Michael Jackson's wax figure on display at Madame Tussauds in Shanghai (AP Photo)
Amidst rumors that Michael Jackson wanted his body to be preserved after death either through cryogenic freezing or plastination, right now fans can see a lifelike representation of Michael Jackson at several wax museums around the world. Life-sized figures of Michael Jackson dressed in his trademark outfits are currently on display at Madame Tussauds wax museums in Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Shanghai.
"Wax is very similar in its properties to human skin as far as the way light disperses through it," Neil Linssen from Madame Tussauds told the Sacramento Bee. "It tends to get more of a glow when you paint on top of it with translucent oil paints. It's the closest thing we've got to human skin."
In creating each wax figure at their design studio in London, Madame Tussauds has the celebrity come in for a sitting at which time they are measured and photographed from every angle. Typically, the head and hands are made of wax, and the body is made of fiberglass.
On average, each wax figure takes four to six months to create and costs $300,000. The figure is 1/4-inch thick and hollow, weighing between 60 and 75 pounds. They have real human hair on their head, assembled one strand at a time.
The original Madame Tussauds location opened in London 200 years ago. In 1999, the first Madame Tussauds museum opened in the United States in 1999 in Las Vegas. All types of public figures are represented in wax ranging from world leaders, historical and royal figures to entertainers and sports stars.
As for Michael Jackson's alleged wish for his body's physical preservation, time will tell. His late pet monkey, Bubbles, was plastinated several years ago and is currently on display in an exhibit at the O2 Centre in London.
View a slideshow of Michael Jackson wax figures:
Comments
Some of those wax figures in your slideshow look so lifelike!
If you ask me the MJ statue in Japan looks the most life-like. Such a lot of detail!
i like it
LMAO! nobody can ever get his wax figure right! That's one of the better quality ones and it still doesn't look like Michael. Haha. R.I.P. Michael.
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