Confessions of a Madame Tussauds touch-up artist

One moment, she could be fixing Brad Pitt's hair and another, she could be doing Taylor Swift's make-up.

Even though they make for bad conversation partners, Singaporean Sanira Beevi, 33, likes talking to them every day.

These "celebrities" are wax figures at Madame Tussauds Singapore, so conversations are a one-way street.

It is a far cry from her previous job as a history teacher for seven years.

Laughing, the senior studio artist says: "It's really just me asking the wax figure how it's doing and what happened to it."

She finds out by conducting a thorough inspection of the figures.

Since she started working at Madame Tussauds two years ago, her job has been to make sure that the figures return to their original state after being fondled by hundreds of visitors daily.

Ms Beevi says: "You'd be surprised at what can change after a day. For some reason, the buttons and pant zippers can come undone, clothing gets removed, et cetera.

"We have to make sure the whole figure is reset to what it was meant to be originally. The process takes place from head to toe."

Removing lipstick stains from amorous visitors are also part of her job, she says, adding that the Elvis Presley and Shah Rukh Khan figures are usually the "victims".

There are nearly 70 wax figures of celebrities - ranging from politicians to movie stars - at the museum in Imbiah Road, Sentosa.

Visitors are free to touch and pose with the figures as the attraction is interactive.

But that also means that the small team of three touch-up artists, including Ms Beevi, have to inspect every figure for damage every day.

This behind-the-scenes maintenance work means a hectic rush from 7.30am to 10am, before the attraction is open to visitors.

Depending on the damage, it takes an average of 10 minutes for Ms Beevi and her team to clear each figure for display.

They do their utmost to make sure every figure makes it to the exhibition floor on time.

More severe repair work can take up to a week and the damaged figures will be pulled off the floor and put into the studio, which is off limits to the public.

Madame Tussauds keeps reference files containing photos and instructions of each model to help the touch-up artists restore the figures to their original condition.

IMPORTANT

Ms Beevi says: "The files are very important to us and they contain all the information about the model. We stick to them because the celebrities actually do want their likeness to be portrayed in a certain way.

"You can't get away with a small mistake as imperfections are unacceptable. That is why this job can be quite difficult."

Each figure costs upwards of $300,000 and even spare parts and accessories, such as watches and jewellery, have to be authentic. These sometimes end up missing and have to be replaced.

The most frustrating figure to work on is Jackie Chan's. The superstar is portrayed standing on one leg and has fallen over at least thrice this year.

"Once, a child tried to climb onto him. Imagine being called to the scene for an emergency and seeing him face down on the ground," says Ms Beevi.

But the real shocker for her was around two months back, when she came to work and realised Tom Cruise's arms were gone.

Poring through security camera footage, they found the arms stashed away in one corner of the museum by a guest who might have wanted to keep them as a souvenir.

"He figured out how to remove the arms without being detected - no easy task considering how they are attached to the rest of the figure and the layers of clothes too," she says.

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SECRETS OF THE TRADE

1 Painting and art skills are required for the job, as you will be dealing with oil paints on a daily basis.

2 With countless spares, replacement parts and tools, it is important to stay organised and keep your work space tidy.

3 When in doubt, study the reference files of each celebrity. All figures are approved by their celebrity and should not deviate from the book.