The House of Iron in Thailand

One of the central provinces of Thailand – Ang Thong, is known for local craftsmen who make not only refractory bricks and wickerwork, but since 2011, figures from scrap metal.

Ban Hun Lek or the House of Iron in English was the result of the creative idea Mr. Pairote Thanomwong, who used old engine parts to create various figures. Thanks to his skill he managed to create from seemingly already used material hundreds of superheroes from world-famous movie universes including Transformers, Star Wars, Terminator and others.

The territory of the museum, which houses exhibits ranging in size from 2 to 4 meters, is divided into several parts. Almost at the entrance there is a room where a number of models are behind glass, despite the fact that most of the figures of the complex are publicly available - you can touch them, you can take pictures with them. The building houses several variations of Iron Man as well as various xenomorph species from the Aliens universe.

For more than 20 years, namely since 2000, Thanomwong has been producing new exhibits. It is noteworthy that initially it was an ordinary hobby, the figures were created, as they say, for home use. However, many people liked them so much that some of the works were bought or immediately made to order. In 2004 the first steel figures for export were made and in 2011 the factory was moved to Ang Thong.

In addition to another hangar with exhibits, the House of Iron has an open area with a lot of figures, from where you can also see the factory where visitors can get acquainted with the handcraft production process. There are several 4-meter transformers on the site as well as figures made from car tires. The exhibits are assembled not only from metal but also from rubber. Most often this may be a monkey, such as King Kong, or another animal with abundant hair such as a lion.

The museum has a souvenir shop where in addition to small figurines you can buy tools and spare parts made of chocolate. These can be wrenches, pliers, wire cutters or screws, bolts and gears. The taste of local chocolate may seem peculiar but the children at the end of their journey through the House of Iron will like it at least due to its appearance. The very thought of eating chocolate rebar sets the taste buds in the right way - the main thing is not the taste, but the process.

Author: Zimenkov Grigory