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TEN CENTS
STAR TUGS #1
HARBOUR SWITCHER
VOICED BY SIMON NASH
Ten Cents is the youngest of the original Star Tug & Marine Co. fleet, brought up under the care and attention of the older, wiser Tugs like Big Mac, OJ and Hercules who taught him everything they had learned in order to be an asset to Captain Star’s fleet, and to be self-assured and confident as he went about his work in Bigg City Port.
Despite being a harbour switcher, Ten Cents has proven himself countless times of being a firm team player as a Star Tug. Harbour-wise and strong-willed, he never lets other tugs push him around and has enough confidence to stand his own ground, especially against the Z-Stacks. He is also cheeky and is always up for a side-word or jape with anyone.
As a friend, Ten Cents is loyal and trusting, and was the only member of the Star Fleet who still believed the best in Sunshine following his incident with Ocean Liner, The Duchess, on the new switcher’s first day working in Bigg City Port. He went out into the misty night to find him after he disappeared, and unwittingly uncovered the truth from the sleepy Tramper, Izzy Gomez, which helped clear Sunshine’s name.
The two now work very closely together all the time and have formed a useful partnership, which has made Captain Star very proud. He also played a vital part of saving Grampus the submarine from being blown up by the Navy by towing him away from the danger zone during target practice out at sea.
Ten Cents has also exhibited exemplary bravery over time. Despite his relative youthfulness and size, he has been known on multiple occassions to put himself in harm's way in order to protect his friends, and sometimes even his rivals!
One stand-out example was the time Izzy Gomez ran aground on rock foundations and risked capsizing, in spite of the danger he was facing and the consequences he could he suffered, Ten Cents bravely tried to keep the tramp steamer upright (when Zip and Zug refused to help him) long enough until Warrior and Big Mac arrived to the rescue and help Izzy get upright again
However for such a kind and friendly young Tug, trouble has come his way more than once. Barges which Ten Cents had delivered began disappearing in the night, and he was the subject of some suspicion, but when Grampus explained the situation, both he and Sunshine were happy to help the ‘Pirate’ Sea Rogue rescue his uncle, who had been captured by two green-eyed villains and forcing him to steal barges.
Sometime later, he became party to a ‘jinx’ when they met ‘Boomer’, when Ten Cents sounded his hooter, all sorts of strange things would happen – all of which were very bad luck!
As the star of the show, (no pun intended!) Ten Cent's model has undoubtedly become a mascot for the Star Tugs Company, and remains in remarkebly good condition, despite it's age and history.
Structurally he is completely sound and the paintwork is in very good condition. There are a couple of small detailing parts that we may replace over time, but of all our models, he has to be considered one of the best.
One of our members did even at one point manage to get his light to work again very briefly, but like most models the wiring that has not been removed in the past has pretty much deteriorated beyond repair and would need completely replacing if we were to ever go down that route.
Ten Cent’s finest hour came during the infamous Dock Fire, where he saved both his friends and Bigg City Port itself from an exploding petrol barge by taking it out to sea. However he wasn't so lucky when the barge eventually exploded just as he decided to make a run for it! Nevertheless in true "Star" fashion, despite all the damage he incurred from his brave gambit, he was found safe and sound by Grampus, who towed him safely home to Bigg City Port.
Ten Cents therefore, might not be the biggest, oldest or wisest tug in the harbour, but when it really counts, you couldn't ask for a better, or indeed braver friend in the world.
THE CHARACTER
THE MODEL
