To craft each Actor statue,
sculptors use an ancient
technique called the lost-wax
method; it's a process that
dates back an estimated 5,000
years. Each statuette starts
out as a wax-filled silicon
mold, with the arms molded
separately and then attached.
The wax statue is then used to
make a ceramic mold, which
is filled with molten bronze
and cooled. Approximately 93
pounds of wax, 225 pounds
of ceramic and 750 pounds
of bronze will be used in the
casting process. After breaking
the statue out of the mold,
the bronze is oxidized with a
blowtorch to give the figure
its greenish hue. Then the
nude figure is cleaned and
polished, placed on a black
granite base and given a
unique serial number.
Whose names will be
engraved on the brass plates
that decorate these works of
art? Tune in on Jan. 25 to
find out!
A craftsman
hand-finishes an
Actor statuette.
