Thunderchild vs. the Tripods

[Paper Kosmonaut]

I could have put this thread in the ship's forum, I could have put it in the Alternative Dimensions section but in the end I decided it would fit rather nicely into the diorama part. Because that is what it is. A diorama.

Where to start? I wanted to do something different, just to be away from the regular space stuff for the time being. There was a diorama made in plastic I saw years back I wanted to try in paper, showing a scene from War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. The HMS Thunder Child attacking the Martian tripods.
So I went looking for ingredients.

I needed a boat. An old one. Found one here (https://www.kartonmodellbau.org/publikationen/download-kreuzer-emden.shtml.de). A German ship from 1905. Old enough. Since there was no actual Thunderchild and the description also was open enough for interpretation, I thought this one would do very nicely.
Then, Tripods. I needed two. One intact, the second, blown apart.

Now I always had a little trouble with the most well-known variant of the tripod, the "Jeff Wayne's musical version of 'War of the Worlds'" one. Its legs were stiff and completely the opposite of how Wells describes the tripods in his novel. They should be nimble, agile and quick. Things I couldn't imagine looking at the Jeff Wayne tripod. Also, Wells' war machines had a separate arm for the heat ray. Wayne's version had it like an insect's proboscis placed in its head. Only option left: scratchbuilding.

The builds happened simultaneously. a Way of preventing boredom and monotony. The ship was reduced to be at around 1/780 or thereabout. I used 200 gpm2 paper, which is my standard paper and sometimes a bit on the thick side. The tripod was tried and tested a few times before I had the right shape. I wanted it to look a little more alien, insectoid, if you will. A segmented shielded "head" would add to that image. a Double-fold origami method did the trick. I used copper coloured paper for this model.

Writing down all measurements for the second tripod, I build the machine, giving it three spidery legs and an arm for the heat ray. Tentacles below were made from iron yarn. It curls nicely when wound off the bobbin.
The legs were supported with thin welding wire inside. This made the legs nice and bendable and I put them in a nice curved position.

Well, let's cut the story a little short. Ship was built, readied and the tripods too. The second being partially blown to pieces by the ship's guns, given a smoke cloud made of coloured fiberfill (the stuff used to insulate winter sports clothing with) and hand-ripped snippets of blotting paper coloured with yellow and red ecoline / coloured ink to imitate flames.

The diorama. I used a 20x50 cm picture frame and painted the hardboard backing in blue colours, adding the ship's wake in white and some depth nuances.
The glass plate was added on top and I used transparent, rock hard drying acrylic paste to make the surface. I structured the surface with stiff, flat, bristly brushes at several stages during the drying process to refine the textures. Wake and waves were thicker layers and dried slower, giving me more time to refine them. Finally, I added some arctic white to the wake, stern waves and other areas, again with flat, almost dry brushes.

On my blog I will soon add a tutorial on how to do this kind of water texture, for those who are interested.
As a second post here I'll add some making of photos.

Here's HMS Thunderchild fighting the Tripods from Mars!

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Here are some pictures of the ship's build:

[Paper Kosmonaut]

This is the first tripod build in pictures. This was fully scratch built and my own design. I'll add a sketch I made for the design. I first thought I wanted to give it a single black slit looking like an eye but in the end the gloss black face plate was definitely better looking.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

The killed tripod. I wanted it to be on fire, bellowing thick clouds of orange smoke and flames. Fiberfill and blotting paper with ecoline did the trick. I also had nice yellow fingers for a day.
For the tripod I used all kinds of leftover bits of paper I folded and crumpled and gave a riveted edge.

[umtutsut]

Great work! One of my favorite SF novels, even today.

:cool: Les (The Voice of Authority -- This website is currently unavailable. (http://www.voiceofauthority.net))

[Paper Kosmonaut]

The base plate. All explained in the first post, tutorial will be on my blog. Here are some pictures.

[SCEtoAUX]

Very good. Really captures the feeling of the story. :)

Your take on the tripods is interesting. I built those tripods based on Wayne's musical. Three of them, of course.

