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Original 1929 Oscar cast to make statuettes awarded in 2016

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The statuettes for the upcoming Academy Awards are based on an original Oscar from 1929.

The film academy announced Tuesday that a New York foundry is restoring features of the original design to the Oscar statuettes for 2016 using digital scans and 3-D printers.

It took Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry three months to make the 50 statuettes needed for the Feb. 28 ceremony using the high-tech process. Oscar was previously made in a more traditional way by Chicago's R.S. Owens & Company, the academy's foundry for the past 34 years.

Oscar is still plated in 24-karat gold. Oscar's dimensions remain the same: He's 13 ˆ½-inches tall and weighs 8 ˆ½ pounds. And he's still just as hard to get.

In this Jan. 4, 2016 photo provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, after molten bronze is cast into the ceramic mold during production, the Oscar statuettes are cut loose from their plumbing systems and sanded and polished by hand in Rock Tavern, N.Y. The statuettes for the upcoming Academy Awards are based on an original Oscar from 1929. The film academy announced Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, that a New York foundry is restoring features of the original design to the Oscar statuettes for 2016 using digital scans and 3-D printers. (Dorith Mous/Copyright A.M.P.A.S. via AP) The Associated Press
In this Jan. 5, 2016 photo provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, to give the Oscar statuette seen here in Brooklyn, N.Y., their striking appearance, all surfaces have to be perfect. Gold plating is only one micron thick and would not cover even the smallest indent; therefore to accomplish a perfect surface, the castings are plated first with copper, then nickel, and polished to a high luster. The film academy announced Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, that a New York foundry is restoring features of the original design from 1929 to the Oscar statuettes for 2016 using digital scans and 3-D printers. (Dorith Mous/Copyright A.M.P.A.S. via AP) The Associated Press
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