Marvel’s Captain America by Daniel Simon
After the success achieved with the vehicles designed for Tron, Daniel Simon hasn’t disappointed the Marvel fans with his mechanical creatures developed for the first movie about the Avengers: Captain American.
It was a big challenge for him: after delving into the future designing vehicles he came back to the past; Simon looked at archival material from the era to get an idea for what the vehicles should look like. Moreover it was very important not to create an anachronistic vehicle: it was essential for him to fit comfortable with the public perception of what might have been possible in a vehicle of 40ies.
According to the film script, The Hydra Schmidt Coupé was the fastest road car of its time. Not due to its aerodynamics but its incredible power – a supercharged, 16 cylinder aircraft engine. During an exhausting teamwork, standing shoulder to shoulder with Joe Johnson and Rich Heinrichs, they researched coupes of the 40ies: at the beginning they chose a 1937 Auto Union Type C streamliner, but they soon realized that the film’s director was looking for a classic and smooth design.
They made up for lost time combining a Mercedes 540K with a Mercedes G4 Off roader, joining some hints of Bentley and Duesenberg. Notwithstanding the use of truck chassis and truck wheels the sight is amazing: keeping proportions in balance, using asymmetric bulb on the engine hood and some other little details, the car gently sways on the roads. The elegance goes arm in arm with the military use of the vehicle that outcrops from some objects, such as the toolboxes, radio equipment and body enforcements.
But what most impressed the audience were the flying wings: hard to be photographed, is the most successful vehicle of the movie; as Daniel Simon said: “. The trick was to drag the wingtips down as much as I could, and finally it got a silhouette that had character and could be filmed from the side”.
With his outstanding 540 ft wingspan, eight propellers – that actually belong to small bomber planes – Daniel Simon created a mother ship aircraft that would have been a weapon system that many parties were looking for during the Second World War.
His amazing manta body shaped suggests the American bomber Northrop-Grumman XB-35, that was sure enough a helpful guide.
Simplicity and believability, elegance and boldness, these are the main features of the Daniel Simon’s creation: as on the Hydra Parasit, sinuous and swaying lines create a stunning sense of reverence that is palpable and that is declared without absurdity.
