Diesel 10/Behind the Scenes

Background Information
In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Diesel 10 was originally played by Australian actor Keith Scott and the character was intended only as a villain supplementary to Doug Lennox's character, P.T. Boomer. Boomer was cut due to early audience reactions and Diesel 10's role was rewritten to make him the primary villain. In the process, Keith Scott was replaced by Canadian improv comedian Neil Crone. Crone, with fellow improvisation comedian Kevin Frank, had been auditioning for the film to play the trucks. Crone was given the part of Diesel 10 when he was heard performing a gruff voice during auditions. In the final film, Crone and Frank improvised much of their dialogue, including the name "Pinchy" for Diesel 10's claw.

His plan in the original script was also much different. He plotted to get rid of the steam engines by making their lives miserable, one of the sections of the plan included the "Sneezing Powder" sequence (originally quarry dust in the original script and Little Engines Can Do BIG Things). He also planned to destroy all the buffers on the railway so the steam engines would crash and derail, with the diesels taking over and rebuilding the buffers after. The plan to destroy the buffers was further bolstered by his discovery of the buffers that led to the entrance of Mr. Conductor's Magic Railroad, thus stopping him from continuing his plans of diesel domination. This plan was the reason why George was going to be one of his assistants. Also, instead of returning to Sodor to finally destroy Lady once and for all, he was a new engine who Sir Topham Hatt brought to help while he was away but instead caused more havoc on the island.

Following his return in Calling All Engines!, he remained absent for 3 years before having a cameo in The Great Discovery and did not appear until 2 years later, in the post-credits scene of Misty Island Rescue, where he began serving as a special-exclusive villain.

Following Day of the Diesels, Diesel 10 did not appear again until the seventeenth series episode, The Missing Christmas Decorations, which is his only full appearance in a television episode. Aside from "Pinchy's" cameo in a fantasy scene in the twenty-second series episode, What Rebecca Does, Diesel 10 has been absent from the screen since 2013, probably due to the writers and Mattel considering him too scary for the audience.

From his return in 2010 to 2013, Diesel 10 is voiced by Matt Wilkinson (originally Rupert Degas). Matt Wilkinson gives him a gruff British accent, though his initial performance had a considerably more villainous deep tone to it. Wilkinson reprised the role of Diesel 10 seven years later in Thomas & Friends Storytime despite the character's absence and removal from the series.

Gauge 1 model
Diesel 10's model was scratch built from brass and was built with pickup contacts and an eye mechanism with two servos that allow them to move however the crew member with the controls want it. The model was also equipped with a functional claw, controlled by the pre-programmed "motion control".

A lightweight model was also built for the scene where he holds on to a piece of rail of the viaduct before it collapses, this model features a longer pinchy arm and was also non powered.

Concept art showed that it was originally meant to extend after unfolding from inside his roof before it was dropped for engineering concerns. The models also had an alternate extended version of the hydraulic claw arm, which prominently saw use when he gets smacked in the face and hung from the viaduct. For the face smacks, however, the claw was removed from Diesel 10's body, and was smacked into Diesel 10's face by hand. This was hidden by strategic camera angle views. Furthermore, Diesel 10's model was originally meant to feature his name.

Life-size model
A life-sized version of Diesel 10 was required for a scene where the actors interact with him. Junior was green-screened in the scrapyard and rolling shots (also including P.T. Boomer of the chase scene in the original version), while a facade of Diesel 10's rear cab was done for the ease of editing. For the scene where he picked up Mr. Conductor, only half of the claw's arm was built, as the entire body did not need to be seen.

Close-up model
A close-up model of Diesel 10 was required for scenes where he had to interact with the close-up scale figures in Calling All Engines! The model was not complete and only the claw was built.

CGI model
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. Diesel 10 was recreated from scratch in CGI by Nitrogen Studios. His model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.

Photographs of Diesel 10's Gauge 1 model were used for reference. 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.

Diesel 10 has had modifications throughout the CGI series. These include:
 * Misty Island Rescue:
 * The 'teeth' on his claw now interlock.
 * His upper bodywork is level once again, but fitted higher with gaps above both bufferbeams now.
 * His pupils returned to their original size.
 * His livery becomes slightly darker.
 * Series 17:
 * He gained a new horn sound.

Voice Actors

 * Keith Scott
 * Neil Crone
 * Matt Wilkinson
 * Rupert Degas
 * Ginzō Matsuo
 * Kiyoyuki Yanada
 * Takaya Kuroda
 * Ryōta Yamasato
 * Yohei Nishina
 * Yoram Yosefsberg
 * Christoffer Staib
 * Simen Sand
 * Louis-Georges Girard
 * Helmut Krauss
 * Martin May
 * Jürgen Holdorf
 * Wolfgang Hartmann
 * Sławomir Pacek
 * Dariusz Odija
 * Janusz Wituch
 * Luis Alfonso Padilla
 * Miguel Ángel Ghigliazza
 * Gerardo Reyero
 * Eduardo Garza
 * Sander de Heer
 * Pasi Ruohonen
 * Haris Grigoropoulos
 * Ole Møller
 * Alexander Kotov
 * Barát Attila
 * Bolla Róbert