The "flying wedge" sculpture, one of the centerpieces for the new Hall of Champions, used state-of-the-art technology to obtain its historic look.

Molded literally from real people, the 600-pounds-per-figure art piece went through several stages of development before being installed in late January.

Here are just some of those stages:

* Research. The design team had to dig around to find accurate references for the vintage football uniforms, including the old football "jackets," sweaters, shoes, shin guards, pants and "head harnesses." The 1906 Spalding Football Guide proved invaluable, with ads for Spalding's latest line of gear.

* Concept phase. Designers from the 1717 office played the wedge for a day, dressing up in sweatshirts, sweatpants, cardboard shin guards and anything else they could find that visually resembled the turn-of-the-century gridders. The wedge formation was staged in the 1717 office and photographed from three different angles. A computer-enhanced image was created and sent to StudioEIS, which then conducted a model search for the body and face "looks" desired.

* Model search. Four or five models were screened for each figure, and once the finalists were selected, the studio did another photo shoot with "dummied up" clothes and gear.

* Life-cast. These models were then covered with plaster bandages, with negative molds being made of their faces and bodies. From these molds, StudioEIS built the figure prototypes out of various materials, finessing them finally with plasteline clay.

* Clothing. The players' uniforms were then sewn, fabricated and constructed out of contemporary materials. Italian boots were reconfigured for the shoes, cleats were made from air conditioning parts -- whatever it took to make each item look authentic. The items then were placed on the figures and resined with epoxy resin to form a hard prototype.

* Foundry. The figures were then sent to Tallix Sculpture Foundry, where silicon rubber molds were made of each figure. Wax was then painted into these molds to the same thickness as the final bronze. The waxes were then dipped in a ceramic mixture, which in turn was baked (this strengthened the ceramic shell and removed the melted wax). The hollow ceramic shells were then filled with the molten metal.

* The finish. The metal sculptures were then welded together and detailed with metal finishing tools.

* The patina. An acid patina, which gave the figures an aged look, was applied to the figures with a paintbrush and blowtorch. The figures were then coated with wax in order to stabilize and seal the finish.