Body: <p>I'm building <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_the_Tank_Engine" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Thomas the Tank Engine</a> trains, and I'm looking for techniques to build realistic faces. I'd like the trains be able to run on standard LEGO rails, so I'm targeting 8-wide engines. This series has been visualized a number of different ways over the years. In terms of style, I'd prefer to stick as close as possible to the live action models:</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/cjBJk.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/cjBJk.jpg" alt="Thomas photo" /></a></p>
  <p>This leads me to the following requirements:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>Faces must be no more than 6 wide</li>
  <li>No stickers or non-LEGO elements</li>
  <li>Faces should enhance the recognizably of these models as Thomas trains</li>
  <li>Faces should generally be cute from a child's point of view</li>
  </ul>
  <p>There have been many attempts to create Thomas models at LEGO scale. Here's <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/legocityson/49941111908/in/photostream/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">one of the best examples</a> that I've seen:</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/UcY2o.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/UcY2o.png" alt="Example face" /></a></p>
  <p>That's a larger scale than I need, but hopefully it helps provide context. I've tried emulating these techniques at smaller scale using 1x1 round eye pieces, and my attempts look a bit off. What approaches could be used to create appropriate faces at this scale?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-12-09T15:44:52.137Z
Comments.Text: slightly tongue in cheek, but still to the point : [Duplo, Train Thomas & Friends Face, Thomas Pattern](https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=52053pb01) ;)
Comments.UserDisplayName: Sander De Dycker
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-12-15T11:46:32.870Z
Comments.Text: The problem is, with 6 wide to play with, and 2 of those taken up by 1×1 eyes, you're left with either 0 or 2 for the nose - and you need a nose.  So 5 wide might be better, but I don't think you can make a very good circle in 5, and a centred mouth is then 1 or 3 unless you can squeeze in an offset without adding too much depth
Comments.UserDisplayName: Chris H
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2023-12-15T17:15:27.920Z
Comments.Text: [Rebrickable](https://rebrickable.com/search/?show_printed=on&include_accessory=1&include_gear=1&q=thomas+engine&search_type=all) has a few Thomas tank engine MOCs that might help out.
Comments.UserDisplayName: chicks
Tags: <building><trains>
Title: Building technique for modelling Thomas the Tank Engine faces
UserDisplayName: jncraton
ThreadText: # Building technique for modelling Thomas the Tank Engine faces
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2023-12-09)
  
  I'm building [Thomas the Tank Engine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_the_Tank_Engine) trains, and I'm looking for techniques to build realistic faces. I'd like the trains be able to run on standard LEGO rails, so I'm targeting 8-wide engines. This series has been visualized a number of different ways over the years. In terms of style, I'd prefer to stick as close as possible to the live action models:
  
  [![Thomas photo](https://i.sstatic.net/cjBJk.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/cjBJk.jpg)
  
  This leads me to the following requirements:
  
  * Faces must be no more than 6 wide
  * No stickers or non-LEGO elements
  * Faces should enhance the recognizably of these models as Thomas trains
  * Faces should generally be cute from a child's point of view
  
  There have been many attempts to create Thomas models at LEGO scale. Here's [one of the best examples](https://www.flickr.com/photos/legocityson/49941111908/in/photostream/) that I've seen:
  
  [![Example face](https://i.sstatic.net/UcY2o.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/UcY2o.png)
  
  That's a larger scale than I need, but hopefully it helps provide context. I've tried emulating these techniques at smaller scale using 1x1 round eye pieces, and my attempts look a bit off. What approaches could be used to create appropriate faces at this scale?
  
  **Tags:** building, trains
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: slightly tongue in cheek, but still to the point : [Duplo, Train Thomas & Friends Face, Thomas Pattern](https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=52053pb01) ;)  
  > **username_2**: The problem is, with 6 wide to play with, and 2 of those taken up by 1×1 eyes, you're left with either 0 or 2 for the nose - and you need a nose.  So 5 wide might be better, but I don't think you can make a very good circle in 5, and a centred mouth is then 1 or 3 unless you can squeeze in an offset without adding too much depth  
  > **username_3**: [Rebrickable](https://rebrickable.com/search/?show_printed=on&include_accessory=1&include_gear=1&q=thomas+engine&search_type=all) has a few Thomas tank engine MOCs that might help out.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 0 answers
  
  