Here is a website with some illustrations made in 1906 by Henrique Alvim Corrêa that H.G. Wells praised: “Alvim Corrêa did more for my work with his brush than I with my pen.”
The First Illustrations of H.G. Wells (http://www.openculture.com/2015/09/the-first-illustrations-of-h-g-wells-war-of-the-worlds.html)

[eatcrow2]

Wonderful subject for a diorama.. A superb display, with a great write-up/photos showing the process!!

[rifleman]

wow love your build all I can say is wow

[elliott]

A very effective diorama. Excellent work and pics.

[southwestforests]

Wonder how that water would do in a model railroad club setting in the finished basement of the old city hall?
I'll have to try that technique at home to get firsthand experience.
Something about the tripods brings fleas to mind.
Isn't there a famous naval saying, "Damn the tripods, full speed ahead!"
I'm too lazy to google it right now, just working from memory.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Wonder how that water would do in a model railroad club setting in the finished basement of the old city hall?
I'll have to try that technique at home to get firsthand experience.
Something about the tripods brings fleas to mind.
Isn't there a famous naval saying, "Damn the tripods, full speed ahead!"
I'm too lazy to google it right now, just working from memory.

The water would work in all scale dioramas, trust me on that. You could easily enlarge the size of the choppiness of the surface, let it dry just completely transparent for a pond or a lake or brook. When adding a little space between the upper layer (glass, for example) and the bottom, you can easily create depth. I did that when I made a diorama of a cove from where a flying boat took off. The bottom was 5 cms lower than the glass plate and I made some sea floor life to look at.

Fleas are a good example of what kind of feeling I tried to create with the tripods. I like your alteration of the original quote, by the way. (I googled (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mobile_Bay#Damn_the_torpedoes) it.:)) That might actually be a very nice title for the diorama! Hope you don't mind stealing it! (-;

Oh, and all other people here, thanks for the kind words. it's appreciated!

[Kevin WS]

Superb! Very impressed!

[airdave]

This is all absolutely fabulous.
Amazing work...amazing diorama...amazing miniatures!

I love War of the Worlds.
Seen and heard every rendition.
I love the fact that there are so many ideas when it comes to bringing this story to life.

What are the tripods standing on?
I mean, that water must be fairly deep.
But they look like they're pretty close to the surface.
Do they have little feet at the ends of those legs...treading water?
LOL sorry, I had to ask.

Have you read Christopher Priest "The Space Machine" ?
I loved it.
I have a newer double novel by Priest,
but The Space Machine can be had as a single novel.
It is one of his early works. (mid 1970s)
Written just like HG Wells, it blends two stories of a Time Machine and a Martian Invasion of England.

[southwestforests]

Hope you don't mind stealing it! Feel free to quote unto others as others have quoted unto you. :)
I wasn't sure whether it would be mocking or not to make the comment on fleas: in the end I decided the resemblance was too uncanny to be random, and risked making the comment.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Thanks for the comments, friends.

@Dave: I don't know the book, I'll check it out. I love a good SF story. Although the bulk of what I tend to read in SF literature lies in the 1950s, 1960s SF. My tip for you (although very different from Wells): Theodore Sturgeon's "More than Human". No diorama material, that's for sure.

And about "the leg-issue": There possibly might be a fairway in the estuary but with shallower areas surrounding it. Perhaps the legs are extendible. Perhaps the feet have small propulsion units inside to keep the tripod on a certain level.
I was wondering about that myself, too, actually. considering the tripods were about 30 meters high, and the ship has defined measurements, maybe the tripods I built were a tad too large. But since it is SF, who cares? it's all about the effect! (-;


@Forrest: The flea was actually a nice remark. I found most insects have a belly resembling the tripod's 'back'. So without realising it, I turned it upside down. Fleas though, do have a more pointy back, not as flat as the tripod's back is. Now I come to think of it, that would have been a nice thing, actually. It perhaps would have given the tripod an even more aggressive appearance. Oh well. (-;

