Transformation – Amelia (mechanic/aviator)

Here’s a rare picture of Amelia with her identical twin sister Leonora.  When I first met them they both looked exactly like Leonora (left).

All my steampunk characters start out as mass produced dolls which I pick up online or in shops or bazaars.

First the clothes and excess glue are stripped off.  Then I look at the hair and decide whether it’s salvageable.  Sometimes I keep it and just do a restyle, as I did here.  Sometimes I make a new wig.

Next they sit for a while on the workbench while I decide how to transform them.  I’d done several lovely Victorian ladies in long dresses with top hat style fascinators or cogwheel covered headdresses, but Amelia seemed to want to break the mould.

So here she is – a fearless flyer and expert mechanic.  She may be petite and blonde, but she’s the equal of any other aviator and is happy to strip down an engine with the best of them.

The details were fun to make – the hip flask swinging from her belt and the leather wristband, the brass knee protectors worn over tight leather trousers, the chamois leather scarf and the wrap-around goggles.

As for Leonora, she must have been inspired by her sister.  Following a very unpromising start as a dolls’ house housewife, she ended up as a renowned explorer, travelling the world with her glass astro-chronometer.  Her unusual goggles have integrated clockwork dart-launchers.  I wish I had the skill to make them work!

If you’d like to see more pictures of this intrepid duo, or welcome them into your lives, the links to their pages at the Steampunk Dolls House are here:

Amelia:  Click here.

Leonora:  Click here.