After years of false starts, RoboCop statue will finally get erected in 2018

Detroit is finally getting a RoboCop statue. According to a Detroit News article, the finishing touches are being put on the 11-foot, 3,500-pound bronze statue based on the iconic film, which will be erected in Spring 2018. 

In 2011, a couple of Detroiters, Jerry Paffendorf and Brandon Walley, raised $67,436 in a successful Kickstarter campaign to construct a RoboCop statue. But the project then ran into some roadblocks.

They had trouble finding a location for the statue. The sculptor, Giorgio Gikas, got colon cancer. And the construction of the statue itself took longer than expected. 

“At times, he had two employees working on RoboCop, 40 hours a week each,” writes Stefanie Steinberg.

“‘Put that through three-some years now, and you see how much this project really has cost me,’ he said.” Gikas humorously says that the project has been “a pain in my butt, besides the colon cancer.”

The exact location of the statue has yet to be released to the public, but Gikas knows where it will be. (Spoiler: not Hart Plaza)

“So the speculation will continue—at least for a few more months,” writes Steinberg. “Walley said he plans to throw a ‘big Robo party’ to which they’ll invite Kickstarter supporters, “RoboCop” movie stars and even [former Detroit Mayor Dave] Bing.”

“‘We’ve heard from people around the world that they want to make the pilgrimage to Detroit to see it,’ Walley said. ‘So we really see it as a great tourist (attraction).'”