Today in Las Vegas Magazine

It used to be that one had to do something fairly substantial on a national or global scale to warrant being written about in history books. Nowadays, in the era of blogs, the Internet and the tech-savvy generation, almost everyone, if he or she so chooses, can have their 15 minutes of fame. In the case of Madame Tussauds, they go one step further – putting a price tag on a taste of immortality – a loved one (be it human or pet) forever captured in wax - for a mere $300,000 in spare change.

You might think it’s a bargain, considering the amount of time it takes to produce a full-figured wax representation can take up to six months. The Tussauds team, based in London, go all-out with the star treatment. The package includes round-trip, first-class air travel, hotel accommodations, meals and a three-day stay in London for two; the process goes down the line, beginning with measurement, followed by design and sculpting, then dressing and finally, delivery.

We didn’t ask for names, but asked Rosita Chapman, Head of Marketing at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, if anyone’s bought the package and she said “In Las Vegas, no, we haven’t had any takers yet, but there were several done in our London headquarters.”

Let’s start with the measurements – where more than 250 precise measurements – approximately 75 head measurements and 85 body measurements are taken to accurately create a wax figure. In addition, almost 200 photographs are taken as well.

Now on to the design and sculpting which takes about a month to complete. It begins with sculpting – first the whole figure is built up in clay on a metal armature or ‘skeleton’ and the head is sculpted in detail using the photographs and measurements taken at the sitting. Approximately 150 kilos of clay are used to sculpt one figure, not to mention that this stage in the process takes about 350 hours. The moulding process is next, taking about a week to do – where the finished clay body is then moulded and cast into fiberglass and a plaster piece mold of a dozen sections is made from the clay head. Hot wax is heated to 75°C and poured into the head mould. When the wax cools, the plaster sections are removed to reveal a hollow wax head. The hands are also moulded, cast into wax and colored.

Then the details are worked in – including hair insertion and styling; and eye and teeth-making plus coloring, which could take over a week to do. Hair insertion and styling takes the most time as each strand of hair is inserted individually, taking approximately five weeks to complete each head. When this is completed, the hair is then washed, styled and cut. The eye-making process is also quite painstakingly-detailed. Made individually from acrylic resin, every detail in the eyes is duplicated. Each iris is hand-painted using gouache and veining is added to the whites of the eyes with fine silk threads. This is the same for the teeth, where each tooth is replicated using dental acrylic and is accurately color-matched. Oil paints are used to build-up the layers of color on the face to give a translucency to the skin tones and a realistic texture and color.

Finally, in costuming, the head and hands are fitted to the fiberglass body and the completed figure is dressed in clothes, which in most cases, is presented by the celebrities themselves. We caught-up with Studio Manager Neil Linssen, who is in charge of the Las Vegas workshop, where all the maintenance and upkeep of the figures happens. Perhaps our behind-the-scenes peek into the inner workings might yield a couple of savory tidbits. In general, all the figures have their hair washed and make-up retouched regularly, with two maintenance teams inspecting and primping each figure daily before the attraction opens. Don’t hope to learn your favorite celebrity’s vital statistics – Madame Tussauds enforces a strict policy never to reveal this information, despite repeated requests from the public and media.

We asked Neil what was the strangest ‘repair’ he had to do on a figure and he replied, “In most cases, it’s usually the hair that gets mussed-up, but we recently had to re-assemble Evander Holyfield’s head from scratch. Which didn’t turn out too badly because he’s bald.” He laughingly added, “Most times it’s not malicious, but we have had George Bush knocked down a couple of times and I doubt that was an accident.”

Neil and his staff of four take good care of the figures, and their daily ‘primping’ of these celebrities takes “…about two to three hours…” and save for those extra well-loved figures, (it’s usually the hands that get changed quite often and the faces get touched-up quite a bit) they can last a very long time. Case in point, the London branch has a ‘Sleeping Beauty’ that’s over 150 years old (and counting). In this perspective, $300,000, might be a bargain for a taste of immortality.

-Rachel M. Sugay

Madame Tussauds
Las Vegas 3377 Las Vegas Boulevard South (located on the moving walkway on the Las Vegas Strip in front of The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino). Open daily, fall hours are 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., Sun. through Thurs., 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat.. (Please call to verify opening hours.) General Admission, $25; Seniors, $18, Students, $17; Children, ages 7-12, $14; children 6 and under are free. 862-7800. www.mtvegas.com