# How about a Moebius Martian War Machine?



## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

How about it? What's your take on a War of the Worlds Martian war machine from Moebius?

Wouldn't that have made a great movie? Not one with F-86's and nukes or one with a dead-beat dad and dysfuntional kids but a movie based on the book as written. Not an interpretation, but straight form them book!

As would a depiction of a Victorian era Martian war machine, from the book. I think the closest I've seen was or is a resin kit. Anyway I see something with rivets all over it, vertical girder type legs, you know, something very Jules Verne'ish. Something that looks like it couldn't have possible worked in todays way of thinking but something that would have scared the life out of someone back then. You get the idea. So what say you?


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Now that would be a great kit for the shelves :thumbsup:


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## david merriman (Jun 6, 2002)

The subject would not sell. Moebius would take a bath on this one.

But, what a wonderful concept: a machine that mechanically walks without use of wheels, gears, or any mechanism incorporating a fixed pivot-point. What an engineering challenge. 

There are so many illustrations of the Tripod around, but I favor the Frank R Paul version.

Oh, well.

David,


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

alas i agree with mr. merriman. 
the george pal version might do ok, but thats iffy too.
(now a george pal time machine... that WOULD sell!)


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## kangg7 (Jun 21, 2000)

I too would love to see a martian war machine kit in styrene. Here are a few designs I'd love to see, the comic book version being my favorite. L8R and have a wonderful day :wave:

Dave


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

I'm surprised that folks think that a George Pal martian war machine would have limited market appeal. 

I guess that's because I'm biased here; I love the movie and for me, that version is my favorite. But consider: wouldn't a George Pal war machine have the same or similar "pop culture recognition / appeal factor" (PCRF - a new acronym I've coined!) as the much anticipated Invisible Man or the current LIS Chariot and Space Pod kits? 

Cheers
Huzz


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## gareee (Jan 1, 1970)

Actually, I'd LOVE a george Pal war machine... I've waited for one along with a big seaview now for years.

A time machine though WOULD really be interesting.

Also, as much as the recent WOTD movie was a disapointment, the war machines from it might be more popular, and I wouldn't mind one of those at all, but I'd want it at least 18" tall.


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## drmcoy (Nov 18, 2004)

I would buy ANY Martian War Machine kit they did, although I would prefer George Pal version -- along with Alien Kit from same movie.


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

gareee said:


> Actually, I'd LOVE a george Pal war machine... I've waited for one along with a big seaview now for years.


You could in the mean time go for one of the Wilcos versions. They scrub up ok.








I agree with Dave I think the retro kits would always sell. For me I always liked the look of the one from Jeff Waynes album art. It at least is kind of recognised...  But I guess Frank and the crew must do some market research to guage demand before deciding on a kit. Then there is permission and cost of using a license etc etc. Or maybe the invisble man is the first in a series of Victorian inspired sci fi and the next is the time machine - could only ever be George Pals version though. :thumbsup: But I digress and perhaps dream out loud.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

david merriman said:


> The subject would not sell. Moebius would take a bath on this one.
> 
> But, what a wonderful concept: a machine that mechanically walks without use of wheels, gears, or any mechanism incorporating a fixed pivot-point. What an engineering challenge.
> 
> ...




David how are you so confident it wouldn't sell? Obviously I'm no expert on what will or won't sell but a superbly designed war machine that was accurate to the books description "could" be a hit with sci fi modellers and it might well not need any licence agreement (unlike the Pal version which I personally think is an ok design but it's nothing like what Wells described, and the film wasn't exactly brilliant either). A kit could be called a MARTIAN WAR MACHINE, MARTIAN TRIPOD etc and people would know instantly what it was.

The book's a masterpiece and it's got a huge worldwide following. Here's one of the best depictions of the tripods I've seen....


http://troc--czarnyrobert.deviantart.com/art/War-of-the-Worlds-Thunderchild-20697481?offset=40


I quite like the Jeff Wayne tripods too even though they aren't totally true to Wells description.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

hal9001 said:


> How about it? What's your take on a War of the Worlds Martian war machine from Moebius?
> 
> Wouldn't that have made a great movie? Not one with F-86's and nukes or one with a dead-beat dad and dysfuntional kids but a movie based on the book as written. Not an interpretation, but straight form them book!
> 
> As would a depiction of a Victorian era Martian war machine, from the book. I think the closest I've seen was or is a resin kit. Anyway I see something with rivets all over it, vertical girder type legs, you know, something very Jules Verne'ish. Something that looks like it couldn't have possible worked in todays way of thinking but something that would have scared the life out of someone back then. You get the idea. So what say you?




