A Guide to the Faces
It would be easy to argue that the faces are the heart and soul of the classic Thomas & friends series. Without them, the characters we know and love would simply be regular locomotives, devoid of the human characteristics that make them relatable to us. Despite the reputation they have gained for being "static" and "creepy", the faces are what gave the characters life and were an extremely important aspect of the show for over 20 years. How the faces were made The faces were originally sculpted in clay atop clear Perspex panels with eye shaped half spheres attached to them to act as the character's eyeballs. This was so the eye holes would match up to the eyes on the prop. Each character had a different plate with their own correct eye spacing on which their faces were sculpted. One of James's faces being sculpted on his specified Perspex plate. Photo credit: Christopher Noulton & SiF Once the face sculpt was complete, it was taken off t...