design a tripod comp [just in case] the BBC do it

[tug]

we have all seen the rantings by us all over every aspect of every film of the great story. So let's try and get at least one item that we can agree on . how a tripod should look and behave. based upon the origional novel. have a vote on it and perhaps submit it to any company that takes up the mantle.

[Tripod]

Yeah, it would be great if there would be a bit more interaction between the fans and the 'creators' of an adaption.

Tripod

[tug]

what i am tryiing to suggest is. rather than ripping each over to bits over every adaption of the book is that we put our minds together and at least come up with a designe we can all agree upon
based on the descriptions in the book. who cares how a tripod should look over than us lot and perhaps a production comp might take that in mind perhaps if they got good ratings from us they might feel it was worth going ahead with. It is a bit of a mine field

[Lensman]

"Almost all the joints of the machinery present a complicated system of sliding parts moving over small but beautifully curved friction bearings. ...the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature of the discs in an elastic sheath; these discs become polarized and drawn closely and powerfully together... by electricity."

The artificial muscles should be visible, altho perhaps not seen in too much detail when looking at the entire machine. I'm thinking perhaps parts of the tripod, at least the legs, and the arm attached to the Heat Ray, would look like one of those anatomy illustrations: a human or animal with its skin removed so you see the muscles and ligaments. But the tripods are also described as "glittering metal" so the "musculature" clearly doesn't cover all of it.

Many illustrations omit certain parts, such as the "brazen" (bronze-colored) cowl/hood which can rotate, and the "fisherman's basket"-- a "huge mass of white metal"-- on the back. The Heat Ray should be a boxy affair, possibly with a lens at the front, attached to an arm; it is also described as a "complicated metallic case, about which scintillated green flashes," with the Heat Ray coming "out of the funnel of this..." We don't know how many tentacles the machine has; probably at least 3; these are described as "articulate ropes of steel" and I imagine them looking like armored cables. The Black Smoke "bazooka" isn't attached and can be left off the model.

The machine can lower the main part of itself to the ground, so the legs should either telescope or have knees to allow it to do so. Also, "puffs of green smoke squirted out from the joints of the limbs..."

The Martians' machines have been described as looking alive, so it should have an organic look despite its metallic covering. I would suggest looking at H.R. Geiger's drawings and paintings to get some idea of how to make something that looks simultaneously organic and mechanical... and also very disturbing.

[mctoddridesagain]

I think it's only the machines' dynamic movements that make them look alive, rather than any 'organic' look to the design (much as I admire Giger, I think 'gigeresque' design has been done to death over the years).

There, see how we can already start having disagreements, and it's barely even started...

[tug]

my main problem with the SS tripods , was the amount of illumination they displayed,lights every where. Other than the vented gases the books machines only had one source of light . A search light. I think this makes them much more scary. In my job I do a lot of night rural driving and on occaision have been next to a hundred foot pylon and only noticed it when a illuminated cloud passed behind it...Spooky

[Lensman]

mctoddridesagain said:

I think it's only the machines' dynamic movements that make them look alive, rather than any 'organic' look to the design (much as I admire Giger, I think 'gigeresque' design has been done to death over the years).

Actually I was thinking of Wells' description of the Handling-Machine and thinking it applied equally to the Fighting Machine (tripod), but I see this isn't the case. From II-2, in a description of the Handling-Machine:

~~~~~~~~~~~
Its motion was so swift, complex, and perfect that first I did not see it as a machine, in spite of its metallic glitter. The fighting-machines were coordinated and animated to an extraordinary pitch, but nothing to compare with this.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, I have almost never seen any depiction of a tripod that looked like it had artificial muscles. Most of them look entirely mechanical. Perhaps a Geiger-esque approach is too organic, but I still think looking at his designs is a good place to get some ideas.

[Commandingtripod]

What about the Black smoke gun?

Is that fixed into the body of the tripod or is it carried separately like the heat ray?

I personally imagine the Black smoke gun fixed on the body of the tripod - but then that's my opinion.

[D.A.V.E]

Why don't we make this like some kind of actual competition? We can all send in our designs.. win a prize! And then we can email BBC/ITV with our Ideas... I reckon it would be great!

[EvilNerfherder]

Who's going to provide the prize?
All prize compos have to be cleared by Rob, the Webmaster, first. If anyone has something to offer and wants to go with it let me know, via PM only, and I will run it by him.

[Lensman]

commandingtripod said:

What about the Black smoke gun?

Is that fixed into the body of the tripod or is it carried separately like the heat ray?

The Heat Ray is attached to the end of an arm on the Tripod; it's not a separate thing. The Black Smoke discharge tubes or "bazookas" are handed out by one tripod to the others, so clearly it's not attached. Wells' description of one which "raised his tube on high" (as in the Correa illustration) perhaps suggests they held the bazooka in their tentacles. See chapter I-15.

[Bayne]

[glow=red,2,300]In relation to the brazen hood, I always interpreted that as brazen (attitude) rather than brazen (colour)
e.g. 'brazen hussy'
[/glow]

[Thunder Child]

In the Dutch translation of the book, brazen is translated as copper coloured...

Johan

[BrutalDeluxe]

Cheers for that TC! That puts it in perspective.
I agree with Lensman that the independently moving "cowl/hood" is usually left out of most designs. I always imagined it as similar to the hood on a monk's robe.

[Lensman]

Seems to me that if "brazen" referred to an attitude, it would apply to the entire machine and not just the hood. I've always assumed it meant the color.

[tug]

I took it to mean a copper coloured hood and indeed used that on the fab cafe promotional video.
I am at the moment fleshing out the origional design and emphasizing the curves on the cowl / hood and changing the proportions of the cockpit.

[Chris Oakley]

I'm still trying to figure out how the Martians get into the Tripods. The hood is all the way off the ground and if you look at the mechanics of a lot of designs they would never get down far enough to allow access.

[tug]

That is an important elliment of any design. My tripod has a combination of inward curves in the hood and partially telescopic legs to allow the machine to crouch.

[Luperis]

chrisoakley said:

I'm still trying to figure out how the Martians get into the Tripods. The hood is all the way off the ground and if you look at the mechanics of a lot of designs they would never get down far enough to allow access.

If the tripod was unable to have the hood placed close to the ground, there would probably have an elevator-style thing top allow them to get in - similar to what astronauts use to get into space shuttles, or there would be an 'access door' at a lower position on the tripod.

[Lensman]

There's a description of a Tripod which has lowered its main body to the ground, presumably to allow the operator to leave. It's in II-3. And yeah, many artists' designs do *not* allow for this. The legs need to either hinge in the middle or telescope, or some combination thereof. This is one of the points at which the Jeff Wayne design is all wrong.

The fact the Narrator could see a Martian inside the Tripod when it was grounded may suggest the hood opens to allow entrance/exit. Or it may just mean he was at the proper angle to see thru a viewing slot/port, and the Tripod has a hatch lower down.