Totally agree! None of the film adaptations have been any good including that recent Spielberg and Cruise piece of tosh. The Pal film was ok for it's time but I think it's dated badly whereas the book is timeless.


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## falcon49xxxx (Aug 4, 2008)

How many Sci-Fi models are on the shelves of a well stock hobby store?I'd say about 10-15%.Thats how many kits of this you would sell.I've been in the hobby business over 40 years,just so you know.The optimum word is business.alexander


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

All good points, but I think that in the eyes of the general public, the George Pal ship is the one that would be recognized by the larger number of people.

AJ - I have a Wilco war machine kit. It is pretty nice as you say. I just haven't gotten around to building it yet! Thanks for sharing the pic of your build-up!!

Huzz


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Sungod - the image you posted from the deviantart site is gorgeous. I picture the striders differently, but admire the work and final product. I especially like how the subtle the ray is eminating from the machine.


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## falcon49xxxx (Aug 4, 2008)

Recognized yes,bought no.This is what modelling is about,if there is no model of something you like,the challange is to build it.But to ask a company to risk their investment on a limited selling model,well we know how thats worked so far.alexander


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

david merriman said:


> The subject would not sell. Moebius would take a bath on this one.


I wonder...

It's an awfully iconic design, and there's never been a kit version (other than GK's).

Ditto the Pal Time Machine.

Ah, it's a moot point anyway. From what I understand, the rights to the Pal films are a tangled knot of inaccessibility.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

I guess my point is, what makes the Martian War Machine a more "limited selling model" than the Moebius Invisible Man? I would think that both kits would have a fairly limited but roughly equal appeal; IE, us guys!

Huzz


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## falcon49xxxx (Aug 4, 2008)

Figure modeller dont by and large do Machines,they do figures.They are more likely to pick up the Invisable Man than the Martian War Machine.This is a Generallity Only,so dont chime in saying "I collect all sorts of things" or I'm a figure modeller and I do spaceships!"yes I collect and build everything,even trains,but I'm a small part of the hobby,not the norm.


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## gareee (Jan 1, 1970)

Seems to me, the LIS space pod and the fantastic voyage toon ship were FAR more risky then the iconic Pal war machine. The same could possibly be said for the "risky" seaview release, but that appears to have been a huge success for them.

Point being, there are many modelers out there looking for styrene versions of ships that have never been released.. like the pal war machine. and no one marketed the newer WOTW martian tripod at all, though it really did have a very cool design.


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

Thanks Sungod, I thought more people would have been receptive to a Victorian era Martian war machine. Mabye they haven't read the origianl work? It was just a thought. Alexander said he has been in the buisness 40 yrs. and didn't think it would sell well, well it's hard to argue with experience. But I think the M.W.M. is very iconic and a kit might work. How well? That would depend some on the responce from the members of this site. The question has had only a few responces thus far, so we'll just have to wait and see. Seems most so far are leaning towards the George Pal version. I still hang with Victorian. That would just be cool!

Now a new question has been brought up by GAREEE about the Time Machine. Now that would be another great subject. The only decent one out there is close to 200 bucks I think. Anyway Moebius has probably had so many ideas thrown at them they have enough for the next 200 yrs. Now, if we can just figure out how to live that long...


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

falcon49xxx said:


> How many Sci-Fi models are on the shelves of a well stock hobby store?I'd say about 10-15%.Thats how many kits of this you would sell.I've been in the hobby business over 40 years,just so you know.The optimum word is business.alexander




Maybe you're right but I think a Martian tripod is as well known to sci fi modellers as Star Wars, Dr Who or Battlestar Galactica and again if it's not a direct copy of something the licence wouldn't be an issue. I've seen modellers saying they want some Wells tripods for as long as I can remember.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

ChrisW said:


> Sungod - the image you posted from the deviantart site is gorgeous. I picture the striders differently, but admire the work and final product. I especially like how the subtle the ray is eminating from the machine.




