Metal rationing forced painted plaster trophies in 1942, 1943, and 1944. What is an Oscar statue made of during the war was temporary — winners later exchanged stand-ins for real metal versions.

The knight-on-a-reel figure stands 13.5 inches and weighs about 8.5 pounds. Five reel spokes once mapped to Academy branches — design facts wrapped into what is an Oscar statue made of.

MGM art director Cedric Gibbons sketched the knight design; sculptor George Stanley carved the original model. Their collaboration defined what is an Oscar statue made of aesthetically for nearly a century.

Chicago's R.S. Owens held the contract for decades until Polich Tallix in Walden, New York, took over hand-crafting. What is an Oscar statue made of now flows from a Hudson Valley art foundry.

Since 1951 winners must offer Oscars back to the Academy for one dollar before selling. What is an Oscar statue made of matters less than what it symbolizes — and the Academy guards that symbol fiercely.