His darling Bumblebee

September 7, 2007 11:56 AM

Making a Transformer out of KFC buckets and custard pie boxes.

The accompanying essay is translated poorly into English, but to me it somehow adds to the charm.

posted by of strange foe (31 comments total)

I like that the sound of transformers transforming is "KUKUKAKA".
posted by mrnutty at 12:03 PM on September 7, 2007

But... his transformer doesn't, you know, transform.
posted by Justinian at 12:05 PM on September 7, 2007

Transformers meet-up:

"So what do you transform from?"

"An 18-wheeler. How about you?"

"A KFC bucket."

"Oh. That's great. That's really great."
posted by brain_drain at 12:05 PM on September 7, 2007 [6 favorites]

I am really envious of the talent and time possessed by this person.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:11 PM on September 7, 2007

That's really impressive. Definitely more detailed then I was expecting.
posted by delmoi at 12:11 PM on September 7, 2007

Okay, that was pretty awesome.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:13 PM on September 7, 2007

Ditto on the detail. I was expect some taped up buckets and boxes but this is very impressive.
posted by champthom at 12:15 PM on September 7, 2007

I wonder if this bee smells more like motor oil or a secret blend of spices?
posted by phyrewerx at 12:19 PM on September 7, 2007

Justinian:
"After having studied the film edition bee thoroughly, I find that the procedure of transformation is very complicated, even some parts has taken place shape-changing." So he did look into it...
posted by of strange foe at 12:21 PM on September 7, 2007

Yeah, it's a great model. He should make a second model of the transformed Bumblebee to complete it.

<--- monday morning modelmaker.
posted by Justinian at 12:26 PM on September 7, 2007

I'm somewhat underwhelmed as I expected instructions on how to turn KFC buckets into electrical transformers.
posted by horsemuth at 12:39 PM on September 7, 2007 [4 favorites]

I know how to make a KFC bucket "transform" into a drum.
posted by jefbla at 12:44 PM on September 7, 2007 [5 favorites]

I've got to stop wasting my life.
posted by nanojath at 12:44 PM on September 7, 2007

What I found just as impressive as the end result is all the work this guy put into preparing before actually beginning to cut paper. Take a look at one of his model drawings.

Damn talented feller right there.
posted by papafrita at 12:47 PM on September 7, 2007

I bet his mom just crumbles it up and inadvertently tosses it in the wastebasket.
posted by Peter H at 12:51 PM on September 7, 2007 [1 favorite]

Mad skillz.
posted by GuyZero at 12:52 PM on September 7, 2007

brain_drain's comment reminded me of this Brunching Shuttlecocks video.
posted by Gary at 12:58 PM on September 7, 2007

Oh, I forgot to add photos of the Big Rig Jig sculpture from this year's Burning Man as a nice contrast/companion piece.
posted by of strange foe at 1:12 PM on September 7, 2007

I love how the documentation is put together, ostensibly so that you could build your own, where he is showing the materials, and tools all laid out, then you get to this:

In July 15, I begin to make it. According to layout, the first part would be its head.

Then the head is here.

Where it jumps from sketches and tools to an incredibly intricate head already built.

As if it should be completely obvious how he made it. It may have been unintentional, but I laughed.
posted by quin at 1:19 PM on September 7, 2007 [3 favorites]

Even though transformer robots are cool, I thought I'd include this for those like me who were disappointed not to see DIY electrical info.

How to build an electrical transformer.

How to build your own power supply.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:54 PM on September 7, 2007

Q: Why does Kentucky Fried Chicken come in a bucket?
A: So you have something to throw up in after you eat.
- Neil Hamburger, America's Funnyman
posted by porn in the woods at 2:05 PM on September 7, 2007

disappointed not to see DIY electrical info.

Yeah, I was expecting another Tesla coil project.
posted by StickyCarpet at 2:49 PM on September 7, 2007

Eat your heart out Buckethead.
posted by Sailormom at 3:12 PM on September 7, 2007

Wow. Wow. Scratch-built models are often really cool, but this one, using such prosaic materials, has another level of ingenuity to add to its... coolness. Thanks for the link!
posted by Slothrop at 3:46 PM on September 7, 2007

wow. thats super cool. i wonder if this guy is an industrial designer or toy designer in job life.
posted by fuzzypantalones at 5:13 PM on September 7, 2007

This was a lot better than I thought it would be from the FPP.

There is a story between Transformers and me that I cannot but share with you.

When I was in Grade 4 in 1988, the Transformers appeared...

Charming, indeed. Reminded me of being seven years old and my obsession with all things Star Wars. Being intimately familiar with the tiniest details of the Stormtroopers' uniforms, having notebooks full of hand drawn battle scenes between x-wings and tie fighters.

I want a Stormtrooper uniform!
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 5:49 PM on September 7, 2007

Slarty, I'm pretty sure the guys who did Troops made their own uniforms. Perhaps you can follow their example.
posted by quin at 6:00 PM on September 7, 2007

horsemuth, I did the same thing. Do most people, when they see the words "making a transformer" really think first of a species of old robot cartoon? Admittedly I spent the time it took for the page to load speculating on the exotic materials that these "custard pie boxes" would have to be composed of, as the difficulty in making an electrical transformer out of nothing but cardboard is hard to overestimate.
posted by George_Spiggott at 6:29 PM on September 7, 2007 [1 favorite]

I thought it was transformer robots. Then again, Im 29 and grew up with transformers.

I mean, there was never any doubt in my mind...
posted by subaruwrx at 8:30 PM on September 7, 2007

Gary, you know, this whole post reminded ME of THIS brunching shuttlecocks article. Then you posted and drove the whole correlation home.
posted by subaruwrx at 8:32 PM on September 7, 2007

Wow, chicken and custard pie! This might be better than chicken & waffles, or maybe the next course.
posted by spasm at 10:53 PM on September 7, 2007