Statue of Liberty, 3d Model and SLS Output

This 3d model and rapid prototype were produced for a display. The finished output stands 32" tall. It took 3 and half days (very, very, long days) to model in total. A week after I had sent the .stl files to my vendor, I was holding the finished object in my hands.

It's not an exact copy, to pull that off would take twice the time and as pun would have it, certain liberties would still have to be taken. For this project, Lady Liberty needed to be simplified and softened. She needed to be immediately identifiable but, she also needed to be less severe and seem a little more happy to see you. As the original stands, she's a bit of a frowny, pouty girl.The torch and the base had to be similarly considered and handled as the object in it's whole  needed to match the other components in the scene.

I remember once reading that Barthodli had modeled the statue of liberty on his mother. When I studied the statue's face I found myself wondering past it's neoclassical handling of shapes and transitions and thought: What the hell was this poor guy's childhood like. Strangely our monument to international welcome wares the face of a stern, judgemental, Victorian era mother. She's a great statue but, a portrait sadly devoid of affection.