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Honors For Excellence, Ltd. will craft to your unique specifications a highly detailed, realistic bronze sculpture of any size - up to full life-size or even larger. Your sculpture will be attired in full turnout gear, field gear, uniform or period-accurate garments with all of the detailed attributes and design criteria developed with you at the beginning of the project. Generally, the first step in creating your sculpture is for you to send us a set of 360-degree photographs of one of your own personnel in the pose and attire you desire for your sculpture. 

Although extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive (with 22 separate and distinct steps for each of the 40-plus molds required for a full life-size sculpture), the most desirable results for a highly detailed project of this nature clearly are achieved through the art of "lost wax" hot bronze casting.  

With this methodology, the artist initially executes the original design in wax or clay.  Over forty rubber molds and plaster shells are separately crafted to create the individual parts of the monument.  Next, hot wax is poured into each mold, cooled and hand detailed as necessary.  The wax patterns are alternatively dipped in slurries of liquid and powdered silica to produce the silica molds that are in turn heated to 1500 degrees to melt the wax out from the silica molds--hence the term, "lost wax".  Molten bronze then is poured by hand into each silica mold. 

Following cooling, the silica mold material is hammered and sandblasted off the bronze surfaces which leaves rough metal sculpted pieces of the monument.  These pieces then are welded together, ground, sandblasted and delicately hand-sanded to remove imperfections and sharpen each intricate detail of the monument. 

The bronze now is ready for the color patina finish application.  Honors For Excellence, Ltd. offers a wide variety of color schemes and tints to make your sculpture blend appropriately with the indoor or outdoor ambient lighting around the sculpture.

Finally, a clear coat sealer is applied to further enrich the desired sheen and to protect the bronze surface almost indefinitely.

From the time construction begins, Honors For Excellence, Ltd. keeps you fully appraised of our progress through ongoing communication and photographs.  We will invite your representative(s) to preview and approve the finished wax sculpture components before the final bronze casting begins. 

 When the casting and finishing steps are complete, we will construct an appropriate packing crate or pallet to ship the monument to your site, and provide a precise template for positioning the monument on its base. We also will consult with the contractors for the base of your monument regarding design and installation procedures for the sculpture.

 Your sculpture generally can be completed within five to seven months of the date we receive your written instructions to proceed.

In summary, we view the creation of your monument not as an isolated assignment, but as a very special privilege and partnership with you for many years to come.  Your Honors For Excellence, Ltd. experts will be available on an ongoing basis to help with maintenance issues or any other questions you may have about your monument.