[southwestforests]

Also related is the idea that the tripods are a pest requiring extermination, and I wondered if that was an intended subconscious message in the design. :)

[airdave]

I had a similar complaint with the movie Pacific Rim (which I really liked).
The large robots fight in the water against massive Alien invaders,
but even out in the open Ocean,
they seem to be able to walk and stand only partially submerged.
I kept saying "what are they standing on?!"
...
Thanks, I will look into Sturgeon's novel, although I'm not sure its the type of Sci-Fi I prefer to read.
I read mostly Time Travel related stuff.
Thats how I came across Priest's novel...because of its connection to HG Wells (The Time Machine).
...
And I must admit, I do enjoy older Science Fiction, like HG Wells stuff
...written before real science came along and corrected it
and made it more scientifically accurate
...and less adventurous, and less romantic!

LOL
...
well, I'm off to read your "water" making tutorial now
even though I don't get much call for water themed dioramas.
You never know...one day, I might need it.

[Revell-Fan]

Absolutely fantastic! I love how you created the base. I'm looking forward to the tutorial. :)

[Don Boose]

By coincidence, the current issue of the IPMS Journal (Vol. 28, No. 3, May-June 2016) contains an article by Dan Thompson about his plastic interpretation of the same scene from the Wells novel.

It is interesting to read Dan's explanation for his approach to Thunder Child and the Martian war machines.

I attach images of reduced clarity to avoid copyright issues, but the article should be available soon at IPMS/USA Journal - Volume 28, Issue 2 - March/April 2016 | IPMS/USA Members (http://members.ipmsusa3.org/journal_issue/volume_28-issue_2)

Incidentally, More Than Human is one of my favorite science fiction novels, and Theodore Sturgeon one of my favorite writers. I first read the novel when I was 13, 63 years ago, and have re-read it many times since with the same pleasure. It is a long way from The War of the Worlds or time travel, Dave, so you may not care for it. De gustibus . . .

Don

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Hi friends,
thanks for all the interesting additions on SF and the article. Not a member but I'll try and dig into it.

@ Dave, time travel, huh? That is something I also really like. What about "There will be time" from Poul Anderson? He wrote a couple of very exciting modern time travel stories, I really liked..
For the rest, I also am drawn to the more absurd SF from R.A.Lafferty. "900 Grandmothers" is a nice book of weird shorts. "Wasp" by E.F. Russell is also a great story. The one I have enjoyed from my childhood years on are the Ringworld books by Larry Niven. And the Hichhikers Guide is also a wonderful read, of course.

The great thing about SF is that sme things can be left unexplained. Alien technology, so not grasped by us puny humans. Like an improbability drive.:rolleyes:

[southwestforests]

Sci fi is one of my favorite literary genres. The other favorite is nonfiction transportation: space, railroads, planes, boats.
There are reasons I won't go in to that I can't read nearly as much sci-fi as in the past.

Way back in 8th grade in 1970s school library had a book of Star Trek short stories and a book of general sci fi short stories. Don't remember the title of either book.
My favorite from the general sci fi book was titled Thingamajig.
In Star Trek book was one story where it began with, or in first couple sentences had "the ship was beautiful". That got me thinking, okay, what would a beautiful ship look like to me: what would come out of my own mind and being?
Several sketches later a naval architecture style had been settled on.
Next thought was, who are these people and what is their story?
So I started tinkering at writing and drawing. Is fun when your characters sort of take on lives of their own.
And one wonders where the ideas come from. Okay, yes, they come from imagination often influenced by real people and events.
But, really, where do people invent worlds, cultures, personalities, from whole cloth?
How does that invention, creation, happen?

Oh, and even though instigated by Star Trek, my story is not Star Trek -- the engineering is only casually dealt with.
There are no engineering details on how starship drives work, only the visual and functional effects are described.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

The tutorial is online, but you have to scroll through all other previous tricks and tips first. Hopefully you find it interesting. I am open for improvement suggestions when something isn't clear enough.

