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Background Information
Flying Scotsman is based on the real-life locomotive of the same name.
In 1992, Flying Scotsman was introduced in the third series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. He was only referred to as a famous visitor and only his tenders were shown.
Flying Scotsman did not appear again for 24 years until the 2016 special, The Great Race. In the CGI series, Flying Scotsman is often seen taking passengers from Vicarstown and the Mainland. While he was on good terms with Gordon in The Railway Series, the two engines are shown to have a rivalry in the television series with Flying Scotsman often referring Gordon as "little brother". Scotsman remained in the CGI series for 5-6 years, mostly in the form of cameo appearances until he made his final appearance in 2020.
Since his return in 2016, Flying Scotsman has been voiced by Rufus Jones. Jones portrays Flying Scotsman with a posh English accent.
Behind the Scenes
Gauge 1 model
Flying Scotsman was originally intended to have a larger role in Tender Engines, but due to budgetary constraints, the modelling crew could not afford to build the entire engine.[1] Instead, Flying Scotsman was rewritten as a stranger to Gordon rather than his brother.
When the episode was filmed, only Flying Scotsman's tenders were seen peering outside of the Brendam station. The tenders were scratch-built from plastic to fit on Gauge 1 track. In addition, both of his tenders had coal bunkers, whereas in reality, the rear tender only carried water. These tenders also lacked corridors. They were built to a 1:32 scale. [2] After the production of the third series, the tenders were placed into storage.
Henry's Gauge 1 model was used to represent the locomotive half of Flying Scotsman. As a way to not make it obvious it was Henry, he was mostly hidden behind the wall of the station with only his upper cab frame and roof being visible over the tenders.
During the production of Series 5, the tender models were repainted into scrap models and used as set-dressing. The rear tender appeared as scrap in Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach. The front tender appears at the Tidmouth Engine Works near Tidmouth Sheds in Thomas and the Magic Railroad. The tender also appeared in The Great Discovery behind Tidmouth Sheds and at Great Waterton.
A gauge 1 face was also created for Flying Scotsman. This was modified from Gordon's happy face with a chin-indent, added cheek-lines, additional crows feet and thicker eyebrows. This face was made to be used as reference for the ERTL and Hornby merchandise ranges. This was on display at the 2021 Clearwater event along with various used and unused Gordon faces.
Fonts
The following fonts are used on Flying Scotsman's Gauge 1 model:
- Helvetica (number and "LNER" lettering)
Reference Sheets
CGI model
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. In 2015, Flying Scotsman was created in CGI by Arc Productions. The model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.[3]
Flying Scotsman had some differences/modifications between his real life, model series, and his CGI form. These include:
- His face is a modified version of Gordon's, with larger eyebrows and a slightly different nose.
- He received smoke deflectors, a double chimney, and his number on both his cab and second tender, a combination he has never had in real life. He can also extend his smoke deflectors.
- He has six wheels on his tenders instead of eight and the corridors are still absent, for unknown reasons. He also has "Fowler" tender-shaped lining on his LNER tenders.
- His bufferbeam is larger and the lining on it and his running plate is absent.
- His boiler and smokebox is larger, making him much more accurate to how he appears in real life.
- He reuses Neville's whistle at a slightly lower pitch.
Flying Scotsman's form in CGI model seems to use parts from other engines:
- Gordon's front bogey and pistons.
- Spencer's lamps, driving wheels, and trailing wheels.
Flying Scotsman has had modifications throughout the CGI series. These include:
- Big World! Big Adventures!:
- His headlamps changed from white to silver.
Fonts
The following fonts are used on Flying Scotsman's CGI model:
- Highway Gothic (nameplate, number and "LNER" lettering)
Voice Actors
- Rufus Jones (UK/US)
- Leopoldo Ballesteros (Spain)
- Dafnis Fernández (Latin America; The Great Race only)
- Christian Strempler (Latin America; Big World! Big Adventures! - twenty-second series)
- Carlos Mireles (Latin America; twenty-fourth series)
- Francisco Júnior (Brazil; The Great Race only)
- Andreas Birnbaum (Germany; The Great Race onwards, excluding Big World! Big Adventures!)
- Joshy Peters (Germany; Big World! Big Adventures! only)
- Torbjørn Hummel (Denmark)
- Sasu Moilanen (Finland)
- Törköly Levente (Hungary; The Great Race onwards, excluding Big World! Big Adventures!)
- Petridisz Hrisztosz (Hungary; Big World! Big Adventures! only)
- Przemysław Glapiński (Poland)
- Daniil Eldarov (Russia)
- Dan Schatzberg (Israel)
- Masayuki Omoro (Japan; Hashire! The "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" Steam Locomotive is Alive! only)
- Kenta Miyake (Japan; The Great Race - twenty-second series)
- Han Shin (South Korea; twenty-second series only)