Saturday, April 28, 2007

News- Justin Timberlake Figure at Madame Tussaud's

Another new figure was unveiled at Madame Tussaud's in London this past week. This time, Disney Mouseketeer Justin Timberlake has the honor of being immortalized in wax. You can see fellow Mouseketeer Britney Spears doing her Mickey Mouse dance behind Timberlake's figure. Walt would be so proud if he were alive today.


A closer view of his figure. Unfortunately, it looks just like him, Smugness and all.

Visit the Madame Tussaud's London website here.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Denver Wax Museum- Jim Bridger, Mountain Man

(1804-1881)

Jim Bridger was noted as one of the most popular mountain men. His ability to trek the wilderness and speak several languages, including some Native American tongues, made him the stuff of legend. This picture shows him trading beaver pelt with an Indian along a river. The beaver trade is where Bridger made much of his money. He establish a trading post, Fort Bridger, as it was later named. There, people on the Oregon trail would find supplies.


A close up of Bridger and a native. He was remembered for having an uncanny ability to live in extremely rough terrain.


This beaver seems rather calm seeing what the two humans next to him are up to.

Many figures from the museum moved to the Forney Museum of Transportation. See them here.

View more information on Jim Bridger here.

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Saturday, April 21, 2007

News- Matthew McConaughey Wax Figure at Madame Tussaud's

Madame Tussuad's Las Vegas unveiled a figure of Matthew Mcconaughey on Wednesday April 18th. The actor is featured in a casual outfit, crossing his legs and arms. Isn't this the guy who usually runs around without a shirt on? Like almost all Tussuad's figures, this one allows guests to have their picture taken with it.


A closer view. They even sculpted the veins on his arms.


A really well crafted figure, and its head features amazing detail. They did a great job with his hair. Although his hairline has receded a little more than his figure's.

View more information on Matthew McConaughey here.

Visit the Madame Tussaud's Las Vegas website here.


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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

News- Portal to the City's Past at San Remo Hotel

The historic San Remo Hotel in San Fransisco is offering a "Portal to the City's Past" promotion where they recreate life in the city one hundred years ago. The best part is that they are partnering with the wax museum to show how people looked and dressed back then. Think of it as a mini wax museum experience, as well as many other historic offerings. The promotion runs now through May 11th.

The San Remo Hotel is located at 2237 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94133.

Visit their website here.

Visit the San Fransisco wax museum website here.

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Sunday, April 15, 2007

Miami Wax Museum- Exterior

Here's a picture of the exterior of the former Miami Wax Museum building. Many wax museums had this kind of architecture. It creates a sense of grandeur that what was inside was of extreme importance. And museums like this one did actually serve a very meaningful purpose. They offered historical recreations of significant events in history. They brought to life events that would otherwise seem bland and boring. Although the scenes are static, the three dimensional elements of the tableaux take the words off the page and bring them to life. They attempted to create interest in history, which is far more noble than most entrepreneurial efforts these days. The museum was located at 13899 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Fl. I believe the building is still around, only used for different purposes these days.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007

Hollywood Wax Museum- Pirates of the Caribbean

Once inside the Hollywood Wax Museum, you'll find a large pirate ship that houses three figures from two very different movies. The first figure seen is Will Turner, played by actor Orlando Bloom (b. 1977). He's standing lookout, obviously hoping to find Elizabeth. However, she is nowhere to be found at the museum (yet). One cool part of this set is a button people can push to activate a cannon effect. It often scares people walking by.


A close up shows just how serious his desire to find her is. Pretty good detail on the figure.


And there he is, the man of the hour, Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp (b. 1963). Probably awaiting the Kraken. Don't pay attention to the other captain Jack figure behind Johnny. He'll get his own post soon. It's good to kill two birds with one stone, and having two movies represented on one ship is unusual, but cost effective.


Jack's figure also looks so serious. Don't fret, you're signed on for the sequels. Davey Jones' locker has a back door, and if there's money to be made then your character will live on forever.

Visit the Hollywood Wax Museum's website here.

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Monday, April 09, 2007

Movieland Wax Museum- Private Life of Henry VIII

This tableau of The Private Life of Henry VIII is one of my favorites from Movieland Wax Museum. King Henry VIII is a popular subject for wax museums, and Movieland was able to create their own based on the 1933 motion picture. Charles Laughton plays Henry VIII, the infamous king of England who created the Church of England because he couldn't get the Pope to grant him a divorce.


A close up of one of his wives. She looks very similar to the ticket booth worker that was the first wax figure seen after you entered the museum.


A close up of Laughton's figure. He doesn't look too happy.


Another one of the wives I assume. Assigned the title "female extra", she could be a mistress seeing I have not seen the movie.


Here's a clapboard sign which shows a little more information about the film. They always tried to be as authentic as possible. The laughton figure sold at auction for $1,900, and three of the four women sold for $100, the fourth one (which can be seen standing on the left of the first photograph) sold for $400. The antique props sold for $1,400, and the set itself sold for $450.

View more information on Charles Laughton here.

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Friday, April 06, 2007

News- David Wright Figure Swings Into Madame Tussaud's

London has Shah Rukh Khan, and New York has David Wright. On April Fourth Madame Tussaud's unveiled a new figure of the New York Metropolitans' David Wright. The third baseman is the first Met at the museum, and will join existing New York Yankees players. Notice the stubble on the figure's face. Great addition to detail.


Here's the full figure along with Mr Met. Sports stars have been favorites of wax museums for a long time. My only complaint is that I wish the sets for all these new figures were more detailed.

Visit the Madame Tussaud's New York website here.

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007

News- Shah Rukh Khan Figure at Madame Tussaud's

Madame Tussaud's of London unveiled to a new wax figure of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. One of the most successful actors in India, Khan joins several other famous Indians at the world renown museum.


Here we see him standing proud next to his wax figure.


Which is which, and who is who?


Up close we can see who is real, and who actually is made of wax. They did a pretty good job with the likeness, as usual at Madame Tussaud's.


Here's a shot of Khan being measured for his picture. It takes a lot of work to make these models, and Tussaud's almost always has the celebrity come in for a sitting.

View more information on Shah Rukh Khan here.

Visit the Madame Tussaud's London website here.


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