# War of the Worlds



## Rod 57 (May 8, 2003)

With the Spielberg remake of the War of the Worlds coming out in the
next year or two I wonder if PL has any interest in doing a model of
the new Martian war machines. I would also like to see one of the 1953
version.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Then turn on AMC. it's on right now!


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

I can no longer tolerate watching AMC since they started running commercials every five minutes. That's what DVD's are for.


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## mr-freeze (Apr 4, 2004)

Trek Ace said:


> I can no longer tolerate watching AMC since they started running commercials every five minutes. That's what DVD's are for.


I heard that. I used to love AMC cause they showed uncut movies commercial free. I won't even stop on that channel at all now.


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

I'd LOVE to see PL do the Martian War MAchines from the Pal War of the Worlds (and the Time Machine too!)


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## RogueJ (Oct 29, 2000)

razorwyre1 said:


> I'd LOVE to see PL do the Martian War MAchines from the Pal War of the Worlds (and the Time Machine too!)


I second that request.
:thumbsup: 
Rogue


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

The WAR OF THE WORLDS movie made in the 50's,I believe,was fantastic.That ALIEN SPACECRAFT is far out and would be a favorite amongs modelers.About 10 to 12 inches in wingspan would be perfect.Included if possible,eiher in the same scale,or slightly bigger scale,a Martian and a frightened woman added in a small diorama would be perfect.Or even better,a Martian and a frightened Woman released seperately in a bigger 1/8th scale diorama.


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## RogueJ (Oct 29, 2000)

Sylvia!!


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## Pygar (Feb 26, 2000)

Well, let's see...

The original models were 45" across, I suspect that to be 1/6" as the ships fit into a city street so as to look about 20-25' across...

If PL made a 1/12 model of that it would be 22.5" across... We are talking C-57D territory...

If they made it 11.25" across, that'd be 1/24 scale... just perfect to make dioramas with available car kits and figures.


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## tardis1916 (Mar 24, 2004)

Somewhere I have blueprints for the martion war machines. I'll see if I can't dig them out and see if they list any dimentions.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

"Sarge" of Wilco Models mentioned a while back that he was planning to do a resin model soon of the Martian War machine from the 1953 movie "War of the Worlds". See the comments by Sarge on the following thread:

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=74339&page=5&pp=15

Huzz


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## Dr. Syn (May 29, 2003)

Hey guys,

I'm a War of the Worlds junkie. I love that movie! I even bought the book documentary on the radio show and it has cd's of the original broadcast in it. Very cool. Of course, after listening to the broadcast, it's kinda hard to see how anyone misunderstood it as a radio show - alas, a simpler time.

You were mentioning models of the ships so I thought I'd throw out a few examples of kits I've seen/have - you may all know of these:

Monsters in Motion did a superb dio with the machine over a destroyed building - complete with sound and lights! I had to pick that one up.

Classics Illustrated version - dio of pods and machines - very nice - don't remember who did that one. Had to pick that one up too.

Small 1/72(?) scale dio of machine and destroyed vehicles. Looks like it was taken from the film. Don't know who did that either.

Skyhook models did a small ship from the film - sits on a small base - very basic but nice.

I saw a version from an English company a couple of years ago. The machine was round - looked kinda like the First Men In The Moon ship without the buffers. It stood on squid-like legs. I'm not sure where this concept came from but it was pretty cool.

I feel like I've forgotten one or two. Oh well......PL should do a version.


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

Agreed! Not too many parts, easy to light in 1/24th... and a great converasation piece when finished.

Now that I think of it, Kits based on the 50's/60's classics would probably sell quite well, expecially considering the graying of the average model kit builder. (Does anyone know how the sales for the Irwen Allen and FP kits compared to the rest of the line?) The Pal and Harryhausen films are sentimental favorites with our age group, and would probably do quite well with the occasional builder as well as us fanatics!


