A couple of towering Transformers are standing guard outside a Buddhist temple in Thailand
Don't be surprised if you run into couple of huge Transformers at this Buddhist temple in Thailand.
The Wat Ta Kien temple, just outside Bangkok, is home to three towering Transformers robots that stand eight metres (26 feet) tall.
Of course, most of them are the good guy Autobots like Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee.
The temple monks that commissioned the statues said the bots have "no spiritual purpose," except to attract and entertain children who visit the temple with their parents.
"It's for children so they won't get bored when they come to the temple with their parents," monk Pra Vichien told news outlet AFP.
The bold idea seems to have worked -- although perhaps more so amongst the adults that are flocking to the temple to snap an Insta-worthy pic.
At least four more Buddhist temples across Thailand have bought superhero statues, according to Pairoj Thanomwong, the Thai artist who runs the workshop where these figurines are made. He charges a couple of thousand dollars for each, reportedly.
The factory's biggest customer base is abroad, with around 80 percent of the company's sales made to overseas clients. “Over the past 10 years, people used to like (characters from) Aliens and Predator, but now they like the Transformers," said Thanomwong.
It's unclear if the commissioned Transformers figurines have been authorised by copyright owner Hasbro, but it's unlikely. We've reached out to Hasbro to check.
Topics Comics
Yvette is a Viral Content Reporter at Mashable Asia. She was previously reporting for BBC's Singapore bureau and Channel NewsAsia.
