Madame Tussaud's Star Wars Wax Exhibition

Courtesy of the nice guys at Jedi News I've got a couple of tickets for the early entry with the press tomorrow and I'll take a few photos whilst I'm there for anyone interested in the scenes displayed and the general feel of it.

I'll try to post pictures on here whilst I'm there if I can and then type up a general review when I get back, but may have to do both of these following the event!

EDIT: Apologies for the thread placement, I wasn't sure where else to put it.

 

It's at Madame Tussaud's in London, an attraction known best for its lifelike recreations of historical and fictional characters in wax form.
And cheers, I hope it's worth the 3am start!

 

I'll upload pictures scene by scene for each of the 11 "locations" and give a little summary for each as I go! Apologies for the picture qualities, it was just on an iPhone. If you would like more photos, that can be done (I took loads), but the site won't let me attach an awful lot at once, so I'll just do an initial round! Please do feel free to request anything particular or just generally though! The Star Wars part of the attraction opens to the public on Saturday and I would highly recommend it!

Trade Federation Bridge
The first of the 11 scenes is possibly my only gripe about the entire experience and not because it's bad, but purely because it didn't really qualify as a wax scene since it is just a corridor, yet is still one of the eleven (leading me to ask what I'd missed and look like a fool). The Trade Federation bridge is nicely done though, with a nice panoramic view of Naboo.





Duel of Fates
Arguably the most iconic scene from Episode I, it is an obvious choice and it is executed brilliantly. The detail on the faces (particularly Qui Gon's) and with all of their clothing is shockingly good and the way their eyes lined up just makes the scene feel truly real. The fairy light energy beam is a nice touch too!



Mustafar
Once again, a fairly obvious choice given its importance to the saga as a scene. Anakin's face is once again eerily realistic and the glow of the "lava" on the base of the platform he's stood on was a nice touch alongside projections on the walls simulating a sort of "heat wave" or smoke effect.



Dune Sea
The little details on C3PO and R2D2 such as the weather damage and all of the subtle cables and wires were great. Seeing's 3PO's eyes lit up and R2's lights going alongside his whirring and whining was great!



Han Shot First
Han Solo's chest hair really illustrated the lengths the crew had gone to in terms of detail. With the cantina music playing and plenty of seating for you and a few friends, it was easy to lose yourself a bit at this stage. Getting to take Greedo's place at the table (and definitely not shooting) was both surreal and a really great touch.





Millennium Falcon
Actually getting to take Han's seat next to Chewie on the Falcon was a highlight. The detail on the panels and all around is amazing, not to mention everyone's favourite co-pilot himself. I was told Chewie took something like 1000 hours in total since they had to add each hair individually. The detail is phenomenal and you can really tell how much love was put into this! Just to add to it, you can hit the red button to jump to hyperspace, which causes the screen at the front to simulate the bluey rush we're familiar with and you get sound effects and a rumble to top it off!





Death Star Corridor
The stormies looked great and the detail on the E-11s was brilliant. They really had that authentic Lucasfilm DIY edge and could've come straight from the set all those years ago!



Dagobah
This was shown in a lot of the lead up to the event, so there's not a lot that I can show that will really be new. I've heard there's usually some fog, but this wasn't present whilst I was there. There's a nice long corridor leading up to Yoda's log and the floor is a springy fake forest floor, while the ceiling is covered in hanging leaves! I'm not sure if it was just the flooring, but the area did smell almost a little forest-like.

 

Apologies, due to the attachment limits, I'm having to do a part 2!


Bespin
You can take Luke's place on the structure across from Vader and (as I was made to do for photographers) re-enact the famous scene. One brilliant touch is the rush of air from below, making it truly immersive. I should probably mention, most of the scenes had audio accompaniment, such as Vader's breathing and "I am your father" for this one. However, as with the 4D features such as fog, these were off for most of the time since photographers and interviewers were having a hard time. These should all be on for the public opening though!




Jabba's Palace
A really impressive 32 stone Jabba, a scarily realistic Leia and a mischievous Salacious. With details like Jabba's tattoo and the slime around his mouth, this is really impressive. The trap door for the rancor pit rumbled occasionally and one can hear the hungry roars from Roxy below.






Throne Room
Amazing detail on all of the characters for this scene. It was easy to really feel there for this one. The ambient lighting from the lightsabers creates quite an atmosphere!




A couple of close ups from the final scene:




As I said, please feel free to request more pictures and I will do so! There should be press photos within a few hours/days too (which should be better quality)! Feel free to ask any questions too!

 

No problem! Just thought I'd show it off a little since I had the privilege to go early! Would certainly recommend visiting if ever you get a chance! It's hard to describe the atmosphere and the feel of it all. It's rather intoxicating.

 

Yeah, it felt like it too! Absolutely amazing!

 

No problem! And thank you, it was truly amazing!

I am honoured! I've just had a look at the Facebook post, thanks!

I'll throw a few more pictures on and some links to the press coverage for those who want a little more. Obviously you've got the general idea of each scene, but I really want to convey that level of detail they've achieved!

Press links:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/vid...-exhibition-previews-at-madame-tussauds-video
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/t...s-exhibit-arrives-Madame-Tussauds-London.html
http://www.usatoday.com/videos/life/movies/2015/05/13/27205985/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...s-heads-to-Madame-Tussauds.html?frame=3300906
That should just about cover most of the pictures and such out with the press thus far!

A few more of mine:

Another of Vader from Bespin

Throne room Vader

Luke vs. Vader from the other angle

Another angle on Anakin

Anakin's (rather disgruntled) face


A better idea of the layout of the Cantina area

Some of the detail on Han's belt

Just another Chewie shot

Yoda close up

Jabba's tattoo (which I think is meant to be clan affiliation?)

Another Bespin Vader with better lighting

Sheev just chilling

Kenobi close up

Qui Gon's face


If there's anything else I can do, just let me know!
I have a couple of videos that I'll try and get up, but I can't make any promises since I am technologically illiterate.

 

Probably worth mentioning one thing that a few people were disappointed by: They have removed the hookah pipes from Jabba's palace (as you may notice) along with Carrie Fisher's coke nail. This was probably to be expected with the Disney affiliation, but makes me wonder what we could lose in future special editions!

 

No problem, TK-822, thanks for taking the time to look!