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Big Mickey

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Character Spotlight: Big Mickey
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Big Mickey is a large hammerhead crane who works at Brendam Docks, alongside Cranky and Carly. He is the only character to appear in both TUGS and Thomas & Friends.

Biography

Thomas & Friends

Big Mickey works at Brendam Docks. During the early days, he used to unload mail from the mail boat into Thomas and Percy's mail vans, for them to deliver all over the island. Once, Big Mickey was transported to work at Knapford Harbour and had a job which involved using a grapple bucket to lift stone.

Sometime later, he worked alongside Cranky, where he was used to unload cargo from ships. Big Mickey once had to unload a boiler from a ship, but he accidentally swung it and knocked Edward off the tracks onto his side.

Later, when Gator was leaving Sodor, Big Mickey loaded him onto a ship while Cranky was being repaired after his crane arm broke.

In the twenty-first series, he took everyone by surprise after not making communication with anyone for many years and became part of the dockside crew with Cranky and Carly.

Personality

As Big Mickey was silent for a long time, mainly because Cranky has "never said a single word to him", very little is known about him (casting aside his known personality from TUGS), although it can be assumed that he is not the best at communicating, as Salty put it. Lately, he has been shown to cautious in his work and does care for his friends, as seen when Salty fell into the ocean. He has also been shown as a good worker throughout the series.

Technical Details

Basis

Big Mickey is based on a USN 20t Tower Crane. Kobe, a red crane in Tanzania and a faceless purple crane in Rio De Janeiro are other members of this class.

Livery

During the third, fourth and fifth series, Big Mickey was painted cool grey. Since the sixth series, however, he has been repainted warm grey.

Behind the Scenes

Big Mickey in Tugs (High Tide)

Big Mickey's original model was carried over from the show, TUGS. He was voiced by the late Timothy Bateson.

After the show's cancellation, his model was refurbished and modified with a warmer shade of grey paint, and his megaphone was removed.

In TUGS, Big Mickey was Bigg City Port’s biggest crane. Originally stationed at the Steel Company dock, he was later used by the navy. In the episode "Munitions", a horrific fire caused by the navy tug, Bluenose causes Big Mickey's dock to collapse, leading to him sinking (his fate differs between the television and video versions; in the television version, the narration states he survived thanks to falling into shallow waters, while in the VHS version, this line is omitted, and the viewer is left to assume he perished).

Appearances

Thomas & Friends

Faceless

Specials

Faceless

Videos

Faceless

Books

Faceless

Songs

Trivia

  • Big Mickey had many modifications throughout the television series. These include:
    • Series 3 (from TUGS):
      • He had cool grey paintwork.
      • His megaphone was taken away.
      • His top railing became thinner.
      • His walkway received more detailing.
      • He gains windows on his front.
    • Series 6:
      • He gained riveted steel sides.
      • He gained a new hook.
      • His hoist end became covered.
      • His crane arm became longer.
      • His wheelhouse walkway became square.
      • He gained a new base.
      • He became taller.
    • Series 13:
      • His overall size increased exponentially.
      • His wheelhouse became wider.
      • His crane arm became taller.
      • His paintwork became more cream coloured.
    • Series 21 (New Crane on the Dock):
      • He gained a face.
  • Big Mickey is the only TUGS character to have his name carried over to Thomas & Friends.
  • In episodes of the twenty-first series prior to New Crane on the Dock, Big Mickey was always positioned facing away from the camera. This was done to hide his face.
  • Big Mickey is the third character to have been given a face after debuting without one, the first two being Butch and Henrietta.
  • Since the television series switched from live-action to CGI, Big Mickey's model was left in the hands of HiT Entertainment/Mattel Creations. It was later on display at the Star Tugs Company exhibition from 24-26 August 2019.
  • Although he never had a face until the twenty-first series of Thomas & Friends, a prototype face was originally produced for use on TUGS. This face was from a different design to the one used in Thomas & Friends and covered his full front end. This face was never used but was displayed at the aforementioned exhibition.
  • A faceless version of Big Mickey's model with a pink version of Kobe's body can be seen in Brazil.
  • A recolour of him appears in the background at Dar es Salaam Docks.
  • In 2020, the Thomas & Friends website updated its Engines page to include Big Mickey and many other characters. For his image, a fan 3D render from a Trainz game by User:Ilovetrains323 was erroneously used instead of an official render. Big Mickey's page was removed soon after, for unknown reasons.