Not bad ain't it! There's a few more from the same artist that I'll post when I find good images of them. I think they're about the best depictions of Wells machines that I've seen and they actually look like they could really exist unlike some of the other tripod images knocking about.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

hal9001 said:


> Thanks Sungod, I thought more people would have been receptive to a Victorian era Martian war machine. Mabye they haven't read the origianl work? It was just a thought. Alexander said he has been in the buisness 40 yrs. and didn't think it would sell well, well it's hard to argue with experience. But I think the M.W.M. is very iconic and a kit might work. How well? That would depend some on the responce from the members of this site. The question has had only a few responces thus far, so we'll just have to wait and see. Seems most so far are leaning towards the George Pal version. I still hang with Victorian. That would just be cool!
> 
> Now a new question has been brought up by GAREEE about the Time Machine. Now that would be another great subject. The only decent one out there is close to 200 bucks I think. Anyway Moebius has probably had so many ideas thrown at them they have enough for the next 200 yrs. Now, if we can just figure out how to live that long...



I think you've hit the nail firmly on the head there saying they're "iconic" and there's quite a few of us who are receptive to a Victorian Martian, and this is only one forum. Just about everyone's heard of or come across alien tripods at some time even if they're not familiar with Wells original story. Again, it's difficult to argue with Alexander if he's been in the business 40 years but there again time's change and it's us older modellers who buy most of these things now. I personally think a cool tripod kit in plastic would sell but that's just me.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

gareee said:


> Seems to me, the LIS space pod and the fantastic voyage toon ship were FAR more risky then the iconic Pal war machine. The same could possibly be said for the "risky" seaview release, but that appears to have been a huge success for them.
> 
> Point being, there are many modelers out there looking for styrene versions of ships that have never been released.. like the pal war machine. and no one marketed the newer WOTW martian tripod at all, though it really did have a very cool design.




From what I've seen most Wells fans hated the Spielberg movie and I think it just got a bad name amongst science fiction fans in general (some might say deservedly so). The tripods were nice (if not totally accurate to the books description) but I think people were also turned off by Cruise too.

I mean who talks about that film now? There's constant discussions about Star Wars, BG, Star Trek etc but you hardly ever see people discussing it anymore (except to say what a travesty of the book it was or how much it sucked). It was just an excuse for Cruise to hog the limelight like he does in all his other movies so I'm not surprised there wasn't more merchandise.


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

Put it this way: If the Pal MWM is too obscure a vehicle to be a viable candidate for production by Moebius, then what constitutes "viable?"

Well, certainly the Irwin Allen stuff, which is to say the LiS and VTTBOTS stuff.

Anything Trek, of course. Oh wait, that license is owned by another company.

Maybe the Disney Nautilus?...

And then there's... let's see... uh...

Hmm.


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## falcon49xxxx (Aug 4, 2008)

Let me be clear,I love tri-pod machines.I have not read the original story,but I suspect if made, a victorian war machine with a Steampunk look would be on my work bench!There is a large Martian Machine resin kit from the new movie done by Randy Cooper which I own.I found the new movie to be enjoyable.The George Pal version is one of my favorite designs.On my product list to produce is a Tri-Pods Kit from the Britiish TV Series.The question was posed that a major model company do model of an icon,thats how the garage kit business began,filling the void that major model company would not do.It is one thing to want a model of your favorite subject,it is another to ask a major model company to make it for you.Stay well,alexander


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

George Pal War Machines coming from Pegasus possibly by end of 2008...
Not likely that Moebius will do any War of the Worlds anytime soon.

Dave


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

The George Pal version is great.It should possibly made in a scale that would be agreeable with existing diorama material sold on the market in order to make disaster scenes.If so,for example,what size would the spaceship be with say,1/48th or 1/35th scale.It's a simple kit to produce in a mold and would sell well in my opinion.The right kind of box art should produce good sales.


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

PM Moderator said:


> George Pal War Machines coming from Pegasus possibly by end of 2008...
> Not likely that Moebius will do any War of the Worlds anytime soon.
> 
> Dave



Well Dave I guess you put that baby to bed. But I still like Alexanders idea of a war machine with a Steampunk look. Now that's the look I was trying to convey.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Who is Pegasus?

