Designer Don Hood Art Exhibit

This review isn't so much about a particular toy car but of a designer of cars. Today I attended an art show at a local community art gallery in the town of Kerrville Texas. It featured the work of Car Designer Don Hood. He worked with Chrysler and General Motors in the 60s through the 80s.

The gallery was hung with original sketches and art work of his automotive design. Concept drawings abounded showing space age and futuristic thinking applied to the models such as the Oldsmobile Tornado, Chrysler Imperial, Olds 442 and Race Cars. Each was hand drawn and painted on paper in the days before computer aided design. It also included his work on one of the more famous cars he worked on, the Plymouth 'Cuda.  It was a joy to walk around and see the concepts and think about what might have and could of been if certain design cues had been adopted by the automobile makers.  

At the last minute I grabbed a Hot Wheels '71 Cuda as I  left my house and posed it with one of the exhibits.  I kind of liked that little extra touch of history for the car.  The sketches are the beginning of that design and toys are the end.  The toys representing that vehicle are still being made even after the real cars have long been retired. 

The lovely hand model is the TSHF Museum's very own Vice Poobah of Retail Procurement : David

As we were finishing up our viewing of the show, we realized that Mr. Hood was there in the lobby. So I got to meet him and thank him for sharing with us the fine work that I hope more people will get to see.  Not only so that he can get some well deserved credit for his contributions to automobile history but also for fans of the genre to experience some rarely seen art of the automobile culture.  

This is me meeting Mr. Hood.  He's patiently holding the Hot Wheel I brought that I thought might make a interesting story telling element to the picture but it didn't really work out.  You can't see it so it looks like he's introducing a trained monkey man.  Photo by Mrs. Super Happy Funtime.

And now the bad news.  Because of my busy work schedule I haven't been able to visit the show until today (July 28) and report on it.  This was the last day it was going to hang.  I don't know where these works will appear again.  So, if you were in the neighborhood and wanted to attend, sorry, it's gone.  But at least I've got some pictures to share.  Enjoy!

By the way, here's a link to the local newspaper's online article about the show.

Red Carpet Review: Hot Wheels Back To The Future Time Machine

The Super Happy Funtime Virtual Diecast Vehicle Museum Presents 

A Red Carpet Review: 

Featuring Hot Wheels Back To The Future Time Machine

from the 2013 Retro Entertainment edition.

I have been buying some of the Retro Entertainment cars when they have come out in my area but I haven't opened a package to take a closer look until now.  I assumed that what I was paying the extra money for was the fancy package and better paint job and rubber tires... and I was right, but in a good way.  The first one I've looked at is the Back To The Future DeLorean. 

First of all, I was more impressed with the paint job than I thought I would be.  The metallic grey looks more realistic and they got more of the details painted in, like the tail lights.  The rubber tires and rims are also more authentic looking.  Another feature you get with the deluxe version of the car is a metal base.  It adds a nice weight to the car and is painted black.  As for the package, well it's nice but I rip most of the packages off the cars anyway so I'll let you be the judge.

Check out the pics below for comparison with the original Hot Wheel and to see some of the added details. As for me, I guess I'll go open some of the other cars from this line that I've bought and see what they have to offer. 

Happy Hunting.