I cannot buy a car – Then I’ll create It!

From a young age Volodymyr planned to take up creativity and make a living out of it. After graduating from Glière Music College and Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, he became an accordion player. He worked as a music teacher for a while and played at the weddings.

Then came the 90’s. Volodymyr calls that time “the music of hunger” because playing the accordion practically did not bring him any profits. He sold it and did more useful things – woodworking. Volodymyr began carving in 1992. His father taught him the basics of working with wood, and eventually he revived the rest of his knowledge in practice.

He made furniture, ordered from both Ukraine and foreign countries. However, billiard tables were and still are the signature product of Volodymyr the joiner. Even in this field he came up with personal know-how:

— I decided to make a pool table that no one will ever have. To finish it, it takes more money and time than building a car. Here is the lighting: here will be the light bulbs. It will all be painted as the city of Troy; it will be hanging on the four chains in the pool hall, and there will be the castle. All legs are made of wood. It took eight months to get those legs done. Although I can do a billiard table in eleven days. Do you understand? And only a month has been spent on one leg.

The Car

In 2015, Volodymyr bought an old Fiat for 4,000 UAH. That’s how the story of the miracle car began:

— I bought a Polish Fiat 126 of 1974. It was an absolute zero, quite rotten. I thought I should do something interesting. There was no engine, absolutely nothing. It was originally a four-wheeled vehicle. I made such a small car with a 1.6 engine from the Volkswagen Passat, and then I thought: why I kept working hard, spending money, but it would be another ordinary car. It occurred to me that it was a time to create something that would grab peoples’ attention. I decided to build a bigger car.

Volodymyr bought a BMW 730 of 1992 and added one more engine behind. The car has eight exhaust pipes, each of which is attached to a separate cylinder of the engine. Such a vehicle weighs up to 3 tons. It has about 2,000 light bulbs of various sizes that illuminate the car at night. There are several TVs installed in the cabin, and there are external cameras displaying the image on the monitors, while the windows are dimmed so that it is possible to watch people around through the video.

When Volodymyr began re-making the car, it reminded him of the spacecraft. That was how the idea to create Alien figure was born. And to put a machine gun in its hands. Volodymyr spent 3000 USD on the realization of this plan.

According to Volodymyr, it took 350 kg of metal wire to build Alien’s figure. At first, he didn’t know how to connect it properly to get the basic shape. But YouTube helped. The master found a video showing how the original Alien was created. Gradually, dart to dart, without any assistance, he built a figure that now decorates the wonder-car.

The idea of ​​creating the car itself was very simple – to be different from others:

— Well, the goal was to build a car that would be better than any other vehicle. If Bentley and similar cars come, people don’t see any car, but mine.

He built the car of the available scrap metal. Spent $ 12,000 on it. He says that he still lacks $ 5,000 to design his work finally.

Volodymyr wanted his car to be noticed by others. And it was noticed not only by the residents of Makariv. He was also contacted by filmmakers – they wanted to use a car for shooting a movie. However, when they knew that the car could not drive, they refused.

Despite the obstacles

According to all standards, this car cannot be a real traffic participant in Ukraine. It is too large and heavy. It can only be transported from place to place by other means.

When Volodymyr starts the car, it makes an incredible noise. That is why it is impossible to race such a car since it gets extremely loud.

However, Volodymyr managed to drive it several times. The police, even if they stopped him, only took a photo on the background of this unusual car.

Honesty, not everyone is impressed with the creation of the master:

— The neighbors liked it at first, and then the car started choking their chickens and cats, as they did not pay attention to the road. There were too many chicks and cats strangled. “Take it away because the cars kill everything!”

Friends and relatives do not share the admiration of Volodymyr as well:

— The whole family paid for this car. Neither the family understands, nor does the wife. She does live with me, but she does not share my thoughts about it. She is sure that this car is strange and scary and it cannot be interesting to anyone. And when I sometimes attend the auto shows in Kyiv, I say, “Come and see what the hype!” No, no, she doesn’t. My family did not accept it. Although other people accept it.

But it does not stop Volodymyr. Everyone wants a photo of his space car on the auto show. One day, the organizers even made people pay for taking pictures as an exception for Volodymyr. As a result, in four days, he made more than 7,000 UAH.

— Do not listen to anyone. Once you decided, you should do it. That’s the only principle that should be followed, because many men, many minds, you know?

Volodymyr showed his car on Khreshchatyk and at Sophia Square. A crowd will always run to take a picture. When they asked him if he would sell his creation now, he stopped to think. He said no. Although he called the price of a car 500,000 USD. However, the work and creativity he has invested over the years and continues to invest in his “space car” is hardly worth the money.

— When they say to you, “You leave it, it’s rubbish, nobody needs it,” then you should not leave it. The car impresses everyone.