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

the war machine from the 50's movie has classic lines . very sleek and deadly looking with a cobra head heat ray . heck folks who've never even seen the movie would buy this thing . 
hb


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## Nighteagle2001 (Jan 11, 2001)

Might want to check out Skyhook models, They have a couple of very good kits: A Martian war machine with a 8" wingspan, and a Mini diorama of three war machines frying a tank. I have the Mini and its a really good build.


http://www.skyhookmodels.com/models.htm


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Wilco Models' Martian War Machine as a resin kit ought to be available very soon. If their Planet of the Apes Icarus is any indication, their rendition of the Martian War Machine ought to be quite nice.

Huzz


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## Sgt Wilco (Jan 29, 2004)

Whoops! Sorry I'm late to the party guys...
My Martian War Machine will be going into molds in the next week or so--- it has a wing spread of 9-1/2 inches and is in 1/72nd scale. Will come with a smashed-city style base (still in work...); should go for right around $30.00 plus shipping...
---Da Sarge


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## swhite228 (Dec 31, 2003)

You could also try finding the large Lunar Models kit. It is 15 inches from tip to tip, and comes with clear parts for lighting. It's a resin and vacuformed plastic kit. They even give you a martian figure to go with it!
Scott


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## Prince of Styrene II (Feb 28, 2000)

Nighteagle2001 said:


> Might want to check out Skyhook models, They have a couple of very good kits: A Martian war machine with a 8" wingspan, and a Mini diorama of three war machines frying a tank. I have the Mini and its a really good build.


Yea, how'd that ever turn out? I remember seeing most of it built. Bring it when you come by this Saturday.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Vacformed kits are famous for being difficult to work with and are typically expensive. But while good quality resin kits like those of Wilco Models are more work than a styrene kit, they are well within the capabilities of most anyone here and as Sarge himself says, are very reasonably priced.

I'm looking forward to this one!

Huzz


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## swhite228 (Dec 31, 2003)

Which is why my copy from Lunar models is still in the box!!!
Scott


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## treknician1701g (May 16, 2004)

*War Machine*

I am currently working on a Martian War Machine from the 1950's SciFi
classic "War of the worlds", but I cannot find any detailed Blueprints!
Anybody know of any??
[email protected]


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

See this link for pics plus a 1952 Popular Science article on making the models:

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/WarOfTheWorlds/MartianWarMachineTop.htm

Huzz


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Did anyone ever notice that if you turn your Martian War machine upside down and point it backwards it looks eerily like the Roswell UFO?

(Cue spooky Twilight Zone music) :freak: 

Huzz


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

any updates on the kit from Sgt. Wilco ?? 
hb


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*War Of The Worls Mini*

I have done the Skyhook Mini Dio which was a real cool build had a lot of fun with it. Heck I bought all the mini's of Skyhook's but the War of the Worlds mini was the best of the lot.

AZbuilder
John Davis


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Beck - yes!

I have a Wilco Models Martian War Machine. Its just the ship by itself with no base. I think Sarge may be working on one to be included in the kit in the future and available for separate purchase for those who buy the model now. Despite that, its a very nice size, 1/72 scale, and of typical Wilco quality. Its an all resin solid pressure cast model. The wingtips, three antigravity lenses on the bottom, and front green glowing thingie are cast in green tinted clear resin. The laser emitter in the cobra head is cast in clear red tinted resin. You can see pictures over at Cult's hobbyshop. 

My copy of the kit required minimal work; a bit of sanding around the edges and some trimming to get the big green lens at the front to fit but I haven't found and voids or pinholes yet. 

Huzz


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Hey Huzz,
With the clear resin pieces included in the Wilco kit, how hard do you think it would be to light it up?


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

That’s a good question. It all depends on how much work you want to do. And I have no experience lighting models.



