Thomas and Friends

An original engine face created for the production of the popular children's television series Thomas and Friends.

This is one of a number of appliances used during the production on the miniature engines, the faces on which could be interchanged to allow the crew to alter the characters expressions depending on their mood. For the character of George the steamroller who first appeared in series 4 the face appliance is cast in resin with a high quality paint finish and eyebrow detail. Of particular note with this face appliance is the solid eyes and presence of stickers as the George miniature used during filming did not have working eyes like many of the other models becuase George was built relatively small to be in scale with the engines. The stickers would simply be repositioned or replaced when eye movement was required, this is supported by the fact that this face can be screen matched and in two different shots the eyes are in differing positions on what is clearly the same face appliance. It is believed that the black paint marks were added by production for a particular scene, possibly where George crashes into the mud in the episode 'Lady Hatt's Birthday Party''. To the rear of the appliance there is evidence of a black substance which would have been used to adhere the face appliance to the miniature during filming.

The George face measures approximately 1" at his widest point and remains in excellent screen used condition with the tiniest of paint chips to the bottom right corner, very fine.

A rare example of a guaranteed screen used face appliance and an instantly recognisable artefact from this much loved children's television series.