Merchandise

See also

* RWS only | ** T&F only | --- Dropped
Locomotives Steam Thomas | Edward | Henry | Gordon | James | Percy | Toby | Duck | Donald and Douglas | Oliver | Wellsworth and Suddery Railway Tank Engines* | Bill and Ben** | Stepney** | Harvey** | Emily** | Arthur** | Murdoch** | Fergus** | Molly** | Neville** | Rosie** | Whiff** | Billy** | Stanley** | Hank** | Flora** | Victor** | Charlie** | Bash and Dash** |Ferdinand** | Scruff** | Belle** | Porter** | Timothy** | Marion** | Ryan** | Nia** | Rebecca** | Sonny** | Barry* | The Austerity Engine* | The Märklin Engine**
Diesel Daisy | BoCo | Bear* | The Works Diesel* | Pip and Emma* | Diesel** | Mavis** | Derek** | 'Arry and Bert** | Diesel 10** | Salty** | Dennis** | Den** | Dart** | Paxton** | Norman** | Sidney** | Philip**
Other The Ballast Cleaner* | Peel Godred Engines* | Flynn** | Winston** | Stafford** | Dustin**
Former Coffee Pots | Hiro** | Glynn**
Rolling Stock Coaches Annie and Clarabel | Henrietta | Alice and Mirabel* | Isabel and Dulcie* | Victoria* | Old Slow Coach** | Slip Coaches** | Hannah** | Dexter** | Express Coaches | Branch Line Coaches | Old Coaches | Thomas' Special Coach* | The Quarryman's Coach* | Emily's Coaches** | Toby's Museum Coach** | Flora's Tram Coach** | Open-Topped Carriages** | Ulfstead Castle Coaches**
Trucks Troublesome Trucks | S.C. Ruffey | Elsie* | Fred Pelhay* | James' Trucks** | Thomas' Trucks** | Plank Trucks | Quarry Trucks | Utility Trucks | The Calliope** | Mine Trolleys** | Hoppers | Hector** | Vans | Mail Vans | Utility Vans | Animal Wagons** | Tankers | Flatbeds, Conflats and Wellwagons | Misty Island Log Trucks** | Ladle Trucks** | The Traveller** | Aquarium Tank Wagons**
Brake Vans Brake Vans | The Spiteful Brake Van | Toad
Other The Breakdown Train | Rocky** | Judy and Jerome** | The Circus Train | The Funfair Train** | The Flying Kipper | Gordon's Snow Machine** | Pump Trolley** | The Photographer's Draisine**
Non-Rail Vehicles Kevin** | Cranky** | Carly** | Big Mickey** | Reg**
People Sir Topham Hatt (Stephen Hatt*) | Albert Regaby* | Kevin Volley* | Old Bailey** | Mr. Conductor** | Mr. Arkwright** | Mr. Perkins**
Lines The Main Line (Main Line Loop**) | Ffarquhar Branch Line | The Little Western | Brendam Branch Line | Kirk Ronan Branch Line | Peel Godred Branch Line | Norramby Branch Line | Toby's Branch Line** | Stepney's Branch Line** | Misty Valley Branch Line** | Killdane Branch Line** | The Loop Line** | Ulfstead Branch Line** | Harwick Branch Line** | Coaling Plant Branch Line**
Non-rail vehicles
* RWS only | ** T&F only | *** Other Media only
Road vehicles Terence | Bertie | Trevor | George | Caroline | 040 BMC | Bulgy | Bulgy's Friend | JTK 62 | Willie's Tractor | Tractors | Post Van | The Orange Caterpillar Crane* | The Horrid Lorries** | Butch** |Thumper** | Elizabeth** | The Pack** | Nelson** | Jack** | Alfie** | Oliver** | Max and Monty** | Kelly** | Byron** | Ned** | Isobella** | Patrick** | Buster** | Nigel** | Madge** | Kevin** | Flynn** | Ace** | Ester** | Cleo** | Sir Topham Hatt's Car** | Buses | Dyson Lorries** | Soft-sided Lorries | Caterpillar Cranes** | Taxis | Fire Engines | The Ambulance | The One-eyed Truck** | The Loader** | Sodor Bakery Van** | Miss Jenny's Land Rover** | The Blue Mountain Quarry Vehicles** | Algy*** | Angus*** | The Green Bus*** | The Float Lorry*** | The White Van*** | The Dodgems*** | The Special Bus Service*** | The Ice-Cream Van*** | The Open-Topped Double-Decker Bus*** | The Wedding Car*** | The Police Car*** | The Excavator*** | The Combine Harvester*** | The Milk Float*** | The Coalman's Lorry*** | The Racing Cars*** | The Car-Train*** | The Signwriter's Van*** | The Sodor Animal Park's Buggy*** | Simon's Express Sandwich Service Van*** | Sodor Food and Drink Van*** | Baggage Transporters** | Crawler Tractors | Forklifts | George's Friends* | Cargo Lorries** | Sodor Mobile Library*** | Sodor Poster Colours Lorry*** | The Cement Mixer*** | The Fish and Chips Van*** | Sodor Sand and Grit Blasting Service Lorry*** | The Yardman's Car*** | The Vet's Car*** | Breakdown Lorries***
Aircraft Harold | Tiger Moth** | Jeremy** | Emerson** | Isla** | Mitchell*** | The Hawker Hurricane*** | G-Hewi** | The Biplane** | Aeroplanes | The Hot Air Balloon** | The Airship** | The Light Aircraft*** | The Seaplane*** | Hang Gliders***
Watercraft Bulstrode | Captain** | Skiff** | Dilly*** | P.S. Cumberland Road* | S.S. Kathryn* | Mermaid Liverpool** | North Star* | Nancy and Violet* | S.S. Roxstar* | Lucinda* | Sodor Line** | Krystyna** | Alyssa** | Barges | Boats** | The Japanese Ship** | Salvage Boats | Canal Boats | Lakesider III** | The Fultan Ferry** | Tramp Steamers** | Fishing Boats** | The Tug Boat*** | The Yacht*** | The Lifeboats*** | The Sodor Voyager*** | S.S. Sodor*** | Sir Topham*** | Steam Boat*** | Sodor*** | Speedboats*** | Seasprite*** | Lizzie*** | The Submarine*** | S.S. Sodor Queen*** | S.S. Sodor Steamline*** | Sodor Harbor*** | S.S. Mermaid** | Captain Calles' Pirate Ship** | Cutty Sark*** | The Mayor's Yacht** | Terrey** | The Old Ship** | The Old Dinghy*** | The Sea Farer*** | The Rail Ferry** | The Car Ferry***
Cranes Big Mickey** | Cranky** | Colin** | Owen** | Merrick** | Reg** | Beresford** | Carly** | Kobe** | Cassia** | Carter** |Cranes | Ol' Wheezy** | Hee-Haw** | Happy Hook**
Others Trailers | Bluebird***
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