Dads will have the chance to give two of the world’s most iconic cars the once over in Wrexham during Father’s Day on Sunday.
Del Boy and Rodney Trotter’s Reliant Robin, made famous through the BBC series Only Fools and Horses, will trundle into the Eagles Meadow shopping centre where it will go on show for the day.
And sitting alongside the bright yellow Trotters Independent Traders three wheeler on Sunday will be Herbie, the anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle which has Hollywood iconic status after starring in a number of Disney blockbusters.
The star cars are making an appearance thanks to Mike Barr, proprietor of Barr Cars of Ballygally, Northern Ireland.
Mike says the cars always prove a big draw for the many dads who grew up laughing at the comedic antics of Peckham’s finest as well as being fans of the four wheel hero of so many blockbusting films.
Mike said: “The cars will be there all day and shoppers can have the photographs taken or simply reminisce as they look them over.
“These events are always really popular and I’m sure the cars will go down great guns with dads this Father’s Day in Eagles Meadow.”
And there is plenty more going on as Eagles Meadow celebrates a Boys Toys event especially organised for Father’s Day.
Kevin Critchley, the Manager of Eagles Meadow, says the event will have something for every dad and lad.
He said: “Like the majority of the UK population I love Only Fools and Horses and Del Boy and Rodney’s yellow reliant Robin is such an important part of the show.
“I am in no doubt that lots of people will be snapping photographs of their dads alongside both Del and Rodney’s special car as well as Herbie the Volkswagen Beetle.
“We will also have a Formula 1 simulator on site so dads can get a real feel of what it’s like to be Jenson Button or Lewis Hamilton. There will also be kiddi cars so that younger lads can have just as much fun as their dads.
“And artist Ian Cook will be creating a wonderful work of art using remote controlled cars to apply the paint. His paintings are absolutely sensational and I’m astonished he can create such fantastic work with remote-control cars.
Artist and self-confessed petrol-head Ian Cook owns more than 200 cars and likes nothing better than running his Ferrari 458 Italia through a pool of paint!
Ian will be running a whole fleet of his vehicles through paint at Eagles Meadow on Sunday to create a unique work-of-art.
The 28 year old has managed to turn his boyhood hobbies of painting and playing with radio controlled cars into an internationally acclaimed art form.
He creates incredible works of art using model radio controlled cars as his paintbrushes.
The first to put him on the art world map was a portrait of F1 champion Lewis Hamilton for Reebok.
It was the size of a three storey building and hung next to Tower Bridge in the run up to the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix.
He said: “This is my first visit to Wales. I will set up about 8am and start painting about 10am and finish a complete work by 5 or 6pm.”
Ian Cook, a former art lecturer who lives near Birmingham, is in huge demand world-wide and has just completed a project for Jaguar Land Rover, using just Jaguar Land Rover controlled cars.
Ian has a degree in fine art painting, but has always been a car enthusiast and even did work experience shadowing car engineers and designers.
He hit on the idea of painting with radio controlled cars when he was given a RV car by a now former girlfriend for Christmas in 2006.
“She told me ‘don’t take it down your studio, and don’t get paint on it’
and the idea was born. From this I did colour wheels and abstract pieces, and then moved on to images, this included logos, portraits and cars. But cars were the most effective,” he said.
To create his paintings, Ian applies the paint to the paper and then runs the cars through the paint. All the cars are different sizes, different car tracks and different widths.
It may seem an expensive way to create a work of art but Ian says it can actually work out cheaper.
“The RV cars I use range from £10 to £25 maximum. If I wanted a decent sable paint brush it could cost between £80-90,” he said. When he has finished with the cars, he can even sell them on.
He uses a “fleet” of non-branded cars for most of his artwork, unless it is a specific commission which requires him to use a particular make of car to match the painting – such as the Jaguar Land Rover commission. Some of his work has appeared on TV’s Top Gear.
He worked with Ferrari and used five new ‘paintbrushes’ supplied to him, including one of the car he was painting , the Ferrari 458 Italia, which Ian describes as a great looking car and a great paintbrush.
