What is this Hood ornament? Donald Duck? Cast Figure?

[namele365]

Is this a hood ornament or??  It came from the estate of a WWII vet who flew in the pacific theater.  It's non ferrous, but seems a bit heavy and shiny to be aluminum.  Stands about 5 1/2" tall.

[Anonymous]

Was it designed to be bolted to anything?

What does the underside look like?

[namele365]

The bottom...

[sonomabarn67]

I think those are vent holes so it didn't blow up while being cast. Could have been threaded later

[argon38]

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@namele365 wrote:

It came from the estate of a WWII vet who flew in the pacific theater.

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I'm thinking that background might be relevant. The figure is plainly based on Donald Duck, but it looks too crudely done to be an official Disney item. And there's no maker's mark or copyright acknowledgement. Also, the stance is kind of unusual.

Donald Duck "was the most popular Disney character in World War II unit designs, appearing in at least 216 logos":

https://www.defense.gov/observe/photo-gallery/igphoto/2002046086/

https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/ww2-disney

So perhaps he belonged to a unit with Donald Duck as its insignia, and somebody thought of making a figurine?

[taupou]

For a number of years (1947-2010 ?), the University of Oregon had a special license agreement with Disney that allowed them to use Donald Duck as their mascot.  Do you know if the owner had some connection with the U of O?

[ohnojoey]

Maybe it's Daffy Duck.
Daffy was The Commando in WWII.

[namele365]

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@argon38 wrote:

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@namele365 wrote:

It came from the estate of a WWII vet who flew in the pacific theater.

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I'm thinking that background might be relevant. The figure is plainly based on Donald Duck, but it looks too crudely done to be an official Disney item. And there's no maker's mark or copyright acknowledgement. Also, the stance is kind of unusual.

Donald Duck "was the most popular Disney character in World War II unit designs, appearing in at least 216 logos":

https://www.defense.gov/observe/photo-gallery/igphoto/2002046086/

https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/ww2-disney

So perhaps he belonged to a unit with Donald Duck as its insignia, and somebody thought of making a figurine?

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This is plausible.  The reason I posted this is because I was watching American Pickers and saw a brief cut where someone was holding one like it in their hand, but they didn't address it in the episode.  Seeing one that appeared identical, made me thing someone else may have seen one also.  The pickers were at a WWII veteran's home.  Coincidence perhaps.

[namele365]

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@taupou wrote:

For a number of years (1947-2010 ?), the University of Oregon had a special license agreement with Disney that allowed them to use Donald Duck as their mascot.  Do you know if the owner had some connection with the U of O?

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I don't know if there was a connection. But thanks for suggesting.  I'll keep it in mind as I continue to explore the mystery.  

[namele365]

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@sonomabarn67 wrote:

I think those are vent holes so it didn't blow up while being cast. Could have been threaded later

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Agreed

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