Rambo likeness, captured by chainsaw carver, erected in Hope, B.C.

Rambo has returned to Hope, B.C.

The iconic character, portrayed on the big screen by actor Sylvester Stallone in 1982, has been commemorated in the town the movie was shot in, as a giant, wooden carving.

Edmonton chainsaw carver Ryan Villiers was approached by a town councillor after a local carving competition, asking if he could create something to memorialize Hope's big screen moment that would be prominently displayed in the town.

He agreed, and this spring a large piece of western red cedar from Hope was delivered to his garage in Edmonton.

Fromthere, he got to work.

"I googled hundreds of pictures on my phone, tons of them, and printed out lots of pictures of different angles and heights and all that stuff," he said.

He said he used his chainsaw, and a number of other tools for the fine details.

The finished product stands about two metres high with the base, and Rambo's body is to scale at about 1.8 metres.

Villiers said he used his body, minus the muscles, as a template for ensuring the proportions were correct.

Though he's no stranger to carving important and recognizable pieces, such as a Humboldt Broncos sculpture, Don Cherry and Norm from the beloved sitcom Cheers, he felt major pressure to make the carving look just right.

"Doing a carving is one thing, but then you're trying to do a carving that the whole, entire world virtually knows what the face is supposed to look like," Villiers said.

"That was stressful."

Since the piece went up on Aug.14, he the town has been abuzz about its new artwork, and fans of the Rambo series have started making plans to see it.

Stallone himself even posted about the work on Instagram.

"It's way bigger than what I ever could have imagined," Villiers said.