Hercules

STAR TUGS #6

OCEAN-GOING TUG

VOICED BY NIGEL ANTHONY

THE CHARACTER

Hercules is Captain Star's Ocean-Going tug which, as you might guess, is the only tug who makes regular trips across the sea or up the coast to handle major contracts far from Bigg City. Hercules may appear rather aloof, but he's more relaxed and casual than the other Star Tugs, hardly anything fazes him.

Hercules has been in charge of leading many large and important vessels to and from Bigg City, from grand ocean liners to Navy ships like the Navel tramper, Kraka-Toa.He was vital when it came to bringing in the Princess Alice, damaged by high winds, into the safety of the Harbour. And he played the vital task of leading the S.S Vienna as far as the bay, to where the other tugs were waiting with their cargo, when Bigg City was "iced-up" during one harsh winter.

Because of his status, Hercules has high regard by all the boats and ships in the Port. He was quick to put Zorran, Zip and Zug in their place when they tried to interfere with O.J's plan to save Grampus from the Navy, he did not let Bluenose push him during the Munitions Contract, and - along with Zebedee's help - managed to capture the gangster, Johnny Cuba, shortly after assisting the Princess Alice.

Even the bigger Tugs, such as the usually intimidating Zorran, have learned to respect and sometimes fear Hercules. His opinion carries alot of sway in the harbour and the Tugs have learned not to mistake his mild mannered and very "British" demeanour, for weakness.

Very little is known of Hercules' life or adventures when he is away from Bigg City, but it's no secret that he has what appears to be a big soft spot for Lillie Lightship, where the two have often been seen side by side out in the estuary, an apparently favourite spot of the Big Tug.

However, what knowledge he has gained from up the coast is usually put to good use. When the Star Tugs caught sightings of what they thought were 'Ghost Tugs', Hercules arrived home in time to explain that they were in reality a group of tugboats called "The White Fleet", which were brought downriver on the trail of an iceberg.

Hercules is therefore, a natural leader for the Star Tugs.

His size, knowledge and calm demeanour make him almost a parental figure for the Star Fleet, or indeed the harbour as a whole. Although not entirely infallible he is someone most in the port look up to, often in both senses of the word!

He doesn't always have to be around to be effective, as is proven by his status despite spending most of his working time outside of the harbour. He is however a staple of the Star Tug fleet and the entire port, as well as those that come into it would be almost lost without him.

THE MODEL

The first thing to note about Hercules' model is the size. He is IMMENSE. At nearly a meter and half long he dwarfs most of the other models, and while this may not come as a huge surprise given the show, it still surprises many how large his model is when they first see him close up.

This size has allowed for many small details to be so noticeable on him, and his good condition has allowed them to be seen. He is very much a centrepiece when on display and a great eye-catcher.

As with most of our models we have only one face mask for him, however his limited screen time means he is remembered mainly for the huge grin he has at the moment. We're certainly fortunate this is the mask the model came with.

We expect any future work to the model to be minimal and look forward to bringing him out where space allows!