Posted by Judy (132.239.88.224) on July 07, 2003 at 22:04:44:
In Reply to: Hello, I'm new here! posted by Kitty on July 04, 2003 at 14:42:25:
Glowing ducks are my specialty :). As far as I'm concerned, Rubbaducks' "Hollow" is the best glowing duck out there. The glowing Devil Ducks barely glow at all. There are also glowing Derby Ducks, but none of them are as bright or long-glowing as Hollow. ShadesPlus has miniature blue and pink glow ducks that are incredible -- they aren't the slightly greenish or off-white color of a standard glowing duck, they're very pink and very blue and yet they glow brightly. They're very tiny. I love them.
As for the Deluxe Ducks, they're decent, but I find myself annoyed by the square on their chests. I've got the camouflage duck and the silver duck; they're decent-quality ducks, but I don't think I will buy more. Just a personal preference.
Ditto on the Devil Ducks; I've got a couple, but I don't feel inclined to collect all the various colors and variations on the theme. I'm fairly sure Devil Ducks *do* squeak, but I don't have one with me to check. The small ducks with goatees are "bootleg" devil ducks (that is, they're not made my Archie McPhee/accoutrements like the main line of Devil Ducks is). I think you can find most of the official Devil Ducks at archiemcphee.com.
I've ordered from Captain Quack, Zydeco Gifts, and ShadesPlus, and gotten good service from each and all. Quack was the fastest, but also has the least interesting selection, I think. Browsing those sites, you should be able to find a lot of interesting ducks. I save ebay for absolutely unique ducks -- if you can buy retail, it's easy to buy several ducks and make the shipping worthwhile. Plus, they're always in new condition when you buy them from a retailer.
Rubbaducks are good ducks -- they're heavy and a bit stiff and they don't squeak, but they're certainly the most imaginative. Unfortunately they put out dozens and dozens of designs, and then only make a handful of ducks. I've been waiting for a year and a half hoping for Duckstar and Ducknaked to be made. Don't hold your breath for Crystal. It does sound like they're gearing up for more action soon, though, so nothing's impossible. The first wave of Rubbaducks wasn't quite up to speed, I think -- the ducks never quite looked as good as the illustrations. The paint jobs were sometimes shabby (Aqua, I'm talking about you. And Gray's 'bill ring' paint was not done precisely). But I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the next wave comes out, and Hollow is so simple you can't mess him up. (I'd be surprised if they floated well, though -- I'd expect them to be unbalanced.)