Background Information[]
PAT 1 is a fictional post mail delivery van created by John Cunliffe. Postman Pat Clifton uses this van for deliveries in Greendale.
Behind The Scenes[]
Screen-used model[]
PAT 1's original model was scratch built by Brian Driver. The model was built out of plastic, fiberglass and diecast, The logos on the sides of the van were custom stickers, In episode 1 to 7, the logo is a yellow crown. However in Postman Pat's Windy Day, the logos would be changed to the Royal Mail logo after the team had the rights to use the Official Royal Mail Logos.
In keeping with the other sets and vehicles for Postman Pat, PAT 1 was made by Brian in a workshop at the Church Studios in Crouch End, North London. The building is now a recording studio.
During production of Series 3, a new model of PAT 1 was created by John Wright Model Making as a spare model. A difference was the Royal Mail logo was painted in a brighter yellow, the wipers were smaller compared to the original model and the spare model had no glass windscreen (which was removed on the spare model sometime after production of Series 3), glass barndoor windows or exhaust pipe. The original model was left in its original Woodland Animations condition until it was repainted during Series 6. The spare model of PAT 1 was later repainted into PAT 4 in Series 6. Both models of PAT 1 used to be in storage at Mackinnon and Saunders after the series went on hiatus in 2017. The original model and the the spare model are currently in storage at Mackinnon and Saunders.
Small-scale model[]
A smaller-scaled model of PAT 1 was made for use in scenes that would have been too expensive to build to the scale of the normal models, however the ERTL toy of PAT 1 was used for long shots from Series 3 to 5. The small-scale model is now owned by the Cosgrove Hall Archive at the Waterside Arts Centre as of 2021.
Close-up model[]
A close-up model of PAT 1 was made for shots taking place inside the van.
Specsavers Advert's model[]
During the filming of Specsavers Advert, PAT 1's model was made from MDF and resin replicated from the screen-used model with its custom original logo. The van's Specsavers model was put in storage and is currently in an unknown location.
3D animation[]
In Postman Pat: The Movie, PAT 1 made the jump to 3D animation with a CGI render built by RGH Entertainment's animation studios in Amman, Jordan, photographs of the stop motion models were used for reference.
