What can you do with a monster truck tire and a rich imagination? Build a kick-ass tricycle, of course.

We can’t all build our very own sports car, or make a Batmobile replica out of scratch, but a good idea and some technical skills go along way, and this monster tricycle is the perfect example. Making great use of a giant tire, some European managed to build an old-school, with a modern twist.

Judging by the video footage below, riding the monster tricycle requires great leg  muscles, and I don’t even want to imagine what would happen if anyone were to ride it down hill, but it’s a great way to get noticed and become an Youtube sensation.

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Making use of ULC (ultra light construction) an Austrian car enthusiast managed to build the lightest and slowest Porsche in the world.

The Ferdinand GT3 RS may look a lot like a Porsche roadster, but as we all know, appearances can often be deceiving. I’m not even sure we can call this thing a car, considering it doesn’t even have an engine, but it’s definitely an interesting concept. The Ferdinand GT3 RS weighs an astounding 99.63 kilograms, which is lighter than any other working car, but that means all the “unnecessary” components were left out. The body of this home-made sports car is made of plastic tubes, and the wheels are so slim they wouldn’t even fit on a bicycle.

The golden finish of the Ferdinand GT3 RS may look impressive, but you’ll be surprised to know it’s just gold-painted duct tape, covering the plastic tube frame of the car. Since it doesn’t even have an engine, you’re probably wondering how it works. As you can see in the video at the bottom, this DIY vehicle is powered by…(wait for it)…pedals. Just like on a bike, you’ll have to make good use of your legs, to get from A to B.

You can see a lot more photos of the building process of the Ferdinand GT3 RS, on its Flickr stream, but we’ve posted enough photos to give you a good idea of how it was made. The world’s slowest Porsche is now on display at the Lentos Museum of Art, in Linz, Austria.

via Ferdinand Johannes

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Actually making a playable guitar is hard enough, but making it using just popsicle sticks, some glues and basic house tools seems nearly impossible. Still, someone managed to do it.

Instructables user busupholstery managed to leave everyone speechless when he uploaded photos of the guitar he made, using posicle sticks. He bought 4,000 of them, worth $900, and ended up using 2,000 to create his DIY masterpiece. Using his own Gremlin parlor size guitar as a pattern, he spent 240 hours gluing and cutting popsicle sticks, until his unusual guitar was completed.

The most amazing thing about this man’s achievement is that he managed to build a popsicle stick guitar, somewhere in Costa Rica, basically using just a handsaw, some clothespins, rubber bands and glue. Let’s face it, most of us wouldn’t be able to make something like this with the latest power tools available.

And though it may not sound as good as the best guitars on the market, the popsicle stick guitar is playable. Before you even ask, it’s not for sale.

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All you Batman fanboys out there, better get your tissues, so you don’t drool on your keyboards, because this Batpod replica is a treat.

We’ve seen cool Tumbler replicas before, but this is the first functional Batpod I’ve seen, so far. And the best thing about this thing is that it’s for sale. Sure, we can’t all just whip out $100,000 to buy it, but at least we can dream.

The 1:1 replica Batpod took several months to complete, including 2 months of research and over 1,000 hours of intense labor. Its frame and tubing are made of hardened steel, the covers and arm guards are high tensile strength fiberglass. The engine is a whopping 650cc, which features nitrous injection boost and water cooling.

In case you’re wondering this custom made Batpod can be ridden, and although it’s not street legal, it has been tested in a controlled environment. According to the seller, it can be made street legal, at the buyer’s request. Still I wouldn’t recommend taking this thing for a ride on the highway, if you value your life.

The auction for the Batpod replica is ongoing on eBay, so you still have a chance of snatching it, for $100,000.

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A perfect example of how to turn a problem into an awesome solution, the Imperial Walker bunk bed was the perfect idea to deal with lack of space.

Jonathan posted some photos of this awesome bed that he built for his mother, on Gizmodo. She moved into a new house that didn’t have much of a yard, and needed something that would keep her grandsons entertained, without taking up too much room. Taking advantage of the 10-foot-high ceiling, and being a huge Star Wars fan, Jonathan decided he was going to build a bunk bed based on an Imperial Walker.

