For my sins, I have the responsibility of creating the sound for an animation.
Several of the characters are steam trains. They're more toys than real trains, so I want to avoid using real trains for the SFX. I'm aiming for that 'CHUG-chug-chug-chug-CHUG-chug-chug...' sound -- not a sound that sounds like several hundred tonnes of iron, but a sound that sounds like a friendly little engine -- but so far, I'm stuck.
I've tried bicycle pumps, I've tried vocalising it, but I'm still yet to get the SFX I want.
Needless to say, I'm stuck. Can anyone offer any ideas?