Duck Week, WooOOOooo! TMNT's Ace Duck

Duck Week continues with Ace Duck - fine feathered friend of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

If I remember correctly, Ace Duck was given to me years ago by Jboy of The Clawful Punch. (Thanks John!)

I later found the belt and single egg grenade at the flea market for a couple dimes or so. It completes his look nicely, and although it would be nice to have a full belt of egg bombs, at least I have one. And all you need is one well placed grenade, right?

I know nothing of Ace Duck's biography, but as a resource, I often use TMNTToys.com, where I discovered:

"Hungry for duck brain, Krang ordered Shredder to beam an Earthbound duck to Dimension X (there's a shortage of ducks in Dimension X). While transmuting the duck, famous test pilot, Ace Conrad, accidentally flew into the energy beam. The emerging plane was suddenly piloted by none other than Ace Duck, the aero-dynamic adventurer with a big bill. The plane plummeted into the inner city and slid nose-first into the sewer. Ace escaped without ruffling his feathers and found himself at the secret hideout of the Turtles. After realizing he wasn't just some quack off the streets, the Turtles decided to hire Ace to pilot their Turtle Blimp. Always looking for a good adventure, Ace isn't afraid to scramble the Foot with his hard-boiled Egg Grenades...as long as he gets paid on time. Even though he's employed by the Turtles, Ace is still their fearless, Flying friend."

I also know there are a couple versions of the action figure. The main difference is the hat: one has a peg and a corresponding hole in Ace's head to fit it into, and one is just a hat that sits on Ace's head. I have the latter. And, fortunately, I also have his hat...you can imagine those were easily lost!

Other than a couple more egg grenades, I am only missing Ace's .45. Although now that I think about it, I might have it in a bag of TMNT accessories. I'll have to look.

Released by Playmates in 1989 as part of the second wave of TMNT action figures, Ace is unique in that his shoulders have an extra bit of articulation. I suppose this was so they could spread to his side while he was in flight.

His wings are also removable, making them easily lost to time as well.

So while my Ace is a little rough around the edges, at least I have some his most important and most commonly missing accessories.