olympics2012

Wax Statue of Rafael Nadal in Regents Park

5/23/2012Rafaholics

A wax replica of the Spanish tennis player, Rafael Nadal was put on display at London’s Madame Tussauds wax museum on Wednesday.

It took a team of stylists, sculptors, and artists four months to complete. The cost that went into it was about 236,000 US dollars.

[Liz Edwards, Madame Tussauds Spokesperson]:
"So it takes four months and a team of 20 people to make a wax figure at Madame Tussauds at a cost of about £150,000. The figure making process starts with a sculpting team looking at hundreds of photographs, they then create a clay sculpture of a figure and that takes four to six weeks, he then goes through molding, coloring, hair insertion, every single hair is individually inserted, and then the wardrobe team come in and look at his stylings."

The figure is of Nadal preparing to slice a shot with his racket.

[Liz Edwards, Madame Tussauds Spokesperson]:
"So one of the interesting things since being here is a lot of the coaches have commented that his iconic pose is actually a forehanded shot. And so what we decided to do is look at a shot where guests could interact easily with it. So though it's not an iconic shot for him, it's something that guests can replicate when they stand next to him so that's why we choose that shot."

But some argue that the figure could have been better.

[Henry, Will to Win Tennis Coach]:
"I'm just saying the stance is a little bit too upright. And in tennis you're trying to lean into your shot, so your weight's moving through the shot. I just think Rafael needs to be slightly forward and the shoulder kind of like dipping a little bit. Because you're slicing from a high to low shot, so you want to be coming down."

While standing at the nearby Regent’s Park, the life-like figure of Nadal in a tennis court brings a shock to onlookers.

Be careful not confuse who is the real ten time Grand Slam winner and Olympic gold medalist!