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The Dragon
A bright red rubber duck with small folded green wings and sculpted scales. Fun novelty duck for fantasy fans.
Specifications
| Material | Vinyl (PVC), sculpted scale texture and wing detail |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 3.6 x 3.5 x 3.8 in |
| Weight | 2.4 oz |
| Color | Deep red with darker red wing accents |
| Age Grade | 3+ years. Wings are fixed, non-flapping, despite ambitious early prototypes. |
| Origin | Designed on Vashon Island, WA · Assembled overseas |
| Care Instructions | Wipe clean. Scale texture may collect dust in grooves, use a soft brush if needed. |
The Full Story
The Dragon holds the distinction of being the only duck in the catalog that went through an actual, functioning, motorized prototype before the design team wisely stepped back and reconsidered. An early 2010s engineering intern, apparently bored during a slow product cycle, built a working prototype with small motorized wings that genuinely flapped, powered by a coin cell battery hidden in the base.
It worked. It also, according to two separate incident reports, pinched at least one tester's finger hard enough to leave a mark, and the whole assembly added enough cost and complexity that leadership shelved it within a week, opting instead for the simpler, fixed-wing sculpted version sold today. The intern, we're happy to report, was not fired over the pinching incident and in fact was hired full time the following year, though we understand "the Dragon situation" still comes up occasionally at company events.
The deep red color was selected after testing nearly a dozen shades, with the final choice coming down to a very unscientific office poll conducted by leaving color swatches taped to the break room door for a week and counting sticky-note votes. Red won by a comfortable margin over a runner-up shade the design team still refers to, somewhat bitterly, as "the almost-dragon maroon."
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Customer Reviews
The red is deep and rich, not the cheap-looking bright red I was worried about from the thumbnail photo. Wings have nice texture too.
Scale texture is subtle but adds a lot to the overall look. Great little piece.
Exactly what I was hoping for, thank you.
Knew going in they were fixed but still felt a little underwhelmed once it arrived. My fault for wanting more than the listing promised, but wanted to share for anyone else hoping for movement.
Read the history section expecting a paragraph, got a whole saga involving an intern, a pinched finger, and a sticky note election. This company clearly has too much fun writing these pages. Ten out of ten, would read the backstory of a rubber duck again.
Small chip on one wing tip right out of the packaging, otherwise fine but wanted to flag the QC issue.