickets, or ship freight by other means, or quit, or strike.

Amtrash: Derogatory term for Amtrak and its engines, used by freight railroad engines. Amtrak is the USA’s quasi-nationalized long-distance passenger rail network. Most of the track it runs on is owned by other railroads which are freight-only, and there’s quite a bit of resentment between them. See also: Useless Pacific, Nofucks Southern, Satan Fe, All Trains Smell Funny, Borington Northern, Misery Pacific, Criminally Slow and X-pensive, Southern Pathetic, Big Nasty Stupid Fuckers. The US only had its railroads forced into a Get Along T-shirt for like three years and that was during WWI-era, so there are a lot of rivalries between different railroads there.

Ballast Plow: A large truck, especially a flatbed, that stalls at a crossing – because if it gets hit it’s likely to bend around the engine’s front and be dragged down the track instead of getting thrown aside, digging into the embankment and scattering ballast everywhere.

Buckled Rail: A buckled rail (usually happens due to thermal expansion of the track in a heatwave) is at a minimum extremely painful to run over and can often damage engines or rolling stock and derail trains. “I need that like a buckled rail!”

Cattle Cars / Cattle: Derogatory term for a passenger train / passengers, particularly unruly and annoying passengers. Engines aren’t supposed to say this within earshot of passengers (and coaches get offended too).

Cowboy / Car Wrangler / Rodeo Clown: Shunter/switcher engines. Definitely popularized in the American West.

Did you fill your Tender/Bunker from the Ash Pit?: Ash doesn’t burn and would make a mess all over the cab. Basically translates to “Who pissed in your cornflakes?”Can also refer to an engine who has no steam or energy.

“Did you fill your bunker from the ash pit this morning? You’ve done nothing but complain and insult everyone all day!”

“Did you fill your tender from the ash pit today? I might as well be pulling this train by myself!”

Did They Fill Your Tender With Rocks?: Less profane version of the above.

Drink Hard Water: Hard water, i.e. water with lots of mineral content, is not good for a steam engine because mineral deposits (boiler sludge and scale) can accumulate in the boiler and other plumbing and be very uncomfortable / difficult to clean out.

“Go drink hard water!” = Go jump in a lake / go to hell / go fuck yourself. Basically “go somewhere else and have a miserable time while you’re there.”

“I’d rather drink hard water!” or “That’s like drinking hard water!” = Hell No.

Dry Crownsheet: VERY strong expression meaning an engine is tired or frustrated to the breaking point and about to lose their temper. “My crownsheet’s dry” could be compared to “I’m going to blow a fuse” or “Blow my stack” but that doesn’t cover the intensity. The crownsheet is the top of a locomotive’s firebox, and allowing the water level in the boiler to drop low enough that the crownsheet is exposed can cause it to overheat, weaken, and fail, which is a common cause of boiler explosions. If that weren’t bad enough water suddenly being reintroduced to an overheated crown sheet can flash to steam and cause a catastrophic pressure spike. Blowing a fuse means a safety mechanism has activated to prevent catastrophe. A steam locomotive with a dry crownsheet means the safety mechanisms have already failed and is on the verge of a devastating explosion. Used figuratively, means an engine has run out of ability to cope with stress and is one more tiny irritation away from taking it out on whoever’s unlucky enough to have added the proverbial final straw, or just anyone nearby, without regard to consequences for themselves.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault. He rolled into the yard with his crownsheet dry” = He wasn’t angry because of you, he was already angry and something was going to set him off sooner or later.

“Listen, I got a dry crownsheet from my last train. If any of you cars start anything I’m about ready to jump the track into the river and pull you all along with me.”

“Please just get me out of this station! My crownsheet’s about dry and if I have to hear the passengers complaining I don’t think I can take it!”

Find a Scrapyard: This basically means “Kill yourself,” so… not a very nice thing to say.

Fire Me Dry: Basically equivalent to “Fuck me” as an expression of exasperation. If an engine’s fire was lit with no water in the boiler at all, it might not cause an explosion but would still destroy the firebox. Apparently Furness Railway No. 1 was severely damaged and later scrapped due to this.

