Neville/Behind the Scenes

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Behind the Scenes

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This is a behind the scenes subpage for Neville. This subpage contains all behind the scenes material relating to said article.

Background Information

Neville is a fictional standard gauge tender locomotive created by Marc Seal.

Neville made his debut in the ninth series episode, Thomas and the New Engine, which first aired in 2005, and made his last appearance in the twelfth series finale, Best Friends, which first aired in 2008.

Neville has not appeared in the Thomas & Friends television series since 2008.

Neville is based on an SR Bulleid Q1 Class locomotive. The specific engine Neville is based on (BR no. 33010, originally SR no. C10) was built in September 1942 at Brighton Works and scrapped at Birds Manoravon Scrapyard, Morriston, Swansea in 1964.

Behind the scenes

Gauge 1 model

Gauge 1 Neville model (front)

Gauge 1 Neville model (rear)

Production orthographics were drawn up for Neville's gauge 1 model by Conrad Ayling on 8 July 2004. Neville's model was scratch built from brass to run on gauge 1 track. His wheels and chassis were CNC, and his funnel, dome, and buffers were made of brass. The model was built to a 1:32 scale. A second model was planned to be built additionally for unknown reasons, however this never came to be and the second model was left unfinished and unused on screen.

Production orthographics of Neville's Gauge 1 model

Neville's Gauge 1 model

Neville in his debut episode of the ninth series

Neville's tender

Neville's wheels

The top of Neville

(Note: Neville to the right (viewer's left) of Bertie)

The model's last appearance in the twelfth series episode, Best Friends

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.

Reference Sheets

Series 9

Faces

Neville's faces were designed and sculpted by Sean Hedges-Quinn. Seven different facial expressions were sculpted for Neville, although only six were used on-screen and one of which a smirking face was left unused. The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made using a silicone mould.

Reference Sheets

Series 9 - 2005 (Note: Neville's unused smirking face on the top left next to his worried face)

Series 12 - 2008

Usage and Evolution

Neville's content face that only appeared in the ninth series episode, Thomas and the New Engine... (2005)

...and in the Learning Segment, Where Can Neville Find Salty? (2005)

Neville's sad face that only appeared in the ninth series episode, Thomas and the New Engine... (2005)

...and the Learning Segment, Where Can Neville Find Salty? (2005)

Neville's smiling face that first appeared in the ninth series episode, Thomas and the New Engine... (2005)

...along with the Learning Segment, Where Can Neville Find Salty?... (2005)

...until it last appeared in the eleventh series episode, Emily's Rubbish (2007)

Neville's surprised face that only appeared in the ninth series episode, Thomas and the New Engine (2005)

Neville's worried face that only appeared in a deleted scene image from the ninth series episode, Thomas and the New Engine... (2005)

...and the ninth series Learning Segment, Where Can Neville Find Salty? (2005)

Neville's shocked face that only appeared in the ninth series episode, Thomas and the New Engine (2005)

Present Day

A cast of one of Neville's faces was sold on The Prop Gallery before being bought by YouTube user ThomasFan U.K and teased in a trailer for a series showing off props he owns. His smiling, shocked and sad faces were formerly owned by a private collector, before they were bought by The Prop Gallery, where the shocked face would be paired with his unfinished second model and sold with the model in 2022.

Neville's smiling, shocked and sad faces in storage bags as previously owned by a private collector

A cast of Neville's smiling face before it was sold by The Prop Gallery

CGI Face

The twelfth series marked the beginning of the show's transition into CGI and the characters' faces were animated through CGI with the aid of motion capture animation. The physical models' moulded faces were replaced by white targets with triangles to fix a computer-animated face in post-production.

Neville with Percy and Thomas

Fonts

The following fonts were used on Neville's Gauge 1 model:

• Helvetica Neue Medium Extended (number)

Present Day

After production of the model series wrapped in 2008, most of the models and sets would be put into storage, with some being put on display at Drayton Manor Theme Park. All other models would be logged and referenced from 2010 until early 2011 by HiT Entertainment. From this HiT would decide on which models were to enter storage once again, which would be given to crew members and which would be disposed off. Neville's unfinished second model, would be disposed off by HiT Entertainment as it was no longer needed. The main first model however, would stay under HiT and later Mattel's ownership.

Neville's model is currently in Mattel's storage unit in Southampton England. The second unfinished model was sold to The Prop Gallery from a private collection along with his screen used shocked face in 2022 and painted up and finished to look like the original prop. The model was revealed on 15 October 2022 and sold off later in the year. The model is now currently owned by Facebook user Steven Pond also known as YouTube and Facebook user Bearded Skull Memorabilia. A crew gift replica model is also owned by Sean Hedges-Quinn.

Neville's second unfinished model previously owned by a private collector

The model with a screen used face

The second model painted up and completed

Voice Actors

• Michel Lasorne (France and French speaking Canada)
• Yukito Soma (Japan)
• Jeon Tae-yeol (South Korea)
• Christian Stark (Germany, twelfth series only)
• Sebastian Perdek (Poland, twelfth series only)