You may have discovered amazing LEGO ball machines in the TV show France’s Got Talent (“La France a un Incroyable Talent”) !
On November 25, you could have watched on the French TV channel M6, within the 2022 season of France’s Got Talent, the show Polo et ses machines.
You were amazed by this impressive show never seen before in Got Talent acts around the world?
And you want to know everything about this show and about these ball machines made with LEGO bricks ?
Who are Polo and Arthur? What are these LEGO ball machines called?
How to watch the show again? How to build them ? and much more…
You’ve come to the right place! Follow the guide and discover all the secrets and behind the scenes of this show !
Who is Polo, the man behind the show “Polo et ses machines” ?
Polo and Arthur – Ready for the show LEGO in “La France a un Incroyable Talent” season 2022Polo, candidate for the TV show France’s Got Talent 2022, in real life is called Paul Griffaton.
He is an enthusiast of mechanical constructions made of LEGO bricks and the creator of the website www.planet-gbc.com, a website that references marble machines (as known as “LEGO GBC”) but also automata made of LEGO bricks, designed by builders from all over the world.
Married, 44 years old in 2022, with two children (aged 13 and 16), Polo was selected for the television auditions of season 17 of the French edition from Got Talent, broadcasted on the French TV channel M6 and during which he was able to present, with his nephew Arthur, a marble race on machines built in LEGO.
What are the names of the ball machines shown in the “Polo et ses machines” show ?
Most of the ball machines displayed in the France’s Got Talent 2022 show are called GBC, acronym for Great Ball Contraption. A LEGO GBC is a machine, usually made of LEGO TECHNIC bricks and equipped with a motor, which transports balls from one place to another, often using mechanisms inspired by traditional mechanics or production lines found in industry.
In the jargon, this type of machine is known as a « GBC module ».
For the auditions of France a un Incroyable Talent, Polo organised a marble race for the jury on a series of GBC modules. The TV show was also completed with some automata entirely made with LEGO bricks.
To go further, you will find on the Planet GBC website lots of information about the world of LEGO GBCPolo and Arthur before the start of the show France’s Got Talent
How to watch Polo’s performance on Got Talent ?
The show Polo et ses machines has been broadcasted in the show La France a un Incroyable Talent” on Friday November 25.
Polo and Arthur were on stage for the sixth and final round of auditions for the 2022 edition.
If you live in France, you can replay the show on the channel M6.
Go to M6 Play broadcast platform, Register to the M6PlayMax offer (it’s free during 7 days), and watch the replay called “replay de l’émission La France a un Incroyable Talent – Emission 6: les auditions“.
If you don’t live in France, you can watch the show on Youtube.
For copyright reasons, this video is not accessible to YouTube viewers in France (note: you can use a VPN in your web browser to temporarily bypass this limitation)
In any case, you can watch the entire marble race in the YouTube video on the Planet GBC channel.
Here are videos:
Polo and his machines, in the show “La France a un Incroyable Talent” (content not viewable from France)
The entire ball circuit shown in the show
Which LEGO machines are featured in the circuit from the TV show?
For the auditions, Polo and Arthur prepared a marble race between the Got Talent jury members: Marianne James, Hélène Ségara, Sugar Sammy and Eric Antoine were able to compete on a circuit made of 12 LEGO machines.
Below is a list of the machines that were featured in the show.
On Planet GBC you will find videos, building instructions and ready-to-build kits (including all the genuine LEGO bricks needed for your building) to reproduce each one of these amazing machines.
If you wish to reproduce exactly the same circuit as the one in the “Polo et ses machines” show, you can follow the links in the paragraph above.
You will find all the information to be able to reproduce each of the machines proposed in the Got Talent show.
As the budget and time needed to reproduce the whole circuit is quite substantial, you can also create your own circuit by building your own machines (Planet GBC website is full of tips for creating your own original LEGO ball machines) or by reproducing some of the many machines listed on Planet GBC.
If you have a more moderate budget and simply want to build your first machines to get started, we recommend you the GBC4ALL machines series, ideal ball machines for starting out and creating your first ball circuit with your children
Are the machines made entirely of LEGO?
With the exception of the ball funnel (an accessory made with a 3D printer), all the machines presented on the marble race circuit of France’s Got Talent are made from LEGO bricks.
Even the balls are from LEGO (and yes! LEGO also produces balls)
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So far, no. The building of LEGO ball machines is still practiced by many enthusiasts around the world but has not yet led to the issue of commercial sets by the LEGO group.
But, who knows? maybe this will change in the near future as the popularity of these machines grows!
To make up for this lack, Planet GBC, in partnership with the Spanish company BuildaMOC, offers many GBC machines and LEGO automatons in ready-to-build boxes. You can order and receive at home all the LEGO bricks (100% genuine LEGO bricks) and the digital version of the building instructions in order to reproduce the machine(s) of your choice.
Rendez-vous to Planet GBC shop to discover the available LEGO ready-to-build kits or directly on Planet GBC machines catalogue on BuildaMOC website
Why did Polo participate to the show “La France a un Incroyable Talent”?
In addition to the human and fun experience, Polo applied as a candidate for season 17 of France’s Got Talent to showcase his stunning machines to as many people as possible.
It is also a way for him to show his children that everything is possible when you believe in your dreams.
Polo hopes that his participation in Got Talent show will also stimulate the imagination and creativity of a maximum number of children so that they can become the builders of mechanical LEGO machines of tomorrow.
How long did it take to build the audition circuit?
Cumulatively, there are approximately 250 hours of work to prepare, build, set up and sequence the LEGO machines that make up the ball circuit displayed during the TV show.
How many bricks make up the audition marble track?
Approximately 19.500 bricks were required to build all the machines shown in the audition circuit.
Why doesn’t Polo do LEGO Masters instead?
The filming of the show LEGO Masters on M6 requires much more availability than Got Talent (some of the LEGO Masters sessions require several dozen hours of filming and therefore availability of the candidates). The filming of LEGO Masters was not compatible with Polo’s professional activities for the moment (building LEGO machines and animating the community around the Planet GBC website remains a hobby for Polo).
But it’s not out of the question to see Polo in one of the upcoming seasons of LEGO Masters.
Why didn’t we find Polo and his machines in the semi-final?
If you saw Polo and Arthur’s act during the show’s auditions, you will have understood that the members of the jury (Marianne James, Hélène Ségara, Sugar Sammy and Eric Antoine, who joined Polo and Arthur on stage for a memorable moment) validated the act for the next stage.
We should logically have seen “Polo et ses machines” for a new show in the semi-final.
It is important to understand that the jury of the show deliberates between the auditions and the semi-finals to select the candidates.
This season, only 26 places were up for grabs in the semi-finals and the jury had validated around 50 acts.
Polo and his machines were unfortunately not selected during this filtering phase.
I want to know more! Are there any interviews with Polo on the occasion of his appearance on Incroyable Talent?
Yes, the display of “Polo et ses machines” show has caused quite a stir in the local French and Luxembourg press (Polo works in Luxembourg).
You can find the following articles (written or recorded in French) about his various appearances on the show and more information:
