'STAR WARS' AT MADAME TUSSAUDS: UPDATE 3

Beauty and the slug! Images: Madame Tussauds.

The amazing craftsmanship, detail and dedication of the upcoming London MADAME TUSSAUDS STAR WARS Saga exhibition/experience continues to fascinate and delight, as one of the most iconic scenes from RETURN OF THE JEDI is painstakingly, stunningly recreated: Slave Leia with Jabba the Hutt!

The latest press info from TUSSAUDS:

With just over a month to go before a major new Star Wars experience opens at Madame Tussauds London, the attraction today revealed two of the stunning wax figures that will star in one of the 11 atmospheric walk-in sets inspired by some of the most iconic moments in film history. United in wax for their final checks were the gargantuan Jabba the Hutt and the delicate Princess Leia, depicted as they appear in the famous scene in Jabba’s Throne Room in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

The figures, which fans will be able to get up close to in an authentic recreation of Jabba’s Throne Room when the new attraction opens on Saturday May 16, 2015, have taken a team of more than 20 artists over four months to create.

“These two figures are actually two of the most challenging of the cast of 16 characters we are creating,” commented Principal Sculptor on the project, Stephen Mansfield. He continued: “With Jabba we have sheer scale – he is 2.9m long, 1.5m high and weighs a whopping 35 stone. We used fibreglass moulding techniques to create the body mass, which has then been hand coloured in precise detail over a six week period. His massive eyes are made from glass and are each the size of a melon. Leia, of course, is portrayed in one of the character’s most iconic looks, in her gold bikini. We are acutely aware of the responsibility we have to get this right for fans, and we have been very lucky to work with the jeweler that made the original hair pieces worn by Princess Leia to recreate this level of detail.”   
   

Brilliant side shot. Note Jabba's arm tattoo!

The figures will be joined by the smallest character to be featured, Jabba’s sadistic court jester, Salacious B. Crumb, to complete the scene. The Kowakian monkey-lizard will stand at just 41.2cm tall complete with 14cm long ears. He will be tucked into his gross crime lord boss’s tail as Princess Leia sits shackled before him. Fans will be able to sit beside Leia, marvel at Jabba’s grotesqueness and listen out for sounds of torment from beneath the floor when they step across the Hutt’s concealed rancor pit. 

Work is now nearing completion as the first sets are installed in the Baker Street venue ready for Jabba, Leia and all 16 characters to take centre stage in atmospheric recreations of some of the most famous Star Wars moments.

Advance booking is strongly recommended. Tickets are on sale now at www.madametussauds.com/london, where you can also find all the latest news and updates.