Prop idols

It was a hands-on experience for hundreds of One Direction fans who got to touch their "idols" on Thursday.

All four current "members" of the UK boy band - Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan - plus, yes, even Zayn Malik, sat patiently as fans cosied up to them.

But the One Direction members in question are not real and simply wax figures unveiled at Madame Tussauds Singapore's 1D Exclusive Preview Night on Thursday.

This did not affect the reactions of 1D fans though.

Indeed, they sang in the queue and produced screams worthy of the real-life band long before doors to the event opened.

The wax figures of the original five members are touring Madame Tussaud's locations across the globe and will be here until October.

The opening of the event was greeted by the biggest screams of the night.

Miss Meroshini M, 22, who co-runs Twitter-based One Direction fan club @1DAsiaCrew, felt that the exhibits are almost like the real deal.

She said: "When we went into the room, we were really excited over how similar they were (to the real band members)."

Her fan club partner, Miss Nadhila Puspita, 20, was also present and she had flown from Indonesia just for the preview.

She found the details of the wax figures fascinating.

"I tried to kiss Harry. I like to touch his dimples and his hair," Miss Puspita said before going on to praise the wax artists.

"They clearly worked so hard with the measurements and everything. It was just crazy. They did an amazing job."

EXCITED

Even those who had seen One Direction in the flesh could not contain their excitement when they saw the wax figures.

There were a lot of pawing, hugging and some smooches too.

For 15-year-old student Rachel Chan - who had watched the group perform here in March - it was a rare opportunity to get up close and sort of personal.

She planted a kiss on "Niall".

She said excitedly: "It was so real. You could even take a selfie up close!"

Madame Tussauds Singapore's general manager, Mr Craig Connor, said he expects some maintenance work will be needed after every fan session.

"A lot of it will be touching up and ensuring the lipstick marks are removed," he said.

Each figure takes three months to make and costs about $300,000.

Mr Connor expects th­is exhibit to rival the venue's current number one.

"As you can see from tonight, Taylor Swift has got some competition on her hands to retain the top spot here," he said.

braeburn@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on July 11, 2015.
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