Sliders (1995)

Sliders was fairly sparse on episodes needing elaborate special makeup effects, with each episode that did having no makeup effects credits. The episode 'Invasion' is such an example, though being filmed in Vancouver already narrows down the list of suspects!

I suspect the Kromagg makeups in the episode were the work of Toby Lindala, who was based primarily in Vancouver as he worked on The X-Files. In fact, several X-Files Grey masks are actually seen in a display case in one scene of 'Invasion'!

Between the reused X-Files masks and the similarity the Kromagg makeups have to Lindala's alien makeups for The Outer Limits episode 'The Grell', I'm certain that Lindala (or at least a member of his studio) must have worked on this episode.

Location filming for Sliders moved to Los Angeles after the second season completed, which resulted in a variety of makeup effects artists working on assorted episodes. Todd Masters supplied some makeups and puppets for a couple of episodes, such as the slug puppet in 'The Breeder'.

However, certain episodes also required more advanced prosthetic makeups; according to Stephanie Fowler, who was the makeup department head, it was Michael Westmore and Ed

French - who were both providing the makeup effects for Star Trek: The Next Generation and its sequel series - who contributed these makeups.

Fowler specified that Westmore made the pieces but didn't work on-set, with Ed French applying it on-set. In an email to me, French recalled that he had worked on the episode 'State of the ART' (starring Robert Englund of Nightmare on Elm Street fame), supplying assorted light-up prosthetic pieces (the same sort put on Brent Spiner as Data on Next Generation?)

The vampire-like makeups in 'The Last of Eden' must have been Westmore and French's work; sadly I haven't been able to find any behind the scenes photos of these makeups. The makeup design was applied on several performers in the episode.

A lion-like facial appliance was made for Deron McBee as the lion mutant Ceres in 'This Slide of Paradise', and again I wish there was more behind the scenes photos of this makeup!

The last two seasons had their special makeup effects supervised by Bernd J. Rantscheff, his team including Thomas Surprenant and James Rohland. Rantscheff's team redesigned the Kromaggs to be more human-like, now with heavy brows, noses and bald heads.

(I also would like to thank Thomas Surprenant for kindly sending me the behind the scenes photos he took during his time on the series!)

Rantscheff's team also realized the cyborg Eddies in the episode 'California Reich', with a silvery facial prosthetic obscuring the performer's mouth, as well as a half-face makeup applied to Carol Huston as an incomplete Eddie.

The Order (2019 TV series)

The short-lived TV series had its special makeup effects designed by Todd Masters.

Sadly, the practical werewolves are barely seen in the final show, and only in the first series at that, otherwise its CGI!

I would assume only one werewolf suit was fabricated for filming. All the non-screenshot images on here are taken from Todd Masters' own Instagram page.

That's it, the best shot you get of the practical werewolf in this show.

Howling VI: The Freaks (1991)

The makeup effects for the fifth (yet not final!) Howling sequel was split between Steve Johnson's XFX and Todd Masters; Masters handled the werewolf, while XFX handled the rest.

The werewolf suit, worn by Andre Busanoby, had specially constructed legs resembling wolf haunches, which removed the need both for cutaway shots to puppet legs (as in The Howling) or overhead wires to suspend the performer (as in Pumpkinhead). Masters explained;

'The legs go all the way up to the actor’s thigh and are jointed everywhere his leg is, and that carries all the way down these two-foot haunches, (..) The weight is distributed all the way down. The ankle can’t carry that weight so we redistribute it to the hamstrings. The haunches have to be exact, cast from the performer who is to wear them. They can’t be off by even a millimeter. We’ve applied for a patent on the design'.

Most of the werewolf suit footage was cut, with a transformation sequence also entirely excised at director Hope Perello's wishes. Perello explained his reasons;

'There was nothing wrong with them from an effects standpoint, but I never wanted to make an effects film in the first place, (...) However effective they might have been, they didn’t advance the film or the characters and I wanted this to be a character-driven film'.

All that remained of the transformation sequence in the final cut was a brief shot of a 'change-o-part' foot puppet stretching, and shots of Brendan Hughes in a prosthetic appliance. Judging by behind the scenes photos, this was an air bladder appliance, something not seen in the film.

The transformation makeup being applied; notice the air bladder tubes.

The transformation makeup in the film.

Masters commented about the choice; 'That’s the old story for effects people, (...) All you can do is design it and build it. After that it’s out of your hands. You can’t control how it’s filmed or even if it’s used. If you’re going to work in this business, you just have to accept it.'

The Howling 6 suit was reused by Masters in the Tales from the Crypt episode 'Werewolf Concerto'; once again it was Bustanoby inside the suit, with a new face appliance.

Note: Brendan Hughes being credited here is an error.

Johnson's XFX handled the other makeups in the film, the price was not high enough to take on the full workload, and XFX was already committed to other projects.

Bill Corso's sculpt of the Alligator Boy arm appliance.

One of the XFX makeups was the 'Alligator Boy' Winston, portrayed by Sean Sullivan. The Winston makeup was designed and sculpted by Bill Corso, in one of his first jobs for XFX.

XFX also handled the demonic form of Bruce Payne's vampire R. B. Harker, which was made up of a face, head, chest and hand appliances.

Sculpt of the Harker vampire facial appliance.

Johnson explained how he came up with the design; 'I always try to do something different when I’m dealing with a subject that has been portrayed so many times before, (...) The script, and the producers, wanted a real monster for the vampire.

Luckily, Bruce Payne had a vision similar to mine. He wanted a very elegant and suave approach. It’s a little classic, with Nosferatu allusions mixed with a real demonic look. I was pretty pleased with it.'

Johnson also handled Harker's grisly death at the film's climax, 'Once again I was busy and the price didn't work out, so I just handled the vampire, its deterioration and the alligator boy effects. The deterioration was really neat, and I want to do it again on another movie'.

Sculpt of the Harker skeleton.

'We made the vampire's skull out of something that wouldn't sandblast and the skin out of a material that would, then blasted it with an industrial sandblaster. It worked fairly well, but it was such a low-budget project that we didn't have time to test it properly.'

Sculpt of the disintegrating Harker.

As much of a low reputation as the various Howling sequels garnered, Johnson was fairly positive on them as actual working experiences;

'I don’t do a lot of low budget work anymore. (...) The money is just too low to really do your best, and who wants to keep doing less than they are capable of. But I kind of enjoy working on the Howling pictures.'

Shots of the Harker disintegration dummy ... in reverse order!.

'I like Steve (Lane) and Bob (Pringle) and the films are low-key, low pressure. No one expects miracles from you and wants them today. After doing something like The Abyss which damn near killed everybody involved, something like these films is kind of fun.'

Sources: 

• Fangoria #134 'The New Breed of Werewolf FX' by Mark Salisbury
  
• Cinefantastique Vol. 22 No. 1 (August 1991) 'Still Howling After All These Years' by John Thonen