Flatlanders: Insult used on many mountain railways to make fun of engines and crews from plains regions who aren’t used to running the difficult routes.

“Boy, if those flatlanders think one in one-twenty’s a hill, I can’t wait to see ‘em coming up the pass!”

“They way some of these flatlanders talk you’d think you can’t climb anything over 1% without cog wheels.”

General Sherman, Sherman’s Army, Sherman’s Necktie: Refers to “Sherman’s Neckties,” a tactic of destroying sections of rail by heating them and twisting or bending them until they were unusable. This phrase is pretty much US-specific, and likely originated with engines used in the US Civil War picking up the term from humans, but has spread to subsequent generations of engines who often weren’t taught the historical context and only knew that Sherman was a man who commanded an army and destroyed a lot of railroad track. General Sherman and his army have become almost folkloric figures that various causes of track wear and failure are attributed to, sort of like Jack Frost. Can also refer to incompetent track maintenance / rough and poorly maintained track, or to the crews and vehicles responsible for it. Though they sometimes use the term for an engine who’s particularly hard on the rails or otherwise damages the track.

“That crew really did a General Sherman of a job with these rails.” = Sarcastically saying the maintenance crew made the rails even worse.

“Be careful at that junction, it’s a real Sherman’s Necktie.”

“Ouch! Who laid these ties, General Sherman?”

“That new road-rail’s a real General Sherman. Take any track he’s been over slow or you might break an axle.”

“Hey, General Sherman, try checking a switch is set right before you barge into it.”

“In case you’re wondering why the spur’s been closed all day, General Sherman over here spun his wheels ‘til he damn near hit ballast.” (Diesels in multiple unit operation can occasionally spin their wheels on a stopped train for so long they grind/melt halfway through the rails)

“They ought to put you in a siding and necktie the rails” (similar to “They should lock you up and throw away the key)

“Keep an eye on the track ahead of you: General Sherman’s hard at work on days like this” = a warning given in very hot weather that could cause buckling of the rails.

Getting the Rails Painted: A euphemism for a person or animal being run over by a train. Alternately: “Paint my wheels” or “Paint my pilot.” Obviously no sane engine wants this to happen but some engines use this phrase as gallows humor between each other. Occasionally said to humans who break safety rules by a furious engine.

“What the hell are you doing walking between moving freight cars? You almost painted the rails back there!”

“I heard they got the rails painted at the 58th Street Crossing?” “Yeah. From what I heard, poor guy must’ve been drunk and fell asleep on the tracks. They didn’t say whose train it was but Robbie’s been in the shed all week.”

“Some idiot ducked under the crossing gates on a bike and just about painted my pilot.”

“I got my pilot painted by a herd of deer yesterday. I swear, once they get on the track they must think they’re a train, they just run along it!”

Go Get Your Ash Pan Raked: Removing the ash that collects under an engine’s firebox could be considered the closest steam engine equivalent to using the bathroom, but the connotations aren’t quite the same. Cleaning out the ash pan is a task firemen hate, so telling an engine to get their ash pan raked basically means “Go be someone else’s problem for a while (instead of mine)” Basically translates to "Fuck off."

Hotbox / Hot Axle: A hotbox or hot axle is an overheating axle and/or bearing box, usually on rolling stock but sometimes on engines. “One hot axle stops a train” is a common proverb that means a small missed detail can cause a massive inconvenience or impediment – compare to “For want of a nail” or “One bad apple spoils the barrel.” It doesn’t matter how many cars are on a train, a single hotbox can force the entire thing to stop until the problem is fixed. In slang use, of course, a hotbox can refer to anything small and seemingly irrelevant that manages to cause a disproportionate amount of annoyance, delay, or wasted time. It could be a physical object, a rule or procedure or an event. It is also a common insult: sometimes directed at engines, but more often at people or other vehicles. It basically means “killjoy” or “wet blanket,” with a specific connotation of “You and your opinion aren’t important but you are holding everyone else back / ruining things for everyone by making a ton of noise.” Common examples of hotboxes include an overly officious inspector or manager, a broken down road vehicle blocking a grade crossing, a track maintenance crew that’s working slowly and blocking multiple trains, a small weather event that still sometimes manages to delay everything, or an unruly passenger who causes an entire train to be stopped on their account (or unsuccessfully demands it be).

