A statute of Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister will be unveiled in front of the late MOTÖRHEAD frontman's favorite haunt, the legendary Rainbow Bar & Grill on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, on August 24 at 7 p.m. This event is open to the public. A partial first look at the Lemmy statue is available at the LA Weekly web site. Los Angeles-based artist Travis Moore was selected to create a realistic depiction of Lemmy for the life-size cast bronze statue, which stands at just over six feet tall and will be permanently housed in a special shrine that was constructed in the patio bar area at the Rainbow. According to California Rock News, Travis initially sculpted the likeness as an 18-inch maquette that was then be transferred to a life-size sculpture, which was molded in wax and ultimately poured and cast in bronze. A timelapse video of Travis building the 18-inch maquette can be seen below. A native of Texas, Travis did his part for free, but there were considerable costs associated with the actual process that ultimately made the statute a reality. A funding campaign was launched by Katon De Pena from classic underground thrash-metal band HIRAX, who raised about $23,000 to support the building of the statue. Katon said in January: "Lemmy was dedicated to us. Now is our chance to say 'thank you.' Travis will create the best Lemmy sculpture on the planet." MOTÖRHEAD manager Todd Singerman told LA Weekly that he never interfered in Moore's design process. "This is for the fans. Nothing corporate," he said. "Not the label, nothing. This is a fan thing and we tried to stay out of the way." He added that there are plans to expand the tribute with a "Lemmy Lounge," which will temporarily live at the Rainbow and possibly become the actual bar inside a separate "Motörhead Bar & Grille," which Singerman said he's working on, along with a major Lemmy tribute concert and a MOTÖRHEAD museum that will house some of Lemmy's musical and military memorabilia. Lemmy passed away at his home in Los Angeles on December 28, only four days after his 70th birthday. A memorial in his honor was held on January 9 at the Rainbow Bar & Grill, and it extended across much of the Sunset Strip.
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