Tuesday 18 November 2008

What did a Fighting Machine look like?


A puzzle i've not been able to figure out is why no artist i've come across has ever depicted the Tripods as Wells described in the book, especially as its a rare instance when he's pretty descriptive over something to do with the Martians.

A lot of artists have either gone there own way (stand up Mike Trimm. As brilliant as his design is, it bears almost no resembalance), or used some of the elements - but not all.

Those elements are:

"a monstrous Tripod, higher than many houses" "Giants in armour... hundred feet high"

"in the hood sat a Martian"

"behind the hood was a huge mass of white metal like a fishermens basket"

"... Martians were crawling slowly towards the second cylinder under cover of a metal shield. Later this shield staggered up on tripod legs and became the first of the Fighting Machines."

".. a great body of machinery on a tripod stand"

"articulate ropes of steel dangling... swinging and rattling about its strange body"

To me, the most accurate version i've come across is this one by Correa. It has the shield upper body, the mass of machinery underneath, the tentacles (altough not enough of them) and a pretty accurate Heat Ray. Falls down though by not having the holding basket or hood, and the inclusion of the "face".

90% then.

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