i'm kind of nervous about doing it. it just seems like it would fall apart?

It won't fall apart but sometimes the neck breaks.I like to bake those cakes each half instead of trying to do the whole thing 3D standing..What tends to happen it the cake doesn't rise enough to fill out the fron/back of the pan and it ends up looking distorted.If you bake each half seperatly and then glue togther with icing and a few wooden skewers to hold it together then it works.

ok how do i use the wooden skewers to hold it together? and should i use pound cake?

A pound cake would be better .Once you glue the 2 halves together insert wooden skewers on both sides diagonally to criss cross each other.It will help hold both sides together..You only need about 2 so don't go crazy.Then crumbcoat and refridgerate the cake over night so it is good and firm.Cold cake is a decoraters best friend.

I used it once. Used just a regular cake mix. It filled out the pan fine. The only reason I put a dowel rod in the neck was because it was traveling over 45 mins away by the client. Although I wasn't foolish enough to think that worst-comes-to-worst that the cake wouldn't slide right thru the rod in a catastrophe.

but it made it just fine!

Told the client, "When you're ready to cut it, just whack the head off, then cut the duck in half .... start slicing!" She told me later she had people fighting over who got to whack the head off!!!

I've used it several times and haven't had any problems with it. Have fun with it.

I have used it and I agree that the neck can be a little sensitive and also the back side doesn't cook up as much so it will look slightly lopsided. You could barley tell on mine..but of course "I" could tell. Also even after I trimmed the bottom even my ducks (i made 2) swayed back and forth on the cake board. I highly recommend either cutting more off the bottom which will give you a short duck or dowel that sucked into a thick cake board.