Plastic or Brass?

Plastic or Brass?

For our first post, we'd like to start off by answering in detail the question we receive the most: When did the original engine models stop being used, and how can one tell the difference between the brass and plastic versions of a character? 

The answer to this question starts back in the year 1991 when the third series was entering production. The first brass engines models ever built for the show were Oliver and Mavis, although Mavis was a mix of both Perspex and brass while Oliver was all brass. Peter Eves (father of model maker David Eves) and Jeremy King were responsible for their construction. Before this point, all locomotive characters for the series had been constructed in Perspex, a type of plastic/plexiglass. All engine characters with a few exceptions (such as Class 40) would be built brass from this point on.

"See Duck? You're made of an inferior material!"

The next development came in 1999. The feature film Thomas & the Magic Railroad had just entered production and screen tests in Toronto using the existing models in series 5 condition were being performed. It was decided the original glossy livery of the models did not hold up on the big screen, and that newer brass models of Thomas & Percy would be made for the feature film. This was because they would be subject to intense use during filming and needed to be in top condition as well as the fact the originals had been repaired so many times the crew was afraid some of these imperfections not visible on the small screen would be apparent on the big screen. The brass Thomas and Percy were a success and were used until the end of the model era. It's important to note however that the brass and plastic models of Thomas & Percy coexisted for a number of years. The original plastic models of these characters were not totally replaced in 2000. During the filming of season 6, the original brass chassis these models  were built with were replaced by brand new CNC machined aluminum ones. The CNC chassis would became the Thomas standard and all models built after featured them.

The brass Percy as seen in the film

The next and final development came in 2005 as production was starting on the 10th series. By this point the original Perspex models were 22 years old and had been in near constant use since 1983. They were still operable, but were not optimal for shoots with tight schedules where there was little room for emergency repairs or delays. It was decided each steam team member (sans Toby & Emily) would have 2 new brass models built. Engines 1-6 all had 2 brass models plus the older plastic one sans Thomas, who ended up having around 5 models by the end of the model era. The new models looked nearly identical, although there are some giveaways which we will show in detail later. They featured brand new CNC machined aluminum chassis, a big improvement from the Marklin chassis of the plastic originals. By this point the plastic main characters were retired from normal use. They would however, pop up from time to time in specific situations.

It's important to note this only applies to engines 1-6. Side characters like Duck, Oliver, Diesel, Donald, Douglas, Mavis Stepney, BoCo, Daisy, Bill, Ben, Derek, etc only had one model each and if they were made of Perspex such as the season 2 characters, they never received a brass model. Differences in appearances between seasons can be attributed to repaints. Toby did not receive any new models until the 12th season, and these were likely not made of brass.

The brass models on display at Drayton Manor in 2008.

How can I tell the plastic and brass models apart?

Now, we'll show you how to tell if you're looking at a brass or plastic model. There are several giveaways to look for.

The first and easiest giveaways can be found on the buffer beam. The plastic models used buffer beams sourced from Marklin locomotives. Each buffer had 4 rivets present in each corner where it would have been bolted to the buffer beam. The brass models omit this detail completely for the most part. The second giveaway on the buffer beam is the brake pipe holes. On the plastic models, there is a triangular extrusion with a hole in it for the pipe to plug in, on the brass models there is simply a hole drilled into the buffer beam in which the pipe sticks into.

Here we see the plastic James's buffer beam from season 8. Note the rivets around the buffers and the triangular extrusion present on the brake pipe hole.

Here's one of the brass James's buffer beam as seen in Japan. Note the lack of buffer rivets and lack of triangular extrusion where the brake pipe holes are.

The only time this rule does not truly apply is when looking at the brass Percy built for Thomas & The magic Railroad. It is lacking buffer rivets like the later 2005 brass models, but it does have the triangular extrusions for the brake pipe holes whereas the 2005 brass models do not.

Here's the Magic Railroad brass Percy in the S6 episode "Middle Engine". While he does have the triangular extrusions on the buffer beam, note that the hole is closed and he does not have buffer rivets.

For comparison, Here's the plastic Percy as seen in the same episode. Note the buffer rivets and the open hole in the triangular extrusion.

The brass Edward models have a unique defining characteristic. Note the small box sticking out right above his splasher in this photo from the season 10 episode "Edward Strikes Out".

As you can see this box is not present in this photo of the plastic Edward from season 9.

When did they stop using the original plastic engines?

For the most part, the original plastic engines were retired starting with season 10. Using the identification method we showed above, you'll notice 99% of the time season 10 on, you will be looking at the brass models.

However, there are a few exceptions, which we will detail bellow.

The plastic James made an appearance in the series 10 episode "The Green controller" painted up as a bee. This is probably due to the fact they didn't want to ruin one of the brand new brass James's by painting it up like this after just after it was built.

The plastic James was used again in this scene from "James the Second Best". The giveaway here is not the buffer rivets or extrusions, but the fact he has open, Marklin front truck. Once again it was probably used because they did not want to put suds all over one of the brand new brass models.

Here's a photo from the brass James from the same episode, note the closed lead truck.

Here we see the plastic Henry in the season 10 episode "It's good to be Gordon". This was probably done because the episode involved Gordon and Henry swapping tender as well as Henry emitting nasty black smoke. They probably did not want to do these things with one of the brand new brass models.

Here's the plastic Henry again in the Season 11 episode "Henry's Lucky Day". We have no idea why it was used here, but you'll see all the telltale signs, including the open lead truck.

Here's a continuity still from the same episode on the same set, but with the brass Henry. Note the closed lead truck.

Where are the original plastic engines now?

We can't say for sure where the original plastic engines ended up, but most evidence would point to HiT having them in storage with the rest of the props. The fact they were replaced so close to the end of the model era combined with the fact they appeared up to at least season 11 shows they didn't just simply discard them once the brass models were built. They were probably kept on standby and stored with everything else when the time came to wrap up the model show.

I hope everyone found this post enjoyable and informative. If you guys like it, let us know, we have a few more lined up for the future.

All photos sourced from the Thomas & Friends Wiki: http://ttte.wikia.com/wiki/Thomas_%26_Friends

Some information sourced from Sodor Island Fansite interviews:
http://www.sodor-island.net/episodeguide/jeremyking.html
http://www.sodor-island.net/themagicrailroadminisite/daveaxford.html