“Sorry I’m so late. Some drunk hotbox picked a fight with the conductor and the cops had to drag him off the train.”

“Will you quit being such a hot axle? Everyone else is enjoying the roundhouse party, if you don’t like it just sleep outside!”

“They’d better fix those jammed points soon, they’re hotboxing the whole damn yard!” (note: the use of "hotbox" as a verb among engines probably predates the drug usage)

Icicles In My Smokebox: Hyperbolic complaining about cold weather. There are many parts of a steam engine that are susceptible to things freezing where they shouldn’t, such as the feed hoses from the tender, water tanks, and possibly journal boxes and other running gear could feel stiff and numb if the oil gets cold enough. Naturally, when engines are complaining about the cold they’ll claim the hottest parts of them, which have absolutely no chance of freezing while their fire is lit, are freezing. Other variants include “Frost in my flues,” “If they put ice cream in my firebox it wouldn’t melt,” and “Cold enough to freeze your smoke halfway up the stack,” and “So cold a snowman could fire me all day long” (standing next to a firebox door shoveling coal is hot work, if it’s that cold in the cab it’s pretty darn cold)

Idiot Siding: Off the rails, specifically a safety siding where the rails end in a sand or gravel bed, or wherever a train that runs over trap points / catch points / derailers gets sent. These devices intentionally derail an uncontrolled or runaway train to prevent it from obstructing a main line or endangering people further down the track. If a train ends up here either somebody didn’t check the switch alignment, moved when they weren’t supposed to, or lost control of their train, hence the name.

If it gets any hotter my fireman’s gonna be out of a job: Hyperbolic complaining about the weather – implying that the heat of the sun on an engine’s boiler is enough to raise steam without them needing a fire.

In My Cab: Sarcastic way of saying another engine (usually) or a non-crew human is being bossy, or controlling and/or micromanaging, or giving advice on things that are none of their business. Basically meaning “You’re acting like you think you’re my driver.”

“Get out of my cab, I can sort these cars how I want!”

“Manager’s been in my cab all week.”

“Who let you in my cab?”

“Yeah, sure thing. Hey, while you’re up there in my cab, why don’tcha polish my gauges?”

Lionel Lines / Lionels: Derogatory term for narrow-gauge railways and trains, named after the popular brand of toy and model trains. Visitors to the JGD are strongly advised to NOT use this term around the resident standard-gauge engines. They are very protective of their narrow-gauge friends due to certain incidents in the past.

No Ashpan: e.g. “You’ve been running with no ashpan all day” or “He ain’t got no ashpan.” The ash pan is a tray underneath a steam engine’s firebox that collects ash and cinders that fall through the grates. An engine with no ashpan would leave a trail of red-hot cinders everywhere it went, which could be scattered by the wind from a train at speed, starting fires around the track – especially in the dry climate where the JGD is! Basically it means someone leaves a trail of destruction wherever they go. This is a very strong way of calling someone clumsy or incompetent (as in “You fuck up everything you touch”). It can also be used to refer to someone who’s rude, tactless, cruel, or toxic.

Pulling With Your Regulator: Wasting effort, doing more work than you need to. A steam engine’s power can be controlled using the regulator/throttle (reducing available steam pressure / flow rate to the valves) or by using the valve gear control (the “Johnson Bar”) to reduce the amount of time the valves are open. Controlling power and speed using the Johnson Bar (admitting small amounts of high-pressure steam into the cylinders) is more efficient than using the throttle (letting lots of low-pressure steam into the cylinders).

“Sure, you could shunt those cars like that, but you’ll be pulling with your regulator. Those grain hoppers are going out tomorrow morning and you’ll have to get ‘em out from behind everything else.”

