Once a Kickstarter project, the statue of RoboCop is getting ready to be cast in bronze and placed in Detroit. Below you can see the pre-bronze model made from foam and various other materials.
It all started in 2011, when Imagination Station Detroit put together a campaign on Kickstarter with the tag line “Part Man, Part Machine, All Crowd Funded.” The idea behind this campaign was rather simple: Detroit needed a statue of RoboCop. Even though the goal was to raise $50,000, the 2,718 backers pledged $67,436, thus enabling the non-profit organization to proceed with turning the statue into a reality.
Since the action of the first RoboCop flicks was set in Detroit, Michigan, I can see why this particular city was chosen as the location of the statue. In time, the part-man, part-machine law enforcer has become a symbol of Detroit, and seeing the crime rates in this city, I’d say that the community could make better use of a real RoboCop, instead of just a statue. Too bad Superman and Batman movies weren’t set in real-life cities, as I’d love to see some superhero statues popping around.
Frank Barton is the artist who sculpted this pre-bronze model. To complete the design, he used foam, wax and clay. Of course, it would have been difficult to create this 10-foot statue from scratch, so he first made a smaller model that was 3D scanned and then got upscaled to the current dimensions.
It seems that the design of the statue is based on the RoboCop movies from the ’80s and the ’90s. Seeing how the new RoboCop looks like, it’s safe to say that the team behind this project made the right decision. I don’t even understand why the makers of the movie chose Toronto, Canada as a filming location, instead of RoboCop’s hometown.
The elected officials who are running the city of Detroit are certainly not loved by everybody, according to the third viral video featured in Ray William Johnson’s latest clip. However, as long as they allow statues of geek culture symbols to be erected in their city, I think they’re pretty cool.
It might take a while before we get to see the real statue placed somewhere in Detroit, but I’m sure that Alex James Murphy (and Peter Weller, by extension) would be proud of this. Maybe the team will consider placing the statue on a base with sounds effects. Of course, that’s just a wish that might never come true.
If you liked this post, please check this steampunk RoboCop and this artwork celebrating the RoboCop reboot.
