Captain Kevin Davies assists Sean Hedges-Quinn in his production of the Nat Lofthouse statue
Kevin Davies has been the ‘model’ professional for Bolton Wanderers in the last week, both on and off the pitch.
As well as scoring a brace against Leeds United in midweek, the club captain also assisted sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn, the man commissioned to produce the statue of Nat Lofthouse.
Davies spent two hours with Hedges-Quinn, who used the club captain as a guide and framework for the next stage of the project – the construction of the statue itself.
Hedges-Quinn said: “We picked Kevin because his physique is pretty similar to that of Nat’s. We needed a footballer to get all the muscle tones and other characteristics.
“I took as many measurements as I could, particularly that of his bones, biceps, triceps, neck and all other parts of the body.
“At present I’m now working on the maquette, which is a small-scale 18 inch version, from the photographs and measurements that I took of Kevin.
"Once that is complete I will show it to the family and the football club, and if I get the okay then it is a case of cracking on with the nine foot statue of Nat.”
"Once that is complete I will show it to the family and the football club, and if I get the okay then it is a case of cracking on with the nine foot statue of Nat.”
Davies added: “I found it very interesting and it was an honour. I’m sure all the fans are looking forward to the statue being unveiled next August.”
As part of his visit to the North-West, Hedges-Quinn also gave a presentation last Thursday evening where he spoke about the whole method of making a statue and an insight into his previous work.
Also on the evening, the first of two bronze image friezes that are to be located alongside the Nat Lofthouse statue was revealed.
Chairman Phil Gartside, manager Owen Coyle, first team players Benik Afobe and Mark Davies, and a host of former players including Roy Hartle were all in attendance.
Hedges-Quinn added: “I enjoyed my visit and I received a lot of positive feedback. Hopefully I made it a bit clearer to fans about the process involved in making a statue.
“It was an honour to be around a lot of ex-players and those who knew Nat. It all helps and, like I say, the encouraging feedback made it all worthwhile.”