Put on a Liquid Diet: A coal-fired or wood-fired steam engine being converted to an oil burner.

Rolling Dumpster: Insulting term for a tender. Not like a slur against tender engines, in fact it’s probably mostly tender engines who use it. E.g. “Why don’t you get that rolling dumpster off that siding and do some work for once?”

Sand in my fire and coal on my wheels: An engine feeling sick, confused, or discombobulated. Ironically oil-fired engines do actually periodically get sand thrown in their fire to clean their tubes out.

Scalding: Yelling at someone, dressing them down, treating them with cruelty. Engines can’t be physically scalded, but they know the meaning from the injuries that escaping steam can cause to humans.

“I’m sick of that stationmaster. He scalded me and my crew for running two minutes behind schedule without even asking why!”

“Geez, ask a simple question, get a scalding.”

“If that switchman isn’t fired tonight, he’ll wish he had been after the scalding I give him next time he see him. Throwing a train onto a siding at that speed could’ve derailed me, not to mention if there’d been a train there!"

Slug: Someone who blindly follows orders with no initiative or independent thought, or a yes-man or toadie. Used by diesels. A slug is an extra motor unit that can be coupled to a diesel-electric engine that draws excess power from it to provide extra traction while shunting, but a slug is not alive in the same way that tenders aren’t alive.

“Oh, company policy says, the rulebook says – quit being such a slug and live a little!”

“Yeah, the guy’s just Bernie’s slug. Always following him around hoping to be noticed. Pathetic.”

Smoke out the Stack: Similar to Water Under the Bridge. Expression meaning something’s in the past and no longer relevant.

“Hey, sorry about this morning.” “Ahh, don’t worry, that’s smoke out the stack."

Squishies: A very rude way of referring to careless yard workers and light road or rail vehicles, as well as people who trespass on tracks.

Sugar in My Fuel Tank: An unpleasant surprise. Originated in petrol-powered vehicles, but spread to diesel locomotives even though sugar in a diesel tank doesn’t really cause that much damage.

Teakettle: Insulting term for steam engines, especially small ones.

Tender-first: Doing something totally wrong, i.e. Ass-backwards. This one translates very literally. A tender engine running backwards can’t see very well and neither can its crew.

This Train’s Leaving. You can be on it, beside it, or under it: Means “My mind is made up. You can either help or leave me alone, but if you get in the way there’s going to be serious trouble.”

Thrown: Throwing a switch is what changing it from one direction to another is called, but when an engine talks about getting thrown it means being switched in an unexpected or unwanted direction, particularly at high speed. Like other types of sentient vehicle engines need a human operator to move with full control, but they also run on rails and cannot “steer.” In essence a train moves in one dimension while a car or boat moves in two and an aircraft moves in three. Even the most free-spirited engines don’t usually truly want the ability to go any which way: they like the certainty and predictability of knowing where moving forward will take them. However, engines do value the limited autonomy they do have. An engine can’t control itself without a driver, but as anyone who’s read the Railway Series will know, it is extremely difficult to move an unwilling engine. Thomas and James had runaway incidents because they were either trying to move without a driver on purpose or didn’t realize there was no one at the controls, and once they had made the choice to let themselves start moving, they couldn’t change the state of their controls by themselves. But an engine won’t move without their consent. Switches are a different matter. An engine is reliant on someone outside the cab to set the points, and being sent down the “wrong track” against their will feels very violating to many engines in a way that being physically pushed or pulled by another vehicle doesn’t. It’s like being manhandled. There is an expectation that switch operators follow the instructions of either an engine, their crew, or the dispatcher or yardmaster who is expected to tell the engine in advance where they are supposed to go. It’s also physically a jarring and unpleasant out-of-control feeling for an engine even when traveling at a safe speed – basically the train equivalent of going up or down a staircase and expecting another step that isn’t there, or suddenly hydroplaning or hitting a patch of ice in a car, or having your feet start to slide out from under you. And it’s often downright dangerous, either because a train is moving too fast for the curve of the switch and is derailed or because it’s sent into a collision on the other track or off the end of a siding (e.g. the Flying Kipper crash). Engines being engines, the term is also used hyperbolically to complain about an abrupt change of routing or scheduling with little warning, e.g. “Well, nobody told us about the special using my regular platform, until the last signal, they just threw me to Platform Five!” or “Today’s ore train was late. Dispatch gave them the tunnel instead of me so they didn’t have to stop going uphill, but I didn’t hear about it until they threw me on the passing siding!” It can also be used figuratively, similar to “thrown off track” or “thrown off,” to describe an unpleasant surprise or failure of communication.

