Oliver (excavator)/Behind the Scenes

Television Series
Oliver is a fictional big excavator created by Phil Fehrle with writers Jonathan Trueman and Abi Grant with artist Robert Gauld-Galliers.

In 2002, Oliver made his debut in the sixth series of Thomas the Tank Engine &amp; Friends in the episode, Jack Jumps In. He later appeared in the spin-off series, Jack and the Sodor Construction Company, and the special, The Great Discovery.

When the show transitioned into full CGI in 2009, Oliver was absent for four years. He later returned in the 2015 special, Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, and was one of the very few members of the Pack to return.

Since his return in 2015, Oliver has been voiced by Tim Whitnall in both the British English and American English dubs of the series. Tim Whitnall gave Oliver an Irish accent.

Live-action model
Oliver's model was custom built by the model maker, Chris Lloyd. The model's chassis was built out of brass and the top was built out of plastic to keep the weight down. The chassis had 16 wheels and the caterpillars. The model was painted in a matte finish and the numbers were custom stickers.

There were three remotes built to control Oliver, one was used to control his movement, one was used to operate his bucket, and one was used to move his eyes.

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 model made, Oliver's model would stay under HiT and later Mattel's ownership.

Oliver's model is currently in Mattel's storage unit in Southampton England.

CGI Model
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. Oliver was recreated from scratch in CGI by Arc Productions in 2014 for production of the 2015 special, Sodor´s Legend of the Lost Treasure. His model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.

Oliver has had a few modifications throughout the CGI era. These include:
 * Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure:
 * His smaller wheels slightly increased in size.
 * The rivets on his bucket were slightly rearranged
 * He was scaled slightly smaller to meet the size of Alfie
 * His eyebrows become slightly wider
 * His exhaust funnel slightly changes shape

Voice Actors

 * Tim Whitnall
 * Ryō Horikawa
 * Yuta Odagaki
 * Igor Cruz
 * Víctor Covarrubias
 * Ferso Velásquez
 * Antonio Ramírez
 * Jordi Estupiñá
 * Matthias Klimsa
 * Doriel Zohar
 * Alessandro Imperador