By placing his hand on his waist and elevating his head just a little, Rick Terry effectively captures the regal essence of Manfred von Richthofen, The Red Baron, the leading fighter ace of WWI with 80 victories.

Rick Terry studied sculpting and bronze casting in college; worked for over seven years at a bronze foundry serving as foundryman to manager; through competition was selected by Prescott Arizona Community Art Trust to create a life-size sculpture for Yavapai County Fairgrounds; and most recently collaborated on several heroic size sculptures.

"Several years ago," states artist Rick Terry, "I was asked by retired Disney sculptor Blaine Gibson to assist on some of his monumental bronze projects. The first was an eight foot Sam Rayburn statue which has been installed in Bonham Texas. The next was for Walt Disney, an over lifesize bronze of Walt & Mickey titled 'Partners'.

In 1993 we installed the first casting at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, then in 1995 the second casting was installed at Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida.

"One project which was truly exciting to work on was the eight foot heroic bronze of Marine Fighter Ace General Joe Foss which was installed in 1995 in Sioux Falls, SouthDakota, recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the end of WWII. Blaine and I met with General Foss many times over the development of this piece. We used many original WWII period photos for reference, interviewed him and consulted with Foss throughout the project. I was very thrilled to see this piece become a reality and be on hand to witness its dedication at the Airport, Foss Field, in South Dakota."

There are hundreds of artists sculpting today who ably create a sense of an individual's portrait, but few accurately portray their subject's persona. Rick Terry is one of a handful of sculptors working today who seriously and thoroughly immerses himself in his subject. By studying biographical information, available photos and personal interviews when possible, Terry condenses this bounty of information into an exquisite artistic expression. Coupling history, personality, design and artistic talent into every sculpture, Rick Terry's bronzes are perfect additions to every collection.

What is a cold cast bronze compared to a hot cast bronze? To date, Eagle Editions Ltd. has released a total of three bronzes by Rick Terry, each available in either cold cast or hot cast bronze. Many collectors have inquired about each of these casting methods. This is simply described as follows:

Hot cast or the lost wax process of casting bronze is the more traditional method dating back hundreds of years. Simply put, it consists of making a rubber mold from the original sculpted piece. From this rubber mold, a wax duplicate is made. This wax is coated with a liquid ceramic material which is then heated, melting the wax out and firing the ceramic shell. Ceramic is one of the few materials that can withstand the thermal shock of molten bronze metal. Once the ceramic shell is ready, hot, molten bronze metal at a temperature of over 2000 degrees is poured into it. Allowed to cool, the ceramic is removed from the bronze which is then cleaned and assembled after which the coloration or patina is applied. A time consuming and costly process, this technique is highly technical and labor intensive generally taking about two months to complete. Hot cast bronze figures generally sell for thousands of dollars.

Cold cast bronze is not as labor intensive as the hot cast. Again, using the rubber mold made from the original, a casting polymer resin is mixed with bronze powder, poured directly into the original rubber mold and allowed to set up. These cold cast bronze pieces are virtually identical in appearance to their hot cast brothers with the exception of cost and weight. A modern technique, cold cast bronzes general sell for hundreds rather than thousands of dollars. Every piece of art is fragile and the hot or cold cast bronze pieces are no exception. They should be treated with the respect they deserve, displayed on a bookshelf, desktop or pedestal away from curious hands.