Interest
Mecha Robot Gromit in Bristol
posted on by Andrew Osmond
A giant mecha version of Gromit, the canine clay hero of Aardman's Wallace and Gromit cartoons, is now installed in Bristol (Aardman's home town). Named GRMT02, the four-metre high metal pooch was shipped across the world from Hong Kong, where it starred in an exhibition in 2014.
However, the mecha designer was British, Aardman artist Gavin Strange. He's a fan of Japanese mecha robots which inspired him to get into animation. Strange says that he imagines the real, dog-sized Gromit piloting the colossus.
The sculpture is made of steel and fibreglass and weighs 63 stones. A smaller (5 foot) version is inside the The Mall in Bristol, together with other Gromit sculptures to raise money for Bristol Children's Hospital.
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