Iron Duck

(Author's Note: The brand name is no longer explicitly announced. Code is used, which is readily recognizable by brick collectors and hobbyists.)

Marvel universe is so diverse in its range of characters, making it open to creativity of the artists and fanatics. From the heroic human like Agent Coulson to an unimaginable being like Dormammu, brick collectors and hobbyists can stretch their imagination in creating customized figures, scenes or sets.

One such weird character is Howard the Duck (he made it to Time's top 10 oddest Marvel characters). In case you missed the duck, he appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Howard the Duck is an anthropomorpic duck, who came from his home planet Duckworld, and dropped by Thog in our world following his abduction. He appeared in various comic serials, with his Quak-Fu fighting skills.

In the 80's, one of its creators, Steve Gerber, filed copyright infringement after being removed as the writer of the series. In the same decade, Disney threatened to file lawsuit, owing to Howard's early appearance looking like Donald Duck. Marvel changed his design from being Donald Duck-y to what he looks now, including having pants and human eyes. Fast forward to the 21st century, Marvel was bought by Disney.

Iron Duck was born in his fight with Doctor Bong, an evil scientist obsessed with his close friend Beverly Switzler. Despite the name, his costume is inferior to that of Iron Man, but clever in usefulness.

There can only be one Iron hero.

The brick minifigure of Iron Duck is a converted form of Iron Man and Deadpool Duck. It is nowhere close to the original comic look of Iron Duck and the official video game version. In the comics, he is adorned with leaping coils and a fire hydrant-like suit with built-in searchlight. In the video game version, he boasts of an awesome helmet with a headphone-like detail and red vest with protruded searchlight. Further, you'll notice his close-mouthed head piece compared to the common open-mouthed versions. At this point, brick hobbyist will sigh and wish we have the original version rather than the hastily put-together Iron Duck from old molds.

(ctto photo not mine)
Iron Duck comic version

(ctto photo not mine)
Iron Duck video game version

Product
Brand/Model: LP 03059F
Condition: Bought with box, parts in clear plastic bag with no separate build instructions

Character
Name: Howard T. Duck
AKA: Iron Duck, Howard the Duck
Comics: Marvel
Affiliation: Circus of Crime, Defenders, Ducky Dozen
Superpowers: When in suit - superhuman strength, flamethrowers in arms, leaping with use of coils

top left: print on left side of the box
bottom left: print on front of the box
top right: print on back of the box
bottom right: print on right side of the box

Iron Duck minifigure consists of 26 pieces - 2 heads (duck and Tony Stark), 4 wheel pieces, 2 motorcycle body pieces, 1 motorcycle handle bar, 4 transparent blue pieces, 2 helmet pieces, 2 arms, 2 hands (no extra piece), 1 torso, 1 leg connector, 2 legs, 1 short leg (like that of a Hobbit's), 2 flippers. The pieces are thrown together to make Iron Duck and Iron Man pieces interchangeable.

Duck in the oven

The Stark head has the usual angry expression with no alternate printing; I find that the printing is too thick. The duck head has squinting eyes, with flaws - in the print (broken line in the lower middle area) and in the production (hole on top of the head). The three protruded pieces at the back of the head make Howard look like a duck, a considerable effort from the production. The Iron Man helmet bore the old mold frowning look, with seemingly heavy mascara (lol).

The torso and leg printings are common (I am not sure which Iron Man model it bears), which has a few issues in the yellow-gold printing - seems they missed some tiny areas. The short legs have severe scratches at the back. The flippers are normal, but it reminded me of the time I became excited of having a pair from Robin's aquatic suit.

Anatomy of a duck

The red motorcycle does not seem to suit the character of Howard, but is a welcome addition for use in other setup. Though it bears the normal brick motorcycle setup, it reminded me of Akira film.

Akira!

The verdict: if you want an Iron Duck for your collection, skip this one and either customize the original look or wish hard for a release of the original version. If you're interested with butchering the pieces for other setup, this is a cheap alternative.

Til the next blog!

PS. Here's Tony Stark when he was a toddler (lol).