January 11, 2009

The Amazing Sneaky Christmas Gift

To refresh everybody's memories, this past Thursday I took Momzerduck and The Librarian out to dinner.  It was the first time they'd met, but they'd been exchanging e-mails for some months.  It turned out that they had been secretly planning a joint Christmas gift for yours truly... and it was mindblowingly awesome.

So what was it? 

This:

Department 56's Rubber Duck Factory.

Let's look at some details, shall we?


The sign:

The whole building is made of ceramic, so it's heavy.  It's footprint is about 9"x7", and maybe 11" tall.  It's beautifully painted, and lighted as well. 

The Bubble Bath Testing Area:

The "water" is lighted from below, so it glows nicely.  It also rotates, taking the elf and the ducks on a little ride.  I have to admit, I like the concept of a rubber duckie testing area... though the "sinkers" box is a little sad.

Another view of the Testing Area:

So the duckies come down the Duck Walk, into the Bubble Bath Testing Area, and the elf sorts them into Sinkers and Floaters.  Seems efficient enough.

Detail of the Testing Area:

"Here, have a duckie!"

Duck Loading:

I've always wondered who gets the job of putting rubber duckies into boxes for shipping... well, we still don't know, but we do know that the boxes are clearly labeled as to their contents.

Left Side:

I particularly like the duckies on the roof peaks.  If/when I get my own place, I'll do that too.  Probably won't paint my smokestack red, though.

Low Angle View:

There's absolutely nothing about this building that doesn't make me smile.  It's truly wonderful to look at.  What a great idea for a building... and like all D56 items, it's a limited edition.  Eventually they'll discontinue it, then break the molds.

Low Light View:

See what I mean about the glowing hot-tub?  If I had to ask for one thing that wasn't included in the Factory, it'd be an on-off switch for the lighting.  As is, it's either plugged in (and on) or it isn't.  That's a little inconvienent, but that's also the only gripe I have about this wonderful building.

Oh, and there was one other present, too, that sure seems like it goes with the Rubber Duck Factory:

It's called "Duck, duck, gray duck."

Momzerduck and The Librarian truly, truly outdid themselves, and I really have no idea how to thank them enough for all of it.  Mind-blowingly cool.

The story behind all of it was neat, too.  The Librarian's favorite holiday is Halloween, and she's got a big collection of D56 Halloween things.  This year, she was shopping for more and stumbled across the RDF.  In her words, "It just started yelling 'Wonderduck!  I'm perfect for Wonderduck!' "

Well, she was right, it was.  Thank you, you two.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 08:11 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 471 words, total size 4 kb.

1 Ummm....I hate to point this out...but Ducks come from eggs.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at January 11, 2009 11:58 PM (kwKeD)

2 ...and rubber duckies come from rubber eggs?  Is that what you're suggesting, Muppet?

Posted by: Wonderduck at January 12, 2009 12:24 AM (sh9fy)

3 Ah, but the eggs come from the factory!

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 12, 2009 01:13 AM (+rSRq)

4 Oh, WOW. I want, I want, I want, I want.

Grey duck!

Posted by: GreyDuck at January 12, 2009 10:24 AM (3q5Q5)

5 GD, the "Duck duck grey duck" piece is only $12.95 at a Hallmark store near you!

Posted by: Wonderduck at January 12, 2009 09:34 PM (sh9fy)

6 Awesome.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 16, 2009 12:48 AM (PiXy!)

7 I just found this in a shop at the mall.
On vacation, but will buy it someday.

Way Way Cute

Posted by: gailene at June 03, 2009 09:25 PM (0Pviz)

8 Do it quick, gailene... like all Hallmark Department 56 items, it's a limited edition and once it's gone, it's gone.

Posted by: Wonderduck at June 03, 2009 09:31 PM (hlGBx)

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