Saturday, November 07, 2009

The Hot Car

Hop in, Blog Reader, and we'll go for a jolly ride!  Down the open road, over the dusty high-way, and through every hammy hamlet by the sea, disobeying signs and cops, taking every wrong turn, and all the while merrily, merrily text messaging.  Wheeeee!

There's no better way to traverse the "roads perpendicular" than in this sporty little conveyance right here. Why some guys would hand over their entire estate to a flock of weasels for one.

Toady's "hot looking car" in the film "The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad" is comparatively different from the attraction vehicles down at Disneyland, as you can see in this 1940s animation model sheet.

Click for Full-Size.

The cartoon motorcar's design includes the parts and pieces of  an authentic 1906 Autocar Roadster:

"Ah-OOO-gah."
 
For Mr. Toad's wild little dark ride down at Disneyland, designer Bruce Bushman combined the rich luxury of the Roadster with the charm and floating fenders of a 1904 Glide:

"Poop-poop."

And as Cyril Proudbottom would say, "Lumme Guvnor, it's a motorcar!"

Hot off the 1955 assembly line.

The twelve original Disneyland Toad Cars were hand-made of sheet metal and fiberglass by Arrow Development and for the first few years, the cars had no built-in safety bar.

By 1961, bars were added to ensure that wilder riders 
remained in those cushy upholstered seats at all times.

"Pull down on the lap bar, please."

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, 1960s

Now hold on and give your steering wheel a spin, as we bang through the doorways of Toad Hall and out to the English countryside.  Tally Ho, and keep off the train tracks.

10 comments:

testsjmg said...

Oddly enough, on our jaunts from FL to Disneyland...Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is usually one of our very first stops.

Our tykes are in mortal fear one day it'll be replaced in Disneyland also.

Daveland said...

Great post Kevin - still one of my fave attractions at the park. Hope they never replace it—it’s a total classic (and a great way to warm up when it's cold outside!)

Unknown said...

Wonderful post!

Major Pepperidge said...

Fantastic stuff as usual, and a beautiful job on the model of Mr. Toad's car!

TokyoMagic! said...

VERY nice replica. I like the attraction "shield" in the background too! Is that a paper sculpture?

Eric Scales said...

Kevin, I noticed on my Toad car sculpture, one of the slats on the front grill was a little warped, and when I touched it, it flexed and the paint flaked off. Turns out they are all a little bent and the paint is flaking on the others. Any tips on touching up the paint- what type of paint to use, etc...? Thanks!

Kevin Kidney said...

Thanks everyone for stopping by, even though my schedule has limited my blogging down to a trickle recently.

TokyoMagic, the attraction shield is one of our silk-screened tin signs from 2005.

Eric, I would suggest giving the grill a touch up with black Testors Enamel Model Paint. Be careful with the grill, itself. I discovered the hard way that the slats are quite flexible and can even snap if handled with too much pressure. Good luck!

Donnie said...

I have the Shield but sadly not the car....

disneynorth said...

Where can we buy this wonderful sculpture?

Brian B said...

This was one of my all time favorite rides at Disney World.
Sadly it is a Pooh Bear ride now.
Pooh Bear is a fine ride and I liked several elements in it but it is no Wild Ride!

I hope they keep it at Disneyland.