At first sight, the setting appears too rural to attract fans of the film series “Transformers,” in which two factions of alien robots battle for Earth. But Puli Township’s Make By Iron in Nantou County, central Taiwan, is home to sculptures that give the movie robots new life.
“This is a childhood garden of happiness,” MBI founder and owner Liang Nai-yuan said. “I want to build something reminiscent of young people’s delight and laughter.”
Liang, a landscaper by trade, got the idea to found MBI in 2009, when the second film in the trilogy had just been released and his son’s birthday was approaching.
“I wanted to make something special for my son, and as ‘Transformers II’ was popular at that time, I thought I could build a figure resembling the character Optimus Prime,” he said. “So I turned out my first product.”
The 5-meter-tall Metallic Robot, created from scrapped cars and discarded construction materials, took Liang more than a month to complete. Its red and blue shins, pair of tires like armor on its backside and four windows in its chest immediately remind the viewer of the film original.
“The practical difficulty was how to get the right external characteristics while engineering so many vehicle parts into a structure strong enough to be free-standing,” Liang said.
“I did all the work myself—cutting, joining, welding and casting. I constructed the torso and limbs out of a great variety of components, and in the final stage used a hoist to put them together.
“In the scorching summertime it was torture, and the welding sparks burned right through my clothes,” he said, showing off his hole-riddled sleeves.
Metallic Robot immediately attracted attention and praise. Acquaintances posted photos of the sculpture on the Internet, where it was a great hit with the cyber community.
“One guy even offered NT$2 million (US$66,830) for the piece, but I refused to sell it,” Liang said. “However, I realized my work was valuable, and I could support my family by creating more robots.”
He then rented the site for the MBI studio from a friend and contacted an Austin Mini car club he had participated in to secure a reliable source of used auto parts.
Components from one of the British Motor Corp. compacts went into Mini Guardian, inspired by Bumblebee, which in the films can transform itself into a Volkswagen Beetle.
“The fictional character plays a subordinate role, but my Mini Guardian is different, standing taller than Metallic Robot,” he noted.
Liang’s colossus also appears to be more composed and sophisticated than the other robots, with its raised wings giving it a sense of leadership over its comrades.
“I don’t draw up detailed plans before putting these creations together,” Liang said. “I just picture in my mind how they should stand and what they should look like. The results have been good, I guess because the used auto parts give them a spontaneous vitality.”
Despite his success, he has been criticized for a lack of originality and daring.
“The criticism doesn’t bother me,” he said. “Even though I could build things too abstract to understand, it doesn’t appeal to me.
“Art should be easily understood, and suitable for young and old, so even when viewers are unfamiliar with the subject matter, they can grasp the aesthetic values involved.”
Liang, who describes himself as an iron sculptor, has set himself a schedule according to which he will complete one large piece a year, with smaller commercial sculptures to be produced each month. The A series of robotic miniatures that he launched last year has been very successful.
“Each work in the A series is unique, as it was handmade and individually numbered by me,” he said. “Buyers are pretty satisfied with the distinctiveness of the pieces.”
These figurines are 30 to 40 centimeters high and sell for around NT$5,000 each.
“I imagine them as outer space soldiers who use their screw-assembled weaponry to fight formidable enemies.”
Orders have come from overseas artists as well as local visitors, Liang said, adding that 60 units in the series have been sold and he is now planning a Z series.
Liang opens the MBI studio to visitors only on weekends, so he will have more time to concentrate on new sculptures. There is an NT$50 admission charge, and the workshop does not open if it is raining. According to the Nantou County Government, the average annual precipitation in the Puli area is 2,100 millimeters, with around 156 rainy days.
Liang said he carefully lacquers the robots to protect against rust, but direct exposure to raindrops should still be avoided.
Despite the limited opening hours, a Facebook fan page is attracting more visitors to the studio, and Liang is putting more artworks on display, including one called Spring Man and another gigantic sculpture completed last year, Invincible.
“In the future I plan to weave a narrative with my pieces as good guys or bad guys,” he said. “Then my robot base will become something like a theme park, offering visitors a complete fantasy.
“Many more characters are under development, including insects such as spiders, praying mantises and butterflies. Puli is famous for its great variety of butterflies, and I want to use my steel artworks to promote the town, too.” (THN)
Write to Aaron Hsu at pj1210meister@mail.gio.gov.tw