By Terry McAuliffe
In a quiet studio in Prospect, a French infantryman has crossed a line he can never cross back.
Two images tell the story. In the first, sculptor Tony Falcone stands beside a completed, full-size clay figure — the French soldier who will anchor Middlebury’s Rochambeau Monument at Meadowview Park. In the second, taken from nearly the same angle weeks later, that same figure appears transformed: encased in silicone rubber, segmented metal flashing, and bright orange tape, with plaster beginning to harden over his surface.
Falcone calls the figure “Big Guy,” a term of affection that feels earned at this stage. The clay surface has now been coated with silicone rubber — a flexible material capable of capturing every fold of fabric, every strap, button, and seam. Before the rubber is applied, a release agent is brushed onto the clay so the mold will separate cleanly. The rigid plaster that follows forms a protective jacket, allowing the rubber mold to hold its shape during casting.
The details visible in the second image reward close inspection. The tricorner hat seen in the finished clay view has been removed, replaced by a band of flashing that runs from ear to ear. The musket, hands, and arms are divided into sections with metal flashing, held firmly in place by vivid orange tape. Yet the vest buttons at the soldier’s waist still remain exposed in clay — a glimpse of the sculpture beneath the process.
This is the moment when a monument commits to becoming bronze.
With mold-making complete, roughly thirty mold sections have now been transported to a Pennsylvania foundry, where the next phase will unfold. There, wax versions will be created from the molds, reviewed and refined, and ultimately used to cast the final bronze. It is a slow, deliberate process — one that favors precision over speed.
Many Middlebury residents have already noticed the plaza taking shape at Meadowview Park. Stonework is in place, and the site is highly visible. What happens inside Falcone’s studio is less public, but just as consequential. Once the molds leave the studio, there is no undo button. The clay figure has done its job.
The soldier taking form commemorates the thousands of French troops who passed through Connecticut in 1781 as part of General Rochambeau’s march to Yorktown. In Middlebury, that history is no longer just remembered — it is being made permanent, one careful step at a time.
Photo courtesy of Falcone Art Studio.
Written by Terry McAuliffe, Media Relations, Middlebury Historical Society.
What You’re Seeing in the Photo
The side-by-side image shows the same sculpture at two different moments in the casting process.
- Left: The completed full-size clay figure, modeled at 1.25 times life size.
- Right: The same figure after silicone rubber has been applied to capture surface detail, with segmented metal flashing and bright orange tape dividing the sculpture into removable mold sections.
- The rigid plaster layer that follows acts as a “jacket,” allowing the flexible rubber mold to hold its shape during casting.
- Visible details — including exposed vest buttons, the removed tricorner hat, and the sectioned musket and arms — show how the sculpture is carefully taken apart so it can be recreated in bronze.
Photo courtesy of Falcone Art Studio.
