Whiff (T&F)/Behind the Scenes

Background information
Whiff is a fictional standard gauge tank locomotive created by Wayne Jackman.

In 2007, Whiff made his debut in the eleventh series of Thomas & Friends in the episode, Emily's Rubbish.

When the show transitioned into full CGI in 2009, Whiff was absent for a year and later returned in the 2010 special, Misty Island Rescue.

Since his return in 2010, Whiff has been voiced by Keith Wickham in the British English dub and William Hope in the American English dub. Both give him English and American accents, respectively.

Whiff is based on the North Eastern Railway's 2-2-4T No. 66, named "Aerolite".

Gauge 1 model
Production orthographics were drawn up for Whiff's gauge 1 model on August 1st 2006. Whiff's model was built as a North Eastern Railway's 2-2-4T No. 66, named "Aerolite". It was built to approximately 1/32 scale and designed to run on gauge 1 track.

Four different facial expressions were sculpted for Whiff, although only two were used on-screen and two of which his worried and sad faces were left unused. The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made using a silicone mould. One of Whiff's faces (without glasses), would be sold off by The Prop Gallery in 2022.

The model body was made from brass. While only one body was made, two complete chassis' were constructed from scratch (CNC). The chassis had two motors, both powered by electricity from the track via the pickups on the metal wheels. The main motor powered the wheels, while the second motor (located at the back) powered an inside piston for the smoke mechanism.

Whiff has had modifications during his tenure in the model era. These include:
 * Series 12:
 * His glasses gained lenses.

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 in 2009 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 to be disposed off. Due to only having one gauge 1 scale model made, Whiff's model would stay under HiT and later Mattel's ownership.

Whiff's model is currently in Mattel's storage unit in Southampton England. His eye mechanism controller would also be sold by The Prop Gallery in 2022.

Close-up model
Close-up shots of Whiff's cab were required for scenes in where he had to interact with close-up scale figures. The model was not complete and only portions of the cab were built. Whiff's close-up model only appeared in the twelfth series episode, Toby's Special Surprise.

CGI model
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. Whiff was recreated from scratch in CGI by Nitrogen Studios. His model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.

Photographs of Whiff's Gauge 1 model were used for referencing. According to Greg Tiernan, every detail of the original television series models for each character is carefully reproduced in the CGI model. The models are subjected to many rounds of review before they are submitted to HiT Entertainment for final input and approval.

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


 * Misty Island Rescue:
 * His whistle budges up and down.
 * His bufferbeam is significantly more weathered.
 * His pupils become smaller.
 * Series 17:
 * His whistle becomes stationary again.
 * Series 18:
 * He gained a lamp and lamp iron.
 * Series 20:
 * He gained front and rear brakepipes. Additionally, the front brakepipe outlets he had had since his introduction were replaced by the generic style shared by most of the other engines - he also gained these on his back.
 * Series 22
 * The lenses on his glasses became more reflective.

Texture variants
In addition to his standard livery, a few other texture variants exist of Whiff's CGI model. These texture variants include:

Voice Actors

 * Keith Wickham
 * William Hope
 * Takayuki Kawasugi
 * Keiko Nemoto
 * Ernesto Lezama
 * Carlos Íñigo
 * Alberto Bernal
 * Sigbjørn Solheim
 * Dan Schatzberg
 * Robin Brosch
 * Tetje Mierendorf
 * Till Huster
 * Kailas Mahadevan
 * Artur Pontek
 * Mariano García
 * Ole Møller
 * Vladimir Antonik
 * Petri Hanttu
 * Raine Heiskanen
 * Harsányi Gábor