WAXING EUPHORIC OVER TUSSAUD'S.

Byline: Gunna Bitee Dickson New York Daily News 

Judy Craig looked surreptitiously around her, then opened the black bag she had carried through U.S. Customs that morning.

Unzipping it, she produced the tissue-wrapped head of Sylvester Stallone and Dudley Moore's two tiny hands.

Craig was not some monster off the street wanting to confess to a crime. Instead, the petite woman wearing a very serious expression was demonstrating the painstaking skill required of artists at the world-famous Madame Tussaud's, which is hotly rumored to become, along with Disney, an anchor of New York's Times Square redevelopment.

Madame Tussaud's is London's No. 1 attraction, but tourists aren't the only ones who get a thrill out of "mingling" with the lifelike wax portraits. The subjects themselves find it amusing.

Jerry Hall reportedly pops in often and brings her pals. When the Dalai Lama first saw himself, he couldn't stop giggling.

"It's unnerving," said Sir Anthony Hopkins as he stood next to his likeness at Madame Tussaud's.

"People find it disconcerting; it's not a mirror image," says Craig, head of the portrait studio there. "We're not used to seeing ourselves as three-dimensional."

"It's eerie . . . really weird," John McEnroe said as he assessed his own portrait, which was sculpted by Craig. "At least this one doesn't talk back!"

Although more than 2 million tourists are known to visit Madame Tussaud's every year, Craig had never been among them. The first time she went there, she was looking for a job.

"Having been a painter and then studied sculpture at City and Guilds of London, I asked myself: 'What can I do as a portraitist?'

"I chose Madame Tussaud's because it was the one place that I could use the breadth of my skills," Craig said.

Although Craig is no longer actively a sculptor, her job gives her critical control over all the various stages.

Decisions on whom to invite for a sitting are made by an internal committee that meets every six weeks. There are exhibition managers, studio personnel, representatives from business development and marketing. Public popularity polls are also employed.

Once a candidate is selected, a sitting is arranged where measurements are taken of the nostrils, ears, cheeks, height, etc. These are supplemented by photos from every angle. Life casts must be made of hands, as it would otherwise be difficult to make them appear real.

As an example, Craig points to Dudley Moore's hands, faithfully reproduced right down to the freckles, bluish veins and a slightly chipped finger nail. They are poised midchord to play the piano, which, besides comedy, is one of Moore's passions.

"The actual sculpting takes two to three months," explained Craig. "The head is molded and eyes fixed. When that's done, hair insertion can take another month and a half. Then seven days for coloring. To insure the utmost attention to detail, the object of the portrait will come and stand beside it."

Except for the more enduring historic figures, individual portraits are replaced as public interest wanes or as they cease being in the news.

When that happens, the head is removed and placed on a shelf in the archives. Because of insufficient storage space, the body is usually destroyed.

If a subject remains in the news for an extended period of time, however, the portrait is brought up to date every three years or so.

Princess Diana, who evolved from a shy, chubby-cheeked nursery school teacher into a svelte and sophisticated international fashion trend-setter, has had her portrait changed three times.

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's portrait had to be updated four times, and there were 10 or 12 versions done of Winston Churchill.

"Depending on the attire, the cost of a single portrait could be as much as 15,000 pounds ($25,000)," says Craig.

That's a tidy sum for sometimes fleeting celebrity. What price falling from grace?

Actor Hugh Grant appears to have weathered the storm of public opinion. His portrait, which was already in progress when he was caught in a compromising situation with a prostitute in Hollywood, became a part of Madame Tussaud's in October. But if Fergie, the Duchess of York, divorces, her head will likely wind up on a shelf.

On Location

After 200 years and a five-year, $30 million transformation, new theme areas have evolved at Madame Tussaud's:

The Garden Party. Visitors can "mingle" with Elizabeth Taylor, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Joanna Lumley.

200 Years of Madame Tussaud's includes Sleeping Beauty, the oldest figure (modeled in 1765) as well as the key to the Bastille and the only exact replica of Princess Diana's wedding dress.

Hollywood Legends. James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe and others.

The Grand Hall. An assemblage of kings, queens, statesmen and clerics.

The Spirit of London. A spectacular $15 million "dark ride" that uses special effects - sights, sounds and even smells - to depict more than 400 years of London's history.

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Photo Judy Craig, an artist at Madame Tussaud's, grooms a Sylvester Stallone wax statue. The wax museum is London's No. 1 attraction. Pat Carroll/New York Daily News Box On Location (See text)