The hull of the Martian War Machine (MWM) is a solid piece of resin. Let’s assume you want to use one LED in each wing tip and two or three in the big front lens. You could carefully countersink holes into the resin to sit the LEDs into. The problem is where do you run the wires from them? Here’s what I can think of:




Using a dremel, carefully create a small trench from each wing tip and from the front lens in the underside of the ship which is deep enough for the wire. The trenches should converge at a common point where a stand supports the MWM and would exit the MWM and be hidden inside the stand. Once the wire is installed, you would have to cover the trenches in the underside of the MWM.
Hide the wires by installing them along the trailing edge of the MWM wings at the rear.
Attempt to drill a wire tunnel from each wing tip and from the front lens to a common point where the wires could exit the MWM. This would be a devil of a thing to do at the wing tips which are fairly thin; you would need a small diameter drill bit of about 5 or 6 inches in length.
Huzz


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

xsavoie said:


> The WAR OF THE WORLDS movie made in the 50's,I believe,was fantastic.That ALIEN SPACECRAFT is far out and would be a favorite amongs modelers.About 10 to 12 inches in wingspan would be perfect.Included if possible,eiher in the same scale,or slightly bigger scale,a Martian and a frightened woman added in a small diorama would be perfect.Or even better,a Martian and a frightened Woman released seperately in a bigger 1/8th scale diorama.


I'm a lot less concerned about the final dimensions of the model so long as its in a common scale such as 1/48 or 1/72.

Lets wipe 'box scale' off the face of the planet.


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## EarthBoy (Sep 30, 2004)

*Great War of The Worlds website.*

Hi here's a great website with alot of pics & info about the 1953 movie..THE MOST COMPLETE & INFORMATIVE WAR OF THE WORLDS WEBSITE ON THE NET


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## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

welcome aboard Earthboy . and thanks for the link . 
hb


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## tr7nut (Apr 18, 1999)

*TV show?*

Anybody a fan of the TV show? I loved it and have the pilot on tape. Wish they'd put it out on DVD. Neat continuation piece!


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## irocer (Aug 22, 2000)

Chris White had some really neat kit ideas drawn out at Wonderfest. Apparently PL was thinking about some kits for the 50th anniversary of the film. He had drawn up the ships destroying buildings diorama and a Martian figure. Wish these had been made. Maybe Chris can post the artwork for everybody to see.


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

*WoW*

I too wish PL would do a big War Machine if not a dio type kit featuring of course three of em.
Let us not forget we can take a Martian War Machine model and leave off the neck and paint over the wingtip and nose and presto. The ship from Robinson Crusoe on Mars 
cheers,
Max Bryant


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## POCKETWOCKET (Jun 12, 2004)

Rod 57 said:


> With the Spielberg remake of the War of the Worlds coming out in the
> next year or two I wonder if PL has any interest in doing a model of
> the new Martian war machines. I would also like to see one of the 1953
> version.


it would be damn nice if Spielberg would use the music of Jeff Wayne....


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## starman (Jan 11, 2004)

The martian war machines that were in the classics illstrated comic are my favorite machine as they are walking machines like the orginal novel had, but somewhat updated for the 1960's, there is a photo of this comic book cover at http://www.starshipmodeler.com/contest/entries.cfm a contest site, some models are awsome i just hope my entry holds well to these. Karl


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## Bay7 (Nov 8, 1999)

My brother lives in Woking (UK) where the original landing was based - just across from the sand flats.


In the town centre there are full sized martian war machines based on the original ones in the book - I wasn't sure what it was at first.

http://www.cix.co.uk/~sjbradshaw/martian/

I liked the design of the war machines in the movie though, it was cool that they were so powerfull but compact at the same time - rather like a tank.

Walking war machines seem a bit impractical although they look okay in star wars. Tracks, wheels or hovering seems to make more sense.

Mike


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## MGagen (Dec 18, 2001)

Thanks for the link to the Woking Martian. That is a very impressive sculpture.

I love seeing a town embrace its literary heritage, so long as it's done with class.

My only criticism of this interpretation of the war machine is that it lacks the arms described which could hold up the heat ray and pick men off the ground. 

Regardless, a very good job. When I get back to England I'll try get to Woking for a look.

Mark


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