Arlesdale Miniature Engine Works

• He/him, They/Them• Minor • autistic • • just call me Arles •

[arlesdale]

Welcome to the workshop!

We build wooden engines to the designs of the world’s railways, notably those seen on Sodor’s many railways. Here you will find posts on how I made my models, photography and sometimes even film projects!

About myself!

I am a minor, my preferred pronouns are he/him but I am fine with any pronouns too, whilst my username may be Arlesdale I just go by Arles, I have been making models for about 2 years now.

My general interests consists of the Legend of Zelda, Starfox, Thomas the tank engine and trains. (There are more but these are the basic ones)

My hobbies include woodworking, painting, gaming, photography and film making.

Anything else?

Yes! There is an inbox open for if anyone ever has questions on how I did something when making a model or even potential suggestions for engines to make in the future (do note that because of my ADHD sometimes models will take awhile to finish because I’ll suddenly get distracted by another model lmao)

[arlesdale]

Hey, I’m alive!! I’ve been busy behind the seems making sure I have props ready for an upcoming trip in August, some of these aforementioned props are these two OCs which have been named Finch and Ruby.

They were made using matchbox cars found at the dollar store that I put faces on, Ruby was made first so I’ll talk about her now, she’s a Citroën 2CV, if I had to describe her personality I would describe her as a grandma who probably has ADHD, she got her name via a suggestion from my home room teacher. As for Finch they are a Jeep Avenger, as for their personality it’s still to be determined however I’m thinking they might be a gentle soul fascinated by birds, they were named after a type of bird.

[3leggedmagpie]

Feeling things.

[arlesdale]

This is beautiful, I love this.

[moveslikekeithrichards]

working with little kids is so dangerous. you get one kid who has a unique way of speaking & then spend the rest of your life with an internal monologue like “me’s go bathroom?”

[moveslikekeithrichards]

other thrilling destructions of my vocabulary:

the kid who replaced his hard G sounds with soft ones, leaving me incapable of thinking of glasses as anything other than jlasses

kid who would holler "DID" any time she finished her work no matter how many times we told her to just raise her hand

kid who began her scary stories with "once a time" and her friend who began his with "paw time"

middle schooler i had during student teaching who pronounced magritte as "mah-gritty"

the kid who said "i got boogies comin out my nose" while sobbing and the kid who said "theres his puddle of cry" while describing a drawing, both of whom i think of when im crying

kid who said that if he was 80 he would get big and turn grandpa

kid who, for no reason in particular, would just say "like a little feet" as a standalone phrase in relation to nothing

edit how could i forget. the kid who got sneezed on and angrily said "whyd you blessyou on me"

[hollowedskin]

My niece who asks people with dogs "are him big or him little?"

And every person without fail answers "uh.. him big"

[draconym]

Years later my vocabulary is still influenced by:

kid who called snakes "nakes"

kid who called calculators "cockulators"

my little cousin who referred to anything he didn't have an immediate answer to as "vewy mystewious"

"I don't yike heem"

[arlesdale]

Here is my model of Devious Diesel!!

Unlike Oliver and Edward who use Lego for their splashers Diesel is 100% handmade, that said like Oliver I cut all of his pieces using a handsaw before glueing and painting them.

For paint colours I used DecoArt black, bright red, slate grey, Amish grey, Copenhagen blue, white and pine needle, you may be thinking “why the hell does a black and grey engine have so many colours?” The reason is because of the updated NWR logo on him, Daisy will be getting the updated logo at some point later on.

At some point I decided he needed some colour so I scratched the silver rods and wheel rims and made them red (the silver rims on most of my models are meant to represent the side rods in motion though for rolling stock it’s purely a stylistic choice) with that we conclude how I made Diesel, the goals for after recovering from burnout is to finish Percy and Mavis (Mavis is the one I will be doing first since I’m on a bit of a diesel kick)

Before I go here’s a photo of him covered in stickers that my friend put all over him.

[arlesdale]

Hey, hope everyone had a good Christmas (if you don’t celebrate that’s okay too!! I just hope you had a good day regardless) I had plans on making a model to celebrate the occasion but ended up getting sick and couldn’t get around to starting him… but now that I’m better and am getting close to the painting phase here’s a teaser for what is to come!