Going for a more realistic look, the DIY master designed the walker as if it were moving, and even added a complete Hoth LEGO display case, on the second level of the bed. He began working on the bed, at the end of September 2009, in his modest wood workshop, and managed to complete it in February 2010. Jonathan estimates he put between 300-400 hours into the Imperial Walker bunk bed.

We’ve seen other Star-Wars inspired beds before, and some pretty impressive Imperial Walkers, but Jonathan’s bunk bed definitely takes the cake.

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After seeing photos of himself and another supercar he built, back in 1981, Henrik I. Matevossian, from Armenia, sent Yaplakal forum some newer photos of his home-made Maserati.

Matevossian, a passionate motorist, started this project in 1985, and changed the design several times, trying to make his car look more sporty. He had to do everything himself, and progress was pretty slow. The building process stopped after the fall of the Soviet Union and the Armenian car enthusiast resumed work after 2000. He finished his masterpiece in 2007.

The engine, gearbox and rear suspension came from a real 1984 Maserati V6 BiTurbo. This home-made supercar also features a Weber carburetor, control unit for the turbines, altered front suspension and the steering wheel of a Toyota.

Matevossian’s greatest sadness is that Armeniean law doesn’t allow him to drive his home-made Maserati outside national borders, so he can show the world his creation.

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Just because someone can’t afford a Lamborghini, doesn’t mean they can’t have one. Young Chen Jinmiao built the coveted sports car, himself.

Chen had dreamed of driving his very own Lamborghini, ever since he was a child. And when he became a skilled mechanic, this ambitious man decided it was time for his dream to become a reality. He downloaded the necessary blueprints, began searching and manufacturing the parts , and after a year’s work, he finally had his own yellow Lamborghini.

Chen Jinmiao, of Chenzhou, Hunan province, spent a total of about $3,000 on his home-made Lamborghini, and though it might not look exactly like the real thing, it has the wing doors that open upwards, and a top speed of 60 miles per hour.

Photos via People’s Daily

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Wu Yulu, a Chinese farmer, from a small village, outside Beijing, has created a series of 47 robots, out of scrap metal. They can accomplish various functions, from drinking, to walking and even pulling a rickshaw.

Ever since he can remember, Wu Yulu has been fascinated with the mechanics of movement. He always dreamed of building robots that could imitate human behavior, and in 1986, he decided to put his dream into practice. 24 years later, our techie farmer is the proud inventor of 47 home-made robots.

But Wu Yulu has made many sacrifices, in the name of science. He almost lost his wife and two children, after burning down the house, while working on a robot, accumulated great debt, and was even sprayed with battery acid. But like any respectable mad scientist, our man didn’t give up.

And now his effort are finally being rewarded. Mr. Wu has been invited to showcase his scrap metal creations and their functionality, at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. This after already receiving a number of prizes and contracts with universities. But he doesn’t get all this go to his head. he still lives in his modest village house, surrounded by pieces of metal and broken doll parts.

The strangest thing, about Wu Yulu, is he declared he loves his metal robots, more than he loves his own kids. He refers to his rickshaw robot as his 32nd son, and even programmed it to say “Wy Yulu is my dad, I take him out on the town.” How cool is that!

Photos by REUTERS via Daylife

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Using the power of no less than 500 LEDs, this dude created a home-made flashlight that can easily be mistaken for a high-powered light projector.

Before you think about the amount of power this thing needs to actually work, you should know LEDs are much more effective than old-fashioned light bulbs, have a longer life span, and lower heat dissipation. The LED bazooka flashlight features several brightness adjustment switches, and compared to two Maglite flashlights, is infinitely powerful.

If you want to fry someone’s eyes or even signal an airplane in flight, the 500 LED Bazooka flashlight is just what you need. Check the video at the bottom, for the making-of and to see this light beast in action.

via Gadgetonian

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A Russian ship enthusiast spent two and a half years working on a 1:200 scale model of the RMS Titanic, made mainly out of paper.

A Ukrainian forum user that goes by the name of Henschel has posted some interesting photos of a Titanic model, on which he has been working for over 2 and a half years. Apparently he studied blueprints of the iconic ship from books and online, before he began his work.

