Jockeying for position on the cliff.
The ZiL-485 — also known as a BAW or "Duck" — was an amphibious vehicle used by the Soviet Union. It was equipped with a weapon turret on the hood.
History[]
In 1957, a group of Soviet Special Forces led by Irina Spalko and Antonin Dovchenko drove through the Amazon rain forest on their way to Akator, using a Jungle Cutter, two trucks of the ZiL 131 type, a car of the GAZ 69 type, and two ducks of the ZiL-485 type. After a jungle chase, Indiana Jones, Marion Ravenwood, Mutt Williams, Harold Oxley and George McHale escaped in one of the ducks by way of a river. The duck went over three waterfalls before ultimately landing upside down in the river.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
In reality the vehicle is reproduction of a GAZ-44 MAV rather than a ZiL-485. The GAZ-46 MAV is a Soviet copy of the American Ford GPA, an amphibious Jeep provided to the Soviet Union during World War II which proved unpopular with the Americans, but was a big hit with the Russians.
The vehicles used were not genuine GAZ-46s, but instead built with custom fiberglass hulls mated to a 1980s Jeep chassis. Four such driving "Ducks" were made for filming, with an extra fifth prop vehicle used to shoot the scene of the Duck upside-down in the river; two of these were retained by Lucasfilm Ltd.. The vehicles were fitted with Browning M1919A6s, unusual for a Soviet-origin vehicle. It is suggested that these were either leftover from the Lend-Lease Act, or potentially meant to stand in for the Soviet KPV heavy machine gun.
The duck also appears in the LEGO set River Chase.
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (First appearance)
- "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" - Indiana Jones: The Official Magazine
- LEGO Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick (Non-canonical appearance)
- LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Non-canonical appearance)
