I feel like the time has come for you all to meet my main Chuggington OC:
Meet Astra, the new Chug Patroller!
Chugger Status: Full-fledged
• Backup Equipment Carrier
Power Type: Diesel-electric
Astra is a compartment engine who can carry extra Chug Patrol gear and equipment.
She is relatively a kind-hearted, eager-to-please teenage girl; she is always happy to do whatever job she is given with a can-do attitude. While there are occasions once in a while when her excitable nature can get the better of her, she is still focused and very capable. Sweet, lively and encouraging, Astra is always ready to do her part, whether it's keeping the tracks safe as a Chug Patroller, or just making everyone smile as a friend.
Astra is fresh from completing training, and is the youngest full-time Chug Patrol member. (Wilson does not count; he is only a part-time member as he is still a trainee) She often tags along on emergency callouts with the rest of the squad.
She'll volunteer to do other jobs whenever the oppurtunity arises as she simply loves helping and enjoys a brief change, but in her spare time, she is hobby photojournalist (She has a retractable smartphone-like camera located and stored where her pop-up wingmirrors are; inside the hatch with the Chug Patrol emblem on the door to access her engine placed adjacent to her face, I will draw this in the future)
Ever since she was a trainee, she journals photos and sometimes videos of her everyday life and adventures, usually just cute selfies of herself or group photos. She shares them online with some of her old friends who also partake in this hobby. She also finds her camera useful for reporting track and trackside hazards to Chug Patrol.
- She was a Chug Patroller in Tootington quite some time before moving to Chuggington. She was a top student as a trainee and moved up so quickly, she had graduated while still in the chugger equivalent of teenage years. (Very rarely do chuggers become fully-fledged when they're young. Hodge, Zephie and Emery are the only canon chuggers in this scenario) She had a very close relationship with her old mentor before he suffered a tragic accident that permanently put him out of commission, but he would still be put back together and preserved by a museum. Astra had been invited to Chuggington around this same time and was sad to leave him behind, especially in the sorry state he was currently in, but he reminded her that he'd always be with Astra in her heart. She did manage to recover before she left for Chuggington, but didn't open up to the others about this situation until much later.
- She also likes stargazing, and the Planetarium (A new location on the outskirts of Chuggington suburbs) is one of her favorite places.
- She has a playful and adventurous relationship with Wilson, and is his best friend to be with whenever Brewster and Koko aren't around. She's usually the Chug Patroller Wilson is on patrol with if not with Jackman or by himself.
- Like Wilson, she too would form a father-child-like relationship with Jackman.
- She also has a bit of an aunt-like relationship with Calley and an uncle-like relationship with Asher.
- Often while they're in CPHQ, Asher likes to listen to chill music on the radio and Astra in particular sways side-to-side or even full-on dances to the music on the turntable.
- When she's not with Wilson, Brewster, Koko, or Chug Patrol, she also has a dynamic with Zephie cuz girl power lol
- Astra's creation and design was inspired by the Plarail Disney Dream Railway Mickey Mouse Rescue Train by Takara Tomy:
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a perfect real-life resemblance of this locomotive no matter how hard I tried, however the main body does seem to loosely resemble a E6 series Akita Shinkansen:
Now, I'm under the impression that Mickey rescue train was a freelance design, but if by some crazy chance any of you know a better real-life resemblance, do comment below, I'd appreciate that. (^ー^)
Annnd I think that's that, everything you need to know about Astra! I'm hoping to make actual 3d orthos for her, but those are quite tedious and challenging, so for now, that side view and posed render I made back in 2022 will suffice. I wanted to get her revealed before any other Chuggington OCs before it gets too late into the year... and I still need to draw Margot The Monorail for @lomotunes2008 😅...
I was planning to get this released a bit earlier in the day, but additional editing and new content on Youtube kinda got in the way of that :P
But anyway, I hope you all enjoy and do stay tuned because there will be more of Astra, and more OCs in the near future!
