Detroit is in trouble. It's bankrupt. It's practically begging people to live there. It almost sold off its fine art. Detroit needs a hero. Or a metallic reproduction of a fictional hero, as big as Michelangelo's David, connected to an upcoming movie reboot. I mean, it can't hurt, right?

The filmic remake of Robocop, that campy '80s nod to militarized law and order, is supposed to drop next month—just in time to throw some publicity at Detroit's own Venus Bronze Works, which is working on a mold for the city's planned 10-foot monument to the half-human, half-mechanical law enforcement officer, according to the Freep:

"The most important part is now," Giorgio Gikas of Venus Bronze Works in Detroit, a noted artist and sculpture restorer, said Saturday.

A small team overseen by Gikas will make sand molds of about 15 large foam pieces — each about 2 to 4 feet in length — that make up RoboCop.

Mind you, the city hasn't actually said yes to the statue yet; in 2011, Mayor Dave Bing called the project "silly", and its backers are still looking for a place to put it. But the idea was funded on Kickstarter to the tune of 67 grand, because geeks have money, even if Detroit doesn't.

Via Kickstarter, here's the full photo from above, and a bizarre making-of video: