Terminator 2: Judgement Day was the inspiration behind this sculpture. This was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s second outing as the killer cyborg.

It was the end of my second year at Barking College in East London, where I was doing an industrial model making course that I didn’t find particularly taxing, so thought I would make a sculpture and add it to my coursework.  I started by making a very basic base for the head and shoulders out of gelatin and then sculpted the head with Le Beau Touche commonly referred to as Chavant clay.

Years later my brother asked me if he could have the sculpture of The Predator that I had also made for college. I promptly told him no, but seeing his disappointment I said he could have the Terminator instead. On visiting his home six years later he still had it, but I noticed it was a little worse for wear, so I told him to give it to me and I would make him a better one, one that would have more detail and last longer. He didn’t see it again for a number of years. During this time, I made a number of silicon moulds. I cast the head in resin, and then re-sculpted and redesigned the face and exoskeleton by looking at numerous photos of the Terminator online. My model making experience came in very handy during this process as the mechanical exoskeleton needed to look crisp and precise. I then poured a resin and aluminium cast so as to achieve the high gloss and metallic shine of the exoskeleton.

I finally presented the new sculpture to my brother in July 2020. He was very pleased to say the least!  Read Raphael’s testimonial.

Click an image to enlarge.