You asked for background information on the process used to reproduce the statue of a rampant colt that was atop the dome of the Colt building in Hartford.

The original rampant colt was removed from the top of the historic Colt armory dome in 1990 as part of a large-scale development project involving the Colt Manufacturing Co. property. This original statue was sold to an antiques dealer in Litchfield County. The company owning the armory wanted to make a replica of the original and install it atop the dome. The original statue was considered very valuable, but it was in poor condition. It also had original historic gilding on it. For these reasons, a decision was made not to make a mold directly from the statue. (The State Library Museum bought the original colt statue from the antiques dealer, and it now resides in its collection. )

Robert Shure, a Boston area artist, was hired to make the reproduction. According to Shure, he was given the original statue on loan to work from and, using measurements he took from it, made a clay model of the colt. He then used the clay model to make a mold and used the mold to cast the replica. He said the replica was made from polyester resin reinforced with fiberglass. He estimated that the work took about six months and cost about $ 25,000. He said that if he had been able to cast a mold directly from the statue, it would have taken much less time and cost about half as much. Once a mold is made, he said multiple copies could be cast from it. After the up-front cost for creation of the mold is paid, the per-copy cost of the reproductions decreases and the more copies that are made, the lower the cost becomes.

Shure said that if the statue is to be placed atop a building, certain engineering studies have to be done to assure that it will hold up to wind and other natural stresses. He said that his company, Skylight Studios, specializes in making replicas of older statues. He said that if he was provided with a picture of a particular piece of statuary and told its size, he could provide an estimate of the cost of producing a replica. His telephone number is 781-933-3822, and his address is 105 Salem St. , Woburn, MA 01801.

The Gnazzo Construction Company of Vernon was the principal contractor for the renovation of the Colt armory dome, and in September 1999 they lifted the colt replica to the top of the dome and bolted it down. Michael Gnazzo was in charge of this project. He estimated that the colt statue itself weighed about 100 pounds, but that with the addition of a heavy platform, the whole package weighed between 200 and 300 pounds. He said his company specializes in restoration of older and historic buildings. They have done work on the Bushnell Arch and the Old State House. Michael Gnazzo's telephone number is 860-989-8002.

We also spoke with Joel Karp, a financial planner who specializes in representing artists and sculptors. He said that having a reproduction made should not be particularly difficult. He suggested the Argos Foundry in New York (845-278-2454); he said that Roger or Steve (no last names provided) would be able to provide information concerning what would be involved and the cost. He also mentioned that if the statue were to be placed atop a building, some engineering would have to be done concerning the platform and the statute's placement when finished.

LKF: ro