This time, the hero being cast in bronze at the Lehi Foundry isn't the Man of Steel.
It's the LDS prophet Brigham Young.The $125,000 statue - the creation of artist Kraig Varner - was commissioned by a special act of the 1993 Legislature and stands 8-feet tall and weighs almost 4,000 pounds.
Varner was selected from more than 50 artists who submitted portfolios - and ultimately miniature statues - to the 18-member Brigham Young Statue Commission, which was charged with the task of placing a statue of the pioneer prophet in the rotunda of the state Capitol.
The statue is Varner's first heroic-size work, and he's excited about the results; a statue of a young and vigorous Brigham Young striding purposefully to his work.
The face is clean-shaven. Young grips a walking stick in his hand. He looks every inch the courageous frontiersman.
That's by design.
"I pictured Brigham Young about 45-50, very vigorous. And he didn't have a beard until the 1860s when it became fashionable. A lot of people don't know that." said Varner. "He made more than one trip across the plains, going back to get other companies, you know. He was always going, up early, motivating others. I wanted to show him in that walking stride."
"He's a very fascinating character, very creative, enterprising. It's an honor to be able to do this," Varner said.
However, Varner points outs, he did not do it alone.
"There are a tremendous number of people behind the scenes. It takes a lot to do something like this. The people who donated the money, the foundry, the committee, just a lot."
Before the statue could be cast, Varner sculpted the figure from 2,000 pounds of clay. Ceramic molds were then made from the sculpture. Once work moved to the foundry, it took 50 pours of molten bronze to complete the work.
He worked in a studio in Highland provided by the foundry, inviting fellow artists to critique his work along the way.
It took Varner more than a year to get the statue to pouring stage.
The pours are precisely timed, matching the molten temperature of 2100 degrees Fahrenheit to that of the ceramic mold's 1600 degrees to avoid "cold pours," broken molds or blemishes in the final product.
Varner critiques every pour, making certain the integrity of the statue's character is maintained and any imperfections are caught and fixed before it's finished.
The statue will be unveiled at ceremonies following the Days of '47 Parade at 2 p.m. July 25 in the Capitol rotunda.
Despite Brigham Young's central position in Utah history, there has not been a full-size statue of him in the Capitol.
"I'm told that between 200,000-500,000 visitors come to the Capitol every year and many ask about Brigham Young," said Varner. The legislative action was designed to give Young his proper due.
Funds for the statue were privately raised without any taxpayer money involved, he noted.
Nine anonymous donors will each get a 21-inch miniature of the statue in return for their gift.
In addition to his fee, Varner gets the satisfaction of knowing he's contributed "in a big way" to Utah's history. (His name will also appear on the base of the monument.)
Plus, he feels there was a definite bonding of spirit with both the man and the time period Brigham Young so dramatically influenced.
"It's been very gratifying," said Varner.