When Nick Desjardins began to saw, hammer and assemble a wooden installation on his front lawn, no one gave him a second glance.

A few days later however, a ripple of excitement cut through the quiet Brampton neighbourhood – and beyond – as the artist fashioned a claw and what appeared to be a head of a robot onto the structure.

Megatron! Cried people in awe when they recognized the fictional character from the popular Transformers franchise.

Desjardins, 34, an artist, said he wanted to add some excitement to the neighbourhood for Halloween, but instead of the usual ghouls and ghosts, he opted to build a mammoth Transformer out of jagged and pointy wooden pieces, cut to precise size and shape.

Throngs of gawking fans – young and old alike – have been making daily pilgrimage to the cul-de-sac near Richvale Drive and Sandalwood Parkway at 2 Peterson Court.

“I have been an artist my whole life and my philosophy has always been ‘go big’,” said Desjardins of the 14-foot by 14-foot freestanding structure. “I am a huge Transformers fan. The fact that Megatron is scary looking and it’s Halloween made me want to do this. It has been challenging, I will admit that…but watching the smiles on people’s faces has been nice.”

Once the sculpture is complete, the Bramptonian said he and his neighbours will light it up, and sounds from the Transformers series will play in the background and kids can grab the candy from Megatron’s claw-like hands.

Desjardins, who’s a construction worker by day, has been working around-the-clock to make sure the fictional leader of Decepticons is ready to greet the flood of trick-or-treaters come Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31.

He said he was making great progress and the sculpture was almost complete, until a few days ago when high winds and rain knocked a portion of the structure down.

Desjardins’ sculpture has created a sense of camaraderie, said neighbour Linda Driscoll and her partner Ed Smith.