Have a happy new year and I’ll see you in 2026!

[chasing-bertie]

“… and the two of them like nothing better than the chance for a good gossip.”

[arlesdale]

I love this art style so much omg

[mourningkite]

New scam dropped

( second persons account was hacked by the people doing these scams as an fyi )

Not quite sure what they do but from what ive seen im pretty sure they hack into accounts and im also pretty sure they ask for money

Either way just wanted to make a post saying block and report any accounts leaving comments like this and dont trust it basically lol, theyve got nothing good for you and everything and anything they say is bullshit

If i find anything more i’ll add some stuff or find a better post i’ll rb it here

[gold-dust599]

Stay safe from these chat

[arlesdale]

On this day 107 years ago the First World War would come to a close at the eleventh hour of the day, happy Remembrance Day everyone. If you’re into Thomas the Tank Engine this day is also sometimes referred to as “Oliver Day” due to Oliver being the eleventh engine on the North Western Railway so I decided why not hit two geese with one stone and combine what would be two posts into one.

Featuring random Lego castle minifigures because it’s the only military related thing I own and I needed something the help the poppy stand up.

[arlesdale]

Hey it’s been a while since I last made a proper post and whilst I did have a new model that I finished earlier today, October 27th, he sort of escaped the workshop before we could finish his auto coach and brake van… anyways, here’s Oliver, the great western engine!!!

Now let’s talk about how I made him!

As with the majority of the handmade models I started with his running board and cab, I do this as i find it makes it easier to glue the tanks and boiler to the models.

Afterwards I made one of his tanks, his firebox and the second tank in that order.

Then I cut the boiler and the safety valve

Afterwards I took a trip to the dollar store in the neighbouring town to get paints for him, toad and Isabel (I guess duck too but that’s a long ways away) and immediately begun painting him until I could figure out how the hell I was going to cut holes for his dome and funnel without a drill (photos are from after I figured out how to do so)

After taking this photo ⬆️ he would go on a hiatus due to a lack of the super glue needed for his splashers and nose, speaking of which let’s quickly talk about how those were made. Like Edward, he uses Lego slope pieces for his splashers, the nose is simply just clay.

Overall I am extremely proud of how he came out and I would like to do more stuff with him and who knows? Maybe you all will get to see some surprises with him!

[arlesdale]

Would you guys be interested in seeing day by day progress photos for a custom amiibo of James McCloud I’m working on before I go back to working on my handmade trains?

Yes I would be interested

No I would not be interested

Voting ended onSep 7, 2025

[arlesdale]

Will be doing this eventually, just need to go to the neighbouring town to pick up some paints for him (tbh I forgot I asked about this until earlier today when I checked my notifications)

[scutesketch]

YOUR ART ON TUMBLR IS BEING USED TO TRAIN AI!

The setting that prevents your work being used to train AI models is turned off by default! I had no idea about this until now! Artists, go to your settings, click “visibility”, and turn on this setting! Protect your work!

[unpopularvivian]

WHY THE FUCK IS AI EVERYWHEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[3leggedmagpie]

A little tighter...really squeeze in there...ok! Click...snap!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the Ritoblr Village Census! I hoped you enjoyed sharing your sonas; it was an honor to meet and draw you all!

And for the fellow nerds out there, have some data (captions in ALT text):

There's more where that came from, so if you have any other ideas for the data, please share!

Participants:

Othenio @othenio

Seren @gargoylesister

Kohmli @frisbeedog0-0

Nyra @axidentshappen

Takaya @miitten

Vanali @vanali-of-winterfell

Tiril @jitterdogart

Oohuu @tides-that-bind-us

Lota @avenin

Fletch @needsmorebirds

Justin @threeuniverses

Ca’si @caseys-soup-corner

Rinili @tnc-n3cl

Rubee @melonthesprigatito

Rahlin @critical-birb

Jace @aerial-jace

Kesler @arlesdale

Nutmeg @sapphic--kiwi

Zephyra @lilith-space

Corvus @starcrownest

Grace @a-stardusted-sky

[arlesdale]

Thanks for running this! Glad I got the chance to participate!!

[shikariiin]

EMERGENCY COMMISSION OPEN💔

I never thought I would post something like this...and this all came down in 1 night

I seriously, don't know where else I could turn...and I need all the help I can get, My commission are open, I take anyone at this point.

