The origins of the Tussaud museums go back to the work of the highly skilled wax modeller Marie Tussaud, born in France in 1761. Marie created her first wax figure (of Voltaire) in 1777 and by 1835 she had opened a museum in Baker St, London. Later in the century, the museum moved to its current London site on Marylebone Rd – and ever since then it has gone from strength to strength. Madame Tussauds is now a massive tourist attraction with branches in major cities across the world, including Amsterdam, Bangkok, Berlin, Blackpool, Hollywood, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, New York City, Shanghai, Sydney, Vienna and Washington D.C. In modern times, making wax figures is still an arduous task. Over 800 hours of moulding, painting and sculpting are required to make each and every figure. A small team of highly skilled sculptors are responsible for the wax figures we see today and their talent is such that it is often difficult to tell the difference between a model and the real thing!