The centrepiece of the UK Arnold Sports Festival. Towering above visitors at the Birmingham NEC, this meticulously detailed statue was made and painted here at Stage One.

The journey first started in July 2021 in our machine shop, where we created the main sculpture out of foam using the 5-Axis CNC Machine. Once completed, we hard-coated the foam with fibre glass, giving it stability and a firm coating to hold the paint.

After being sanded down, we then passed the 3m sculpture to the paint shop who spent time layering up Arnie with primer, base coats, and the final bronze finish.

As well as creating the main statue, our wood and metal workshops worked together to create a base to stabilise and hold the statue. This was then finished off by the paint team who matched the base colour with the statue. One of the biggest challenges in this project was to make sure that the statue was correctly balanced and secure.

By September, we had completed the project with time to spare. Our final touches included making a large sleeping-bag style covering that safely covered the statue for its journey to the NEC.