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Background Information[]
Ten Cents is a fictional tugboat created by David Mitton and Robert D. Cardona. He first appeared in Sunshine, the first episode of TUGS, and continued to appear for the rest of the series.
He is loosely based off of the tugboats which worked in San Francisco during the 1920s.
Lead Character?[]
Although Tugs did not officially have a lead character, Ten Cents was the closest the series came to one. He appeared in all thirteen episodes, the majority as a major role, and was the character that had the most merchandise. He is also in the TUGS logo.
Behind the Scenes[]
Ten Cents' model was designed and built by Chris Tulloch. The model was scratch built with a fiberglass hull and plastic upper deck, along with a brass smokestack. His model originally had a dark timber finish. Parts such as the railings and portholes were sourced from Addlestone Models. Ten Cents (as well as all the other tugs) used specially-constructed wheeled trolley chassis clamped to the hulls to move on the set. An external tube was stuck inside his hull and connected to a fog generator, this is how his stack "produces" smoke. The model is roughly 20 inches long.
The eye mechanism had two servos, one for up and down movement and one for left and right movement. It was remote controlled and often operated by David Mitton and Chris Tulloch.
24 different facial expressions were made for Ten Cents, but only 22 of them appeared on-screen and one of which a sleeping face was left unused, and a face that resembled Robert D. Cardona was created as a gag. The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made using a silicone mold. These faces were made by Paul Knight and Michele Jones. Ten Cent's face was based on late American actor Mickey Rooney's face.
A replica model (along with Zip) was constructed by Paul Knight, under commission for the studio. These models were created for the intent of promotional purposes and touring around to various countries. These models lacked any internal electronics. In 1990, the model was displayed by David Mitton on TUGS Day.
The following fonts were used on Ten Cents' model:
- Clarendon BT (nameplate)
After the production on TUGS ended, the model of Ten Cents remained under ownership of Robert D. Cardona.
In 2010, every asset of TUGS in Robert D. Cardona’s storage room was illegally thrown away by Shepperton Studios staff to make room. Before the fate of being destroyed and lost forever, a passing builder found the assets in the skip. The builder salvaged what could fit into the van, and Ten Cents’ model was among the items the builder saved. After the rescue, the builder saw advertising of someone who kept, looked after and restored model boats and sold the TUGS models to Richard.
Richard fixed the models up and owned them until he put everything up on eBay in 2012. Ten Cents, along with seventeen other models, were sold to TUGS: The Exhibition.
Over the years in its time at the exhibition, Ten Cents' model began to show signs of damage and deterioration, largely due to the aging model being handled extensively for the first time in decades. Damages included chips to to his cheery face and parts going missing, whether already gone from when the model was thrown out by Shepperton staff or from the handlers of the exhibition itself. In 2021, the exhibition began an extensive restoration of the model, including repainting the hull and creating replacements for the missing parts. The original face was replaced by a replica, though the exhibition plans on restoring the face as well.
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Closeup Model[]
Ten Cents also had a closeup model of his whistle, although it was never used onscreen in any final edits. The closeup model was also used for the Z-Stacks Tugs' whistle.
Voice Actors[]
TUGS[]
- Simon Nash
- Rob Paulsen (Unaired US Dub)
- Shigeru Nakahara (Japan)
- Elise Langenoja (Finland)
Salty's Lighthouse[]
- Ian James Corlett
- Janusz Zadura (Poland)