Apparently, the main material used to build this model was paper punch cards. He also made good use of drawing paper, yarn, fishing line and wire. The paper components were covered with waterproof varnish, and the RMS survived the bathtub test, as you can see in one of the photos, below.

Henschel also fitted his paper Titanic with some electrical equipment, powered by a 6-volt battery, located below deck. The rudder is operated via remote-control and the entire ship is illuminated by small light bulbs and LEDs.

The awesome paper Titanic model apparently cost around $125 to complete. Pretty cheap for such a thing of beauty. Te photos aren’t exactly HD, but you can get an idea of how much work went into this project.

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Talk about Transformers going downhill. Leader of the mighty Autobots has gone from battling Decepticons and saving the world, to drying some guy’s laundry, in Taiwan.

Wanting to do something nice for his son, a huge fan of Transformers’ Optimus Prime, that would also be useful around the house, a Taiwanese man built a 14-foot-tall replica of the famous Autobot and used it as support for his laundry drier.

The DIY replica of Optimus Prime cost $1,600 worth of scrap metal to make. It’s nice the dad put so much effort into building something this awesome for his son, but using it to dry laundry? It doesn’t get more degrading for a Transformer.

Photos via Mobile01

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24-year-old Ruslan Moukanov managed to prove it’s not all about the money when you want to drive the car of your dreams.

For the young Kazakh, the exclusive Rolls Royce Phantom seemed like an unreachable dream, when he first saw some photos of it, years ago, in the local library. Since raising 500,000 euros was out of the question, Ruslan had to come up with another way of getting the car of his dreams.

Using only his auto-tuning skills, this Rolls Royce fan managed to give his old Mercedes Benz a total make-over and turn into a perfect replica of the Phantom. It might not drive like one and the materials used might be “a little” cheaper, but for the ,3000 euros Ruslan spent, it doesn’t get much better than this. Congrats!

via AutoRoyalty

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If you’re looking to surprise your friends and family this holiday season, then the apple-turned-wine-glass is just what you’re looking for.

I know this isn’t exactly an oddity, but I thought the idea was very cool and thought some of you guys would love it too. All you need to make yourself a totally edible glass is a nice green apple,a cinnamon stick and some hot caramel. You can find detailed instructions on Instructables, but basically it comes down to carving the apple, gluing the cinnamon stick and insulating the inside of the apple with some hot caramel, to prevent leakage. And there you have it, your own apple-glass.

Pretty cool, huh?

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Looking like an anti-aircaft cannon form World War 2, the enormous pumpkin cannon of Ulster County sends pumpkins flying at speeds around 600 mph.

With Halloween right around the corner, John Gill and Gary Arold figured they needed something really cool for this year’s celebrations. So, using a long metal tube and compressed air, they’ve come up withe coolest, most powerful pumpkin cannon on Earth.

The two 1,000 gallon-monster-tanks build up enough pressure to send the pumpkin 3,500 feet in the air, at a speed of approximately 600mph.  The organic projectile travels about a mile before it squashes against the ground (or whatever else it hits).

Seeing it in action is monster cool and I suspect operating it is even more fun, but is it completely safe. I’m sure I don’t think they aim for populated areas, but what if someone just passes through and gets hit by a flying pumpkin? Let’s just say there would be two squashed things.

Take a look at what this monster pumpkin cannon can do, in the video at the bottom.

via Gizmo Watch

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Charles Guan, a young student at MIT, has built a Shopping Go-Kart that reaches a top speed of 30 miles per hour.

LOLriokart, the name Guan chose for his invention, was built using an ordinary shopping cart, discarded wheels and the engine from a high-performance golf-cart. Although he could have opted for a stronger engine that would have pushed the LOLriokart to a speed of 45 mph, he decided to go with a smaller one that allows him to switch between a walking pace speed and 30 mph.

The wacky kart features a custom steering system and because all components are positioned on the wheel line, it has a low center of gravity even when he’s inside. In case something goes wrong and the brake system fails, LOLriokart also has an emergency red button that cuts all power to the engine.

it may not met all safety regulations, but for one year’s work and a budget of just $300, LOLriokart is quite something. Well done sir!

Watch the road test at the bottom.

via Popsci

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