Bulgy (T&F)/Behind the Scenes

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This is a behind the scenes subpage for Bulgy (T&F). This subpage contains all behind the scenes material relating to said article.

Background Information

The Railway Series

Bulgy is a fictional double-decker bus created by the Rev. W. Awdry. He appears in the Railway Series book, Oliver the Western Engine, which was published in 1969.

Front of Bulgy:

1968 Bulgy as illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards (1969)

BulgyRWS2.png

1968 Bulgy (henhouse) as illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards (1969)

Rear of Bulgy:

1968 Bulgy as illustrated by Gunvor and Peter Edwards (1969)

Bulgy is based on an AEC Bridgemaster double-decker bus.

Television Series

In 1992, Bulgy was introduced in the third series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. In the Railway Series, Bulgy's face was black, but in the television series, he has a grey face to match the other vehicles.

Bulgy reprised his role in the Railway Series and was turned into a hen house at the end of his debut, however in the seventh series, Bulgy was given a second chance and was eventually repainted green and turned into a mobile vegetable stand.

Since the eighth series, Bulgy was reduced as a background character and when the show transitioned into full CGI in 2009, Bulgy was absent for eight years. In 2017, he made his return in the twenty-first series where he was used to carry passengers once more and still appears to be against railways. He eventually played an antagonistic role in the twenty-third series episode, Free the Roads where he caused the engines to become ill and used it to his advantage to carry passengers.

Since his return in 2017, Bulgy has been voiced by Colin McFarlane in both the British English and American English dubs of the series.

Behind the Scenes

Gauge 1 models

Bulgy's models were built to run on Styrofoam road and was painted in glossy car body paint. Bulgy's tyres was sourced from Dunlop Tyres made by an unknown model company.

Three models of Bulgy were built, one painted red, one in a henhouse condition, and one painted green.

The roof was of the red model was removable, this made it accessible for human figurines to be place inside.

Nine different facial expressions were sculpted for Bulgy, although only eight were used onscreen. The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made using a silicone mould. A radiator was attached to each of Bulgy's facemasks. One of Bulgy's faces is now owned by twitter user ThomasTankMerch.

The eye mechanism had two servos, one for up and down movement and one for left and right movement. The up/down servo was attached to the body. The left/right servo had a rod attached to the arm, which connected to a bracket. The eye balls were coupled to the bracket and locked in by the face-plate, so whenever the servos were powered, the eye balls would move however the crew member desired.

Bulgy'sModelSpecification.PNG

Bulgy's crushed "roofbox" and broken glass

Bulgy uses Dunlop branded tyres

Bulstrode and Bulgy’s face masks during production of the fourth series (1995)

Bulgy's face masks during production of the sixth series (2002)

Bulgy went through many changes over the years in the television series:

• Series 7
  1. As a henhouse:
     • His broken axle, bonnet and deck pole were repaired.
     • His bent bumper was replaced with a new one.
  2. As a bus after he was restored:
     • His bumper slightly changed shape.
     • His "Join the Anti-Rail League" sign was replaced with a "Railway Bus" sign, which is now on both sides.
  3. As a vegetable stand:
     • He is painted green.
     • His "roofbox" above the the top deck windows has disappeared.
     • His "Railway Bus" signs were replaced with signs that said "Mobile Grocery Store".
     • He had a serving hatch for his vegetables.
• Series 10:
  • He returns to his original state as a passenger bus.

Bulgy's model (in the original red livery) is now on display at Drayton Manor.

Bulge lost the front bumper

Cassandra Chowdhury with Bulgy (Note: His top deck was accidentally facing backwards.)

Bulge lost the "roofbox" above the the top deck windows

BulgyDraytonManor2020.jpg

Close-up model

A close-up model of Bulgy was required for scenes where he had to interact with close-up scale figures. It was also used for interior shots. Bulgy's close-up model only appeared in the seventh series episode, Bulgy Rides Again.

CGI model

In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. Bulgy was recreated from scratch in CGI by Jam Filled Toronto in 2017 for production of the twenty-first series. His model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software. Photographs of Bulgy's Gauge 1 model were used for referencing.

Bulgy has had modifications throughout the CGI series. These include:

• Series 21:
  • His face became smaller and the rounded edges became square.
  • His body became wider.
  • His bumper became taller.
  • His wheels became thinner, his wheel arches became red and his rear hubcaps became the same as his front ones.
  • His radiator became red.
  • He gained a new nameplate, rather than his name being painted on him.
  • His clear windows became glazed so viewers can not see inside.
  • He gained a door for his driver, though it is placed next to a passenger seat.
  • He gained a new bell sound.
  • His red paint has become slightly duller.
• Series 23:
  • He gains vents next to his "Free the Roads" sign.
  • He regains his BLG 1 number plate from the Railway Series.
  • He gains a full interior and transparent windows.
  • He gains some rivets on his front bumper either side of his number plate.
  • His indicator lights return.
  • He gains rearview wing mirrors.
  • He gains handles on the side of his bonnet.
  • He gains ridges along his body.
  • He gains a windshield wiper.

Final render

Bulgy's updated CGI model

Free the Road signs

Front license plate and headlights

Rear exit

Voice Actors

• Colin McFarlane (UK/US)
• Daisuke Gōri (Japan; third and seventh series)
• Hinata Tadokoro (Japan; twenty-first series onwards)
• Maciej Kosmala (Poland; twenty-first series only)
• Piotr Bąk (Poland; twenty-third series onwards)
• Constantin von Westphalen (Germany)
• Nacho Rodríguez (Latin America)