Splatter and Dodge

Splatter

Dodge

**Splatter** and **Dodge** (collectively referred to by Diesel 10 as **"Splodge"**, a portmanteau of their names) are two diesel engines, who are Diesel 10's bumbling minions.

## History

### Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Splatter and Dodge are two diesel shunters who (at one point) worked alongside Diesel 10 who referred to them as "Splodge", claiming he did not have time to say both names. They did not take a liking to their boss when he collectively referred to them as "Splodge" and grew impatient with them when they asked him questions about his scheme. They were also seen moving rolling stock at Tidmouth Sheds.

At Diesel 10's Mountain, Diesel 10 wanted to get rid of the railway's steam engines as well as the lost engine. Splatter and Dodge reminded him that Mr. Conductor was coming, but that didn't bother Diesel 10 because he was in his crosshairs as well. Splatter and Dodge were complacent with his plans, regularly keeping a lookout for their boss and being present when he was scheming. As time went on, Splatter and Dodge spent their time mocking their boss and pointing out the flaws in his scheme. This caused Diesel 10 to lose his temper and cause problems.

They arrived at Tidmouth Sheds and spied on the steam engines, until Harold flew by, spreading sneezing powder, dumped by Diesel 10, over Thomas and them. The next day they arrived at the Smelter's Yard and listened to Diesel 10's plan to destroy the lost engine and the other engines. Toby however overheard their plans and rang his bell to distract Diesel 10, causing his claw to knock the shed over the diesels and trapping them.

They later showed how useful they could be to Diesel 10 when they found the Magic Buffers. But instead of going through them, they decided to tell Diesel 10 the following morning after being frightened by an owl. Percy saw this and went back to warn Thomas.

However, the two eventually grew tired of Diesel 10 and when he tried to chase down Lady and Thomas, they refused to follow him and told him to do his own dirty work.

What happened to them after that is unknown, although it can be assumed they returned to the Mainland after being found out by Sir Topham Hatt.

### Thomas & Friends

They were meant to appear again in *Day of the Diesels* and *The Great Race*.

### Lukeillie's Series

They came back to Sodor with Diesel 10 where they would help him with his evil plans. When Diesel 10 found out Emily was in his mountain, he sent Splatter and Dodge to capture her but failed.

## Personalities

Both engines are simple-minded, awkward, cowardly and tend to banter. Splatter is the more talkative of the two, while Dodge is more intelligent. Although Percy fears them, they do not have the intelligence or villainy to match Diesel 10's. They enjoy watching Diesel 10's plans backfire, but are also prone to making a mess of things. Despite initially siding with Diesel 10, they seem reluctant to destroy a fellow engine, even a steam engine, and eventually abandon Diesel 10 in the end. They also seem to have a poor vocabulary, such as when they used the word "emphatically" as they left Diesel 10 to do the chasing, even though they had no idea what the word meant.

## Liveries

Splatter is painted purple and grey while Dodge is painted olive and grey, both with their names painted on their sides in white. Their paint also shows signs of weathering

## Appearances

* Season 3 - Diesel 10 is Back!, Emily's Misadventure

## Trivia

* Splatter and Dodge were the last characters created by Britt Allcroft before she left the production team.
* A behind the scenes picture shows Splatter and Dodge without their names.
* Early concept artwork shows that Splatter was going to have hazard stripes of some kind along the lower portion of his body, and Dodge was going to have handrails on his running plate. In addition, both were drawn with significantly different facial features to one another.
* Splatter and Dodge were originally intended to return in *Day of the Diesels*; however, they were later dropped and replaced by Paxton and Sidney, who are also based on the same engine as them.
	+ According to Railway Consultant Sam Wilkinson, Splatter and Dodge were also considered in place of the Mainland Diesels in *The Great Race*, but again, they were ultimately dropped.

* Splatter and Dodge's television series models do not have handrails, yet some of their merchandise lines do, possibly modelling after Diesel.
* In one of the original scripts:
	+ Splatter and Dodge never turned on Diesel 10. Instead, George, who was to be one of Diesel 10's henchmen, turned on them by telling them to destroy the magic buffers themselves when they ordered him to do so. This caused them to rush at him, only to smash into each other and derail. In another version of the script, they were trapped in a siding when Junior, helped by George, pushed a large boulder down into their path.
	+ Another difference from the original script was that their boss referred to them as "Spladge" instead of "Splodge".