Traveling In Style: Slang for a vehicle, especially a locomotive, being transported on a flatbed.

Tubes in a Twist / Knot: Expression of an engine (or human) being irritated, or feeling sick.

“What’s gt your tubes in a twist this morning?”

“That’ll put a knot in the foreman’s tubes for sure!”

“Are you feeling okay? You look like you’ve got a knot in your tubes!”

Turf Train: Affectionate term for farm tractors pulling multiple trailers or appliances.

Turn Your Grates: Implying that an engine has a buildup of ash on their firebox grates that is preventing their fire from getting enough air – almost always used figuratively to imply the engine’s mind is clogged with useless thoughts or strong emotions that are keeping them from thinking clearly. Or that they’re just being an idiot.

“Turn your grates before you run your mouth” = Think before you speak, in particular about whether you’re coming from a place of emotion or bias.

“Turn your grates and look at the track” = You have your mind on something other than what you’re doing, stop thinking about that and concentrate.

“Your cars are right on Spur 7 like I told you, turn your grates and look again!”

“I know the last diesel who visited was rude, but let’s turn our grates and keep an open mind about the new ones.”

Yoopers and Burlies: These are JGD-specific slang. The railroad connects to two major interstate railroads, Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF). At some point some engine heard about the word “Yooper” to describe people from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, decided to start calling engines and employees from Union Pacific this, and the name stuck. “Burlies” are BNSF engines. Prior to the 1995 merge of Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the term was used for Burlington Northern, but there wasn’t really a term for Santa Fe engines other than “Santas” or “S-Fs.” A few engines tried to get “Reindeer” adopted as a term but it never caught on. Yoopers and Burlies are common on the JGD because both railways have trackage rights on one or more of its major routes.

You Got Your Valve Gear Backwards On the Left Side: Steam locomotives reverse by using their valve gear to change the timing of their valves. If one somehow had its valve gear operating backwards on one side, one cylinder would be trying to go in reverse and the other forward and it wouldn’t get anywhere. Used figuratively to mean “You’re sabotaging yourself” or “You’re the cause of your own problems.” Mostly used by older engines.

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blazingphantom · 2 months ago

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Electra (STARLIGHT EXPRESS) Cosplay Refs and Help!

Base Outfit

Blue. We’re going with blue here folks, the shade is up to you. Some versions like light, some like dark, some like super shiny. Basically its probably lycra and a full body one at that, unless you can hide the seams. Personally I’d add a zipper if I could. At the back. (unless you have the equipment, maybe hide one under that groin cup.)

And it’s shiny. Most seem to go for super tiny silver squares, cut in various styles and shapes and seemingly stuck on. I’ve heard suggestions of them being of the ironed one variety. Which would take much less time than painting them on one by one. Or even screen printing them onto the fabric. To each their own.

One either sides of his legs, upper thighs its shaded red. This might have to be sprayed on. It’s right near the buttocks. A lot of his upper back is free from silver squares, to make room for his AC/DC box, which will be further down in the armour info. His base outfit also has a padded (in fake wool?) collar in red with at least two white/silver striped around the middles.

To compliment this….we have the red down below. IDK what you call this, groin flap? You can maybe have it sewn on? As some are, others are almost held on with studs. (Which may be fake.) It’s up to you, remember to make it of sturdy material if you’re wanting a modest outfit. (No one needs to see your junk in the front trunk.)

