Madame Tussauds Star Wars Exhibition

London, UK

Housing more than 300 amazingly lifelike wax figurines, a state of the art 4D cinema, and a nostalgic taxi ride through 400 years of London life, the legendary Madame Tussauds on Marylebone Road is a tourist attraction not to be missed.

In May of this year the renowned waxworks museum set Star Wars' fanatics into overdrive with the addition of a multi-million pound Star Wars collection. The new and interactive attraction brings to life some of the most iconic moments in the films' history. Fans can star alongside their favourite heroes and villains of Star Wars episodes I-VI, and immerse themselves in the outstanding special effects and dramatic theming that brings eleven of the dramatic sets to life.

Fans who venture into the Trade Federation landing ship are transported on to one the huge vehicle's metallic walkways, where massive windows reveal a galaxy of twinkling stars that have been created using a UFO Star Curtain. Woven into the bespoke curtain are hundreds of tails of our mixed diameter end lit fiber that give the nightscape's stars their convincing near and far effect.

On leaving the walkway fans come face-to-face with one of Star Wars' most epic lightsaber battles in which Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi clash with Darth Maul in the Duel of Fates scene. The auspicious scene which spans two floors is dramatically heightened with the addition of a gigantic light cylinder that was created by UFO and forms the backdrop to much of the battle. The enormous installation, which measures 7 meters in length, comprises of more than 1600 tails of our decorative, cracked glass sideglow fiber and is powered by our most powerful LED illuminator - the Sirius. With its high light output of 5700lm at 5500K the Sirius gives the flickering light cylinder a distinct presence in the scene.

Over in the Death Star Throne Room, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader embark on their final duel under the menacing gaze of Emperor Palpatine. It is here that the second of our Star Curtains has been used to create the dramatic night sky speckled with diamond bright stars that can be seen through the large circular windows that frame the Emperor's black throne.

A UFO Luna LED illuminator with twinkle wheel is used to power the fiber optics in each of the star curtains and gives the heat-free points of light their realistic sparkling effect. Both illuminators are housed in easily accessible locations one and a half meters away from the star curtains.

Images courtesy of David Hurst | Full On Lighting Design