Huzz


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## david merriman (Jun 6, 2002)

falcon49xxx said:


> Let me be clear,I love tri-pod machines.I have not read the original story,but I suspect if made, a victorian war machine with a Steampunk look would be on my work bench!There is a large Martian Machine resin kit from the new movie done by Randy Cooper which I own.I found the new movie to be enjoyable.The George Pal version is one of my favorite designs.On my product list to produce is a Tri-Pods Kit from the Britiish TV Series.The question was posed that a major model company do model of an icon,thats how the garage kit business began,filling the void that major model company would not do.It is one thing to want a model of your favorite subject,it is another to ask a major model company to make it for you.Stay well,alexander


Garage companies have done the tripod to death over the years. 

Lunar Models did at least two versions of the MWM: one was the Classic Comics version. The other based on my model, which in turn was based on a the Frank R Paul illustration.

David,


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## gareee (Jan 1, 1970)

But many of us won;t buy garage kits.. I've bought maybe 1% of my models as garage kits. All the rest are licensed.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I'd either want the Classics Illustrated version or the George Pal version. While I like the book (and there are cool illustrations in the Jeff Wayne's WOTW album) I don't really want a mechanical machine.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Pegasus Models is doing a 1/48 scale and a 1/144 scale version of the Georgew Pal WOTW.

Both are due late '08', early '09'.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/forumdisplay.php?f=99


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

gareee said:


> But many of us won;t buy garage kits.. I've bought maybe 1% of my models as garage kits. All the rest are licensed.


I don't have a garage to build my garage kits in so I usually build them in the kitchen or the basement. See the pics of my Proteus in my gallery. (Oh the pain....) :lol: (Its Friday so I can be excused for that groaner!)

A 1/48 scale kit sounds quite intriguing; thanks for the heads up. I'll have to watch for it! Lots of diorama potential at that scale

Huzz


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

david merriman said:


> Garage companies have done the tripod to death over the years.
> 
> Lunar Models did at least two versions of the MWM: one was the Classic Comics version. The other based on my model, which in turn was based on a the Frank R Paul illustration.
> 
> David,






That's garage companies not styrene companies. As garee said, many people don't build garage kits.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

djnick66 said:


> I'd either want the Classics Illustrated version or the George Pal version. While I like the book (and there are cool illustrations in the Jeff Wayne's WOTW album) I don't really want a mechanical machine.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

PM Moderator said:


> George Pal War Machines coming from Pegasus possibly by end of 2008...
> Not likely that Moebius will do any War of the Worlds anytime soon.
> 
> Dave




Well as Dave says......it looks like you Pal machine lovers are going to get your wish in plastic! 

Dave, maybe one day Moebius can give us the real deal. I think the book's so vastly superior to all the film versions it's not even worth comparing them. 

Wells book = masterpiece! 
Spielberg, Pal versions = expensive for their time B movies!


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## hal9001 (May 28, 2008)

*Bone head mistake about Jules Verne.*

Yes I'm a bone head! I posted a thread about a Moebius Martian war machine and said it would look cool in a "Jules Verne'ish" style. Wellll, a buddy of mine pointed out that H.G. WELLS wrote War of the Worlds not J.V.. I wanted anyone that read my original post to know I DO KNOW THAT, I read the original version. 
When envisioning what it should look like I thought of the Nautilus, with it's big black boiler plantes and large rivets, and I suppose Vernes name stuck in my head.

So there, my shame is over.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Hey, we all make mistakes--don't sweat it.

That's what the edit button is for and you can put an explanation at the bottom for why you edited it. :thumbsup:


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

I've neber made a bistake in my wife...er life.....
Mcdee


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I made a mistake once.

No, wait... twice.


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

We've said that Moebius Models is not planning a Martian war machine model kit.
If this thread is now a discussion of the merits of the various interpretations of the Martian war machine design, or a discussion of the various War of the world movies is is off topic for this forum.
There are science fiction modeling forums and science fiction movie forums that will accomodate these discussions.
We would like to grant everybodies model kit wishes, but cannot. I had hoped that my posting regarding the fact that another manufacturer would be releasing the kit would be sufficient. It is plain that it was not, so I'll be closing this thread


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