Daniel Simon Designs The Captain America Fleet

There was a whole lot more that went into the making of Captain America than beefing up Chris Evans’ bulging biceps. We’re talking about the incredible fleet of awesomely retro airplanes, automobiles and army tanks. Brainiac vehicle Designer, Daniel Simon, former Senior Designer at Bugatti and Volkswagen, captured the vintage 40’s aesthetic in creations that were titled with monikers like the ‘Hydra Schmidt Coup’ and ‘Hydra Flying Wing.’ “Intense research of both historically correct engineering and the Marvel Comic universe was part of every day’s work.” Miraculously enough, Simon created seven machines between November 2009 and June 2010 at Marvel Studios in Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles (Yes, you read that right). Now that’s flexing some serious muscle!

 Hydra Schmidt Coupé

 Hydra Schmidt Coupé

 Hydra Bike design

Simon says “The Hydra Bike is a classic example of movie design.” He went on to explain that he “worked the most time on it of all Hydra vehicles, though what you see in the final film is a quick sketch from my very last day on the show. Film making is an organic process, things change every day, which is a great challenge.”

 Hydra Tank

 Hydra Tank

 Hydra Flying Wing

Simon says that these renderings of the Hydra Submarine have “Subtle weathering, stickers, and a good stereo, maybe.” but explained that “some details were removed for the final film.”

These are Simon’s “very first flimsy pencil doodles for the 40ies Hydra Submarine at Marvel Studios, fall 2009. I went a little overboard with the configurations, awesome director Joe Johnston (Mr. Star Wars X-Wing himself!) and Oscar-winning Rick Heinrichs guided me towards a more classy concept as seen in the final design. Top left mini sketch foreshadows that direction.”