- "Devious, man. Devious!"
- — Zip, Sunshine.
Zip is Captain Zero's second switcher, and is both the newest and youngest addition to the Z-Stacks.
He mostly works with Zug and together they are often used to win minor/smaller contracts (such as the freighting of quarried boulders) and other such duties.
Bio
Zip is often described as Zug, only worse. His head is often in the clouds, and he is well known for being a coward. He is easily scared and sometimes speaks out of turn, as well as being quick to back down when engaging in an argument, and is easily dominated.
Zip could be described as being "slow in the head," for it will often take him a while to catch onto things. Even with basic terms and phrases such as "devious". He is never seen by himself and not even as often as the other Z-Stacks, though his roles in various episodes have always brought much-needed comic relief.
Whilst Zip and Zug are a similar wavelength, and have often been compared to or matched with Ten Cents and Sunshine, the star switchers. Zug is much more skeptical of the pair, whilst Zip is quite the opposite. He will often follow along with Zug's plans in any situation, even if the concept of doing so causes Zug to lose his nerves.
Zug often takes advantage of Zip's naivety to keep himself out of danger. Through not without his naivety, Zip can be smarter than he lets on. When he has a small idea of how to get back at Zug like scaring him with a simple "psst", he likely takes it.
Zip has appeared around most episodes seen at the Zero Dock, helping the other Z-Stacks out with their loads or seen around with Zug.
Zip's hooter, much like Sunshine's, has a whooping sound. Although, it is deeper in tone. It is also O.J.'s in a higher pitch.
He speaks with a neutral English accent.
Basis
Like the rest of the Zero Fleet, Zip is based on the Moran tugs of New York.
Livery
Zip's livery consists of a black hull sporting white trim, and a maroon superstructure witch also sports white trim. His smokestack is painted in a solid black with the Zero Marine Bigg City insignia on its sides, a white stripe along its top, and a white number 5 on its front.
Zip flies the Zero flag and has a silver search light positioned on the front of his hull. His name is also painted on the sides of his hull in white with a dash at each end.
He wears a black fedora with a white stripe.
Behind the Scenes
Zip is voiced by British actor John Baddeley. Baddeley also provided the voices of Top Hat and Puffa, among other characters.
After TUGS' production ended, Zip's model was purchased by the Star Tugs Company, an organisation aiming to preserve and restore the show's models.
Top Speed- 20-25 knots
Appearances
Episodes
Books and Annuals
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Voice Actors
TUGS
Salty's Lighthouse
Trivia
- In an interview conducted by Sodor Island Fansite (SiF) with model-maker Chris Lloyd, Lloyd commented that when Zip nearly completed, his model had accidentally slipped from the workbench and fell onto the floor smashing into pieces. After the incident, it took around two weeks to put the model back together.
- It is currently unknown if Zip's other face masks still remain in existence. He currently wears his renowned devious expression.
References
http://www.sodor-island.net/episodeguide/chrislloyd.html
