Makers in China recreate Marvel’s superhero gear
DIY workshop MakerBeta attracts big following online
We’ve seen Thor’s hammer, Wolverine’s claw and Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet in the movies. Now a group of makers -- DIY enthusiasts who like to build things themselves -- are recreating these Marvel gadgets in real life.
MakerBeta, a workshop based in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi’an, has replicated a variety of superhero gear from scratch. Using an electric fan and LED lights, they managed to reproduce Doctor Strange’s magic circle.
Their version of the Infinity Gauntlet is made of bronze and wired with small lights inside. The gems light up with the push of a button.
Infinity War throws down the gauntlet to the Fast and the Furious in China with $200 million box office debut
Wolverine’s deadly claws are being put to a more peaceful purpose: Cutting up potatoes.
Qi Lei, MakerBeta’s 28-year-old founder, says that the group was influenced by the maker movement in the West, which encourages people to learn how things work by taking them apart and tinkering with them.
“China once had great inventors like Lu Ban. We think China’s craftsmen, DIY talents and computer geeks deserve to be discovered,” said Qi.
The DIY movement grows in Shenzhen, China’s manufacturing capital
For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.
For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.