Body Suits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Squares: 1, 2.

Tutorials/inspiration: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Once again, an assortment of products and tutorials that may or may not help. Theatre costume information can be hard to come by so you usually need to find something similiar and work from there.

CRASH OUTFIT

Base outfit is worn beneath without most of the armour. Leg around is still usually visible. Basically it appears to be either loose coats attached at the front or fabric ponchos. Patch worked to resemble all three engines in a very random design. Pits or armour and fabric has also been stuck (attached) to give the illusion of an actual crash.

Depending on the designs of the other trains, Electra’s “poncho of death” is usually blue, with red around the edges and yellow near the shoulders. Where you stick the bits of armour is up to you. Perhaps pick a design for Greaseball and Red Caboose before fully decided which bits to pick and take.

Depending on the show, Electra either just wears his cap, or wears it with a cheap, crappy wig that vaguely resembles his mohawk. It cam come off, as it has in the show, and neatly stick back on.

Some even go further and smudge the makeup a bit too!

Armour

Ok, the tricky part. Well, he’s a bloody train engine. Let’s start on the limbs first. Upper and lower leg armour, located on the outsides. As well as knee pads, disguised as ‘armour’ boxes. Red with a lightning bolt. I have no idea how they’re actually attached. I suggest examining him and his… um legs and making a basic pattern outline and design and work from there. It’s all slick red, but some have a few white stripes.

Whilst the upper half seems to be the width of the side of his thighs, the lower half is more rounded, almost cuffing his leg. Again, same as above. These pieces are shorter in length and more.. well cuff like.

With the upper half we have elbow pads, shoulder and wrist armour as well as gloves. The elbow pads are sometimes hidden beneath a box like piece of armour, with with silver ‘studs’ and a round handle, presumably for other actors to hold onto.

The wrist armour matches that lower legs, more like two half cuffs, strapped around the actor’s wrists. (actually there are a lot of hidden snap clasps in this outfit.)

The upper arm armour, seems to sit just beneath the shoulder pads, or is non existent. It is attached to red epaulettes, sewn onto the shoulders of the base suit, and attached via a snap clasp. At least on the top half.

Gloves, red. With another handle, seems more fake than practical. I’d make them all fake really, just make it look like it could open up into a handle. Or just have a silver disc like object glued or painted onto the glove.

Belt, thick and red, with a slight wrestling belt look to it. Has silverish studs along its length with a handle at the front and two strong rings at the back. These are for whatever actor joins him in a race or dance, to hang onto. I recommend using something strong and sturdy if you plan to use it for that purpose, others plastic or similiar is fine.

The shoulder armour is large and rounded, resembling shoulder pads for sports. (idk what sports. sporty sports) I’ll let the designs speak for themselves. They also sometimes have a large gold leather strap attached at the very top. For the most part, they look soft up close. Suggesting some sort of foam perhaps.

Now the tricky parts. The back and the front torso. What originally looks like boxes somehow attached to the front and back by themselves, is actually an additional piece in itself, cleverly disguised as part of the body suit, its attached via clasps to either side of the boxes, to make them look seamlessly attached. A belt of red does appear wrapped up his upper back, and attaching to the box at the front, but it connects to the blue additions, rather than serve as the only thing holding it in place. It probably slips over the shoulders, (the whole piece) and attaches at the back or sides.

The back design is fairly simple, square and red with the words AC/DC in large letters. With a big silver bolt dividing them, and silver bordering the edges of the box. The front is more complicated and includes and LED screen that shows his heartbeat. Beneth the box is usually little silver nobs attached. Silver stripes run down on either side.

The led part can be painted on, created from scratch or you can buy LED stripes, that you can customise yourself, and just stick it in their. It’s up to you. It’s usually black on red, but occasionally red on yellow.

Tutorials/Inspiration: Shoulders: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Cuffs: 1, 2, 3.

The chest i have zero idea. The back is a box….that’s about it.

