Excellence in Galvanizing
The partnership between Wessex Galvanizers and a renowned equine artist has resulted in the creation of a worldwide acclaimed sculpture that now has pride of place at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, USA.
Wessex provided its expertise in the form of its specialist galvanizing service to artist Nigel Fennell, who used his background in horseback jousting and his early career as a farrier, to guide him in creating the de-constructed, muscular gladiatorial stallion.
The sculpture, named ‘Maximus’, has recently been recognised as a finalist in the American Galvanizers Association’s Galvanize It 2021 Awards. Inspired by the Spanish horse breed the Andalusian, Maximus took over 470 hours of precise crafting to create the 6ft 4in, 402kg masterpiece.
Crafted in sections, a muscular cage was created to map out the superficial muscle groups, with the face created from steel plate and the muzzle forged from a hollow steel 150mm sphere.
The horse’s mane and tail were also formed from steel plate. Each individual piece was then forged, twisted, and welded to give strength and depth.
Following production of the sculpture, it was then processed by the team at Wessex Galvanizers, which saw the intricate stallion being dipped in one piece into molten zinc at a temperature of 450°C.
Richard Whiddett, Sales Manager at Wessex Galvanizers, commented: “Due to the complexity of the individual sculpted elements, hot dip galvanizing was the only solution to ensure that all parts of the surface of the steel were coated – inside, outside, awkward corners, and narrow gaps. The coating is able to build up at vital corners and edges, rather than thinning out as is often the case with brushed, sprayed, and other dipped coatings.
“Designed and created to stand proud as an outdoor centrepiece, galvanizing this incredible sculpture will ensure that not only does it have a stunning aesthetic appeal, but that it’s protected from the elements and remains corrosion-free for generations to come.
“We were absolutely thrilled to be involved in this fantastic project, and the resulting piece of artwork is absolutely phenomenal to see.”
The ‘Maximus’ stallion sculpture was selected as a finalist in the 2021 American Galvanizers Awards.
By Wedge Group Galvanizing Ltd
