Ezeiza International Airport now has a statue of Diego Maradona, legendary football player who died in 2020. The statue is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and was 3D printed. The place was surprisingly chosen by Diego himself while he was alive.
Diego Maradona died in 2020, he was 60. Some time before his death, Eduardo Eurnekian, his friend and co-owner of Aeropuertos Argentina, local airport operator company, approached with an idea to make a statue of him. Diego liked the idea and suggested Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires as a place to install it. Diego Maradona did not live to see the statue but the project was later finished. It was unveiled on December the 15th 2021, before the game between ‘Barcelona’ and ‘Boca Juniors’ in Saudi Arabia honoring the late football player (it was named ‘Maradona Cup”). In the end, “Barcelona”, the club where Diego Maradona used to play, won.
Judging by a photo, the statue is around 2 or 2.5 meters (7-8 feet) tall including its pedestal.
Fun fact: The statue is allegedly perfectly life-sized but Diego himself was not exactly tall. Even in such a pose he would not be taller than 165 cm (5 feet 5 inch). It’s not clear why the statue wasn’t made from bronze or stone.
There is a probability that the reason for that is the community effort. The statue was made in parts by 40 participants with 3D printers.
Note: Such tall sculptures can be created with the use of molding and 3D printing. For example, one can use the Modix 120-Z 3D printer.
Print the models in parts and glue them together.
Create a negative silicon mold.
Cast wax inside the silicon.
Smooth and add details to the wax.
Cover it all with plaster and cast bronze metal inside.
Polish and do additional post-process*
It celebrates the moment when Argentina National Team won the World Cup in 1986 and Maradona was named the best player.
