KnuckleBonz has announced details of their RONNIE JAMES DIO Rock Iconz Statue; the official press release reads as follows:

To say it's a great honor and privilege to be working with Ronnie's family and friends at the Niji Entertainment Group would be the understatement of the year. While there is much excitement here about this new statue, it's not without mixed emotion. It was not a matter of "if" we would try to get w/ Ronnie to create a limited edition piece for our Rock Iconz Series it was just "when." During an internal meeting on new projects, just after Thanksgiving 2009, we discussed the design for a Dio statue at length as this is an obvious fit for the Rock Iconz series. Just a short time after this meeting, we learned of RJDs illness so we thought it best to wait for his recovery to approach Niji for a project.

As we now know, Ronnie was very sick w/ his cancer and that recovery would not come. Two weeks ago, Dio's family and management group asked us to do a piece in tribute to Ronnie James Dio. This is something that Ronnie wanted to do... and we are honored that his wife, Wendy, along with Dio's long time friends over at Niji Entertainment have selected us to create this statue in honor of the great metal and hard rock legend. We will take great care to make sure the attention to detail and quality of the statue design is a true tribute to Dio.

Portions of the proceeds from sales of this limited edition statue at KnuckleBonz.com will go to the Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up and Shout" Cancer Fund.

Most of us here at KnuckleBonz were onto Dio early with the first RAINBOW records. Ronnie's soaring vocals and unrivaled talent on top of the mystical elements of that band were a one-of-a kind combo. We never left Ronnie's music from that point on and we never will.

The officially licensed, Ronnie James Dio Rock Iconz limited edition statue by KnuckleBonz is now available for pre-order at this location. Limited quantities ship late 2010. Actual product shots will be posted in the coming weeks. Limited Edition; Only 3000 created.