General armour tutorials: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

Accessories

Appears to be a closely cut helmet/cap with colours mirroring the makeup. And almost continuing its design in some versions. Its made with shiny red and blue fabric/paint with silver ribbons added to it. The front is raised and red, very shiny and almost metallic/plastic.

Some suggest it is vac-formed but that might cost. You could instead add the raised part in some other way, with foam or worbla.

The material the cap is made with however is another thing. Its very thin but strong enough to hold a large, probably heavy wig, which is attached to the cap via straps. And probably a strip of velcro attached to the bottom of the hawk and the top of the cap.

Tutorials/Inspiration: 1, 2, 3, 4. None of these are specifically for electra, would mentions probably being a skullcap fitted to each actor/actresses head. I suggest making a skull cap for yourself, or even using an aviator cap and trim it in areas. Perhaps paint it as well. Sew or glue on the ribbon. It’s up to you, which avenue you chose. Or how much you want to spend.

Wigs

Varies from show to show. It’s usually a thick mohawk and it’s height and thickness varies. As well as the material used. Some appear to be super shiny, cheap wigs, others seem to be made of more high quality wig hair.

Red, blue and white are the most popular colours, with the center changing colour depending on the wig and the outside wefts order’s change as well. If you were to pick the most recent one, it’s either blue or red as the main component with the blue white and red wefts on the side. Strips of silver material cut into lightning shapes are then added along the sides.

In case he’s not electric enough.

There’s usually a long tail at the back end of the hawk, sometimes long enough to reach past the actor’s shoulders.

How to make or buy this? Info is hard to find.You could buy a long wig and spike it into a hawk, then add wefts. Remember they need to be on fabric or material that can have a velcro piece stuck? onto the bottom.

Or you can make the hawk from scratch.

Or buy a mohawk wig and add to it.

Tutorials/Inspiration: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Buying Options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

Again none of these are identical. You’d have to add stuff to them, and remove stuff as well. And the finished wig be able to sit unaided on top of the cap. (you will probably have to sew the snap straps into the wig.

Makeup

There’s lots of variations, these seem to be the current ones at the moment. Red, Blue, Black and White (or silver or pale gold.) With an option nose stripe. To add to the look, is a hell of a lot of glitter and long eyelashes, usually with glitter. Your’s don’t have to be so long (especially if you were glasses, I mean could you imagine?)

Tutorials: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Materials vary from person to person. Some like using mehron, some like kryloan. I like diamondfx, but probably because it works well on my (dry, eczemary skin)

Some of these tutorials say what they use at the end. And remember, add glitter. Go slow. Only use what’s right for your skin. Most, regardless of their skin colour, add a paler colour to start with, then black or white lines that will contain the colours. The sides resemble star halfs, with the red always at the top. Blue at the bottom and white in the middle. This is flipped for the forehead section.

White is added around the eyes to make them look bigger, then bordered in black. Eyebrows are usually, but not always, completely covered. Painting the centre part that leads to the nose seems to be optional. Some leave it blank, some paint it white or all three colours. Some just use a paler skin colour to give it dimension.

The top lip is usually blue and the bottom red, with a white strip in the middle, but that’s optional. Occasionally bordered in black and/or white.

Then glitter that shit all over.

Eyelashes finish off the look. Yours don’t need to be that length. But if you find some go ahead! You could go black with shiny bits, or just long black lashes. Or maybe silver or red or blue lashes!

ADDITIONS:

skates. SKATES. SKATES. He wears skates. Usually silver or blue. Sometimes with fake “handles” Wheels end up red, black or orange. Usually has a cover over it, to match the base suit with fake red laces. Then rubbery leg warmers. The tips are silver.

FINALLY.

This isn’t finished. Refs, big refs for ever changing shows can be added too. So much more can be found out. People who follow this blog might have ideas one how to make some of the stuff they see on this blog and are welcome to offer suggestions.

Special thanks to BellesDomain / @bellesdomain for their amazing information and pictures.

Anything new to be added will either be via updates on here or in the musical section. I am now exhausted. Goodnight.

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