I messed up bad, financially fucked over by the company I work with, a rent that is due soon, and a member of my family in the hospital...I have alot on my plate

I've scraped together everything and I meant EVERYTHING I could, but I'm short around $800....

I'm hoping, I can gather up some cash before October, so that at least I can pay up some bills before I can build my stuff again...any help Is appreciated! Icons, halfbodies, anything helps, even sharing this!

My commission prices is X I will gladly have the price tone down if anyone requests it🥹

My Ko-fi is X

I need all the help 😭🙏💔

[3leggedmagpie]

Alright, big smile! Click...snap!

Kesler is @arlesdale's Ritosona. Thank you for taking part in the Ritoblr Village Census!

[arlesdale]

He looks so good! Thank you!!

[3leggedmagpie]

Friends, Rito, tumblrites, lend me your ear holes! By Royal Decree, all willing Rito on Tumblr are to take part in a census! Just fill out the quick form below with your Ritosona's info and put it in the reblogs to get to know your fellow Rito. Don't have a Ritosona? No time like the present to make one—there are plenty of roosts in the Village!

Time permitting, I will be drawing fanart of providing proof of identification for as many Ritosonas as I can through the end of September!

Participants:

Othenio | Seren | Kohmli | Nyra | Takaya | Vanali | Tiril | Oohuu | Lota | Fletch | Justin | Ca'si | Rinili | Rubee | Rahlin | Jace

Now, onto the form...

Ritoblr Village Census Form:

Please provide any/all of the following:

Name, pronouns

Height, build (can be approximate)

Eye color

Bird species and/or plumage color/patterning

Distinctive markings/features

Clothing/accessories of choice

A picture of your sona, either drawn yourself or by someone else (with credit). This last question is highly recommended! (If you don't have a picture and still want a chance at getting a drawing, make sure your other answers are thorough!)

Example Form:

Jak, any pronouns

176 cm, moderate build

Brown

Oriental Magpie, dark teal and white feathers, gray beak and legs

Long dark hair, no warrior braids or braid hoops, missing right wing

Standard Rito leather and fabric wrap with purple skirt, feather-shaped hair stick

That's all—go on and meet everyone down in the reblogs! This post may be updated, so if you're here from a reblog, click through to see what's new. If I draw you, you'll be tagged and linked here. Have fun! ^θ^

[arlesdale]

Kesler, He/Him preferred, fine with any pronouns

About 5’ 11” moderate build

Eye colour: blue

Based on a seagull (grey wings with black tips)

Short to medium hair,

Standard Rito leather and fabric wrap, undecided skirt colour, green scarf

Rough sketches on how I think the clothing would look

(I don’t own any pencil crayons so it’s not coloured)

A little about him: his job is that he works village waste removal, he also makes sculptures out of recycled materials in his down time.

[txphatt-cxntrxller]

Hello sir, i have a very important question

Since Wiff has glasses I assume theres a way to check an engines vision and get them engine sized glasses if needed

how does that work? and where do the glassses come from?

____🚂

"Ah, Whiff..." There was a small chuckle, the man leaning back in his chair as he began to recall that adventure.

"He was a very perplexing engine at the start. One of the first engines who was handed off to me with the label of 'troublesome' back when I took over as controller, his previous owners wanted to wash their hands of him and I didn't particularly understand why. I thought he was magnificent...but I soon realized quickly he was an apparent problem. Whiff wouldn't-or couldn't stop bashing into everything and anything, running himself off the rails, missing signals completely and I wasn't convinced he was trying to do it on purpose either, he was causing damage to himself too. I do admit, I was quite stumped on what to do with him until Mr. Percival paid a visit and stated, quite simply mind you, that Whiff was squinting like he did himself when he wasn't wearing his glasses and that was when it hit me. I managed to pull our best vision consultant on the island into this whole ordeal to give an engine a pair of glasses. He wasn't happy at first either, he didn't think he could diagnose a machine. That changed. Whiff's glasses, in the end, are custom to him, we had a lot of trial and error when it actually came to making them along getting the glasses to actually stay on his nose, utterly exhausting! "

"However, it was all worth it to see an engine go from uncertain to confident when puffing down the rails. More than worth it."