So im a volunteer at the local train station resto effort, Buffalo Central terminal, and one of the MANY things the building is missing is the old statue of the buffalo that used to stand in the main concourse facing the train concourse.

The old one was smashed to bits back when a previous owner was pillaging the building for all it was worth, the original molds are nowhere to be found (they were last seen in 97)

the only thing i have to work off of is original pictures and the statue that stands at the University of buffalo, which was made using the original molds back in 97

UB wants $10,000 for a plaster copy of the buffalo, which i find funny because they got $75,000 OFF the price of thier statue because the company that made our original still had the molds laying around after 50 years

So the options we have are:

1) pay 10,000 for a cheap copy
2) put a different statue in there that looks nothing like the original
3) make our own accurate reproduction from scratch

i would like to do a CAD model of the original and have foam blocks machined from it, then attach those to a steel frame and fiberglass everything together

the only small prob is i suck at 3d modeling. no big deal right ? lol

any guidance would be greatly appreciated

the original:

we have so much other stuff that needs attention that we just cant take 10g's and put it into a decoration. however if i can get a solid start on a reproduction im positive i can get donors to line up to give $ and supplies towards the project.

the buffalo is just as much of an icon as the clock is. the buffalo and the clock are the 2 biggest things people want to know about. the clock was located a few years ago and purchased via fund raising and a donation from M&T bank. Its time that the Buffalo returns too.

i think i have a few leads on having the statue laser scanned, i guess ill have to see

thats so not an option on so many different levels