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“Rick and I were both surprised and honoured at these statues of the McKenzie brothers,” says Thomas. “Despite the time that has passed, we both hold dear the memories of working at the ITV Studios on Allard Way Northwest with the rest of the cast and the Edmonton folks who worked behind the scenes on the SCTV show with us.

“We all became lifelong friends, and share a lot of memories. So, in that way, these statues really memorialize that experience and the folks from Edmonton and the other cast members of SCTV who worked on the show.”

Began work in 2017

Velthuis, who calls the monument his career highlight, was hired by the committee and began work in earnest in 2017, first carving Styrofoam on a metal armature from smaller models of a number of SCTV characters, including Martin’s Edith Prickley and Candy’s Johnny LaRue. “Because of my snow-sculpting background I chose to carve them in a fairly detailed fashion, knowing I’d be adjusting a lot along the way.”

The next stage was sculpting a mix of powdered foundry clay, paraffin wax and petroleum jelly.

“It hardens, but you can heat it up and mould it that way, or carve into it.

“Because of their costuming, because their stance they’re really identifiable really quickly. I compared it to the first renditions of The Simpsons. You can see them, but they’re not there yet. When I ask for a critique I really want it.”

It’s here Moranis and Thomas first had input. “Their biggest concern when they saw the maquette was with the likeness — when you’re working on a 14-inch figure there’s only so much detail.