[pjabraham]

Well-deserved POTW. It was a pleasure reading through the posts and following the build. Your technique and explanations are excellent. I especially like the destroyed Tripod and the realistic flames billowing from it.

Phil

[missileer]

Your diorama is truly fantastic! I especially enjoyed it, because The War of Worlds was my introduction to SF as a kid in the 1940s. Though, my all-time favorite writer was Doc E Smith. He could build a whole universe in minute detail by tweaking the readers imagination. I have all his published novels in my library and after reading all this commentary, I think I will read them all again. Maybe I'll go back and read The War of Worlds also.

[Henak]

Wounderful diorama. I never read the novel but heard the album from Jeff Wayne and always thougt that the Album Cover would give a great inspiration for a model. You done a exellent job. I look forward to visit yor blog to find out how you done the fire and the water, they ad so much atmosphere to yor diorama.

[Sakrison]

Thank you so much for the build photos and descriptions here and on your blog! I'm really looking forward to trying out some of the techniques you describe.

Wonderful work!
--David

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Why, thank you all. Your comments make me smile and happy.
As for the tutorials on my blog, If you want to ask about something or when something isn't clear, don't hesitate to ask! I am always open for improvements.

[zubie]

Really cool! Love your tripod design. Reminiscent of the Classics Illustrated's more atom punk version, but definitely capturing the steampunk feel of the material. I agree, these feel more dynamic than the more stiff legged version by Mike Trim. I also think your ship choice of a light cruiser worked great for the shallow water were it takes place. Was the orginal design request thread any inspiration or help?

[beckychestney]

Wicked! Excellent all the way around! Very convincing!

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Really cool! Love your tripod design. Reminiscent of the Classics Illustrated's more atom punk version, but definitely capturing the steampunk feel of the material. I agree, these feel more dynamic than the more stiff legged version by Mike Trim. I also think your ship choice of a light cruiser worked great for the shallow water were it takes place. Was the original design request thread any inspiration or help?
Thanks, Zubie.
The idea for this diorama came to life about two or three days before I coincidentally read the design request but it felt like I had chosen the right subject to work on... The search for the ship was quite a quest. I was really glad I stumbled upon the "Emden".
The tripod's design was almost fully intuitive, I think an insect has an estranging quality to it, something non-human, which, to me at least, is somewhat frightening. That was what I tried to capture in the design.

[Art Deco]

Terrific diorama! I really like your conception of the tripods, very nicely done.

[aptiana]

Wonderful diorama.

Thunderchild was a torpedo ram according to Wells. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpedo_ram

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Thanks!

And well, about 'my' Thunderchild and a Torpedo ram's waterline, I guess you'll have to call it poetic license. In most depictions Thunderchild is shown as a ship that lies a little less deep in the water anyway. It is fiction after all! (-:

[Zakopious]

There are some other renditions of Martian War Machines in paper:

There are at least two 3D paper Tripod models on the internet.

1.
https://www.deviantart.com/rocketmantan/art/War-of-the-Worlds-Tripod-Paper-Model-374281276

2.
https://web.archive.org/web/20110206082838/http://home.kpn.nl:80/erwin47/models/tripod/tripod.pdf
#2 is on the Way Back Machine.


This one appears to be a flying war machine.
3. The War of the Worlds - Martian War Machine Free Paper Model Download (http://www.papercraftsquare.com/the-war-of-the-worlds-martian-war-machine-free-paper-model-download.html)

[ricomon35]

YI had a similar complaint with the movie Pacific Rim (which I really liked).
The large robots fight in the water against massive Alien invaders,
but even out in the open Ocean,
they seem to be able to walk and stand only partially submerged.
I kept saying "what are they standing on?!"
...
Thanks, I will look into Sturgeon's novel, although I'm not sure its the type of Sci-Fi I prefer to read.
I read mostly Time Travel related stuff.
Thats how I came across Priest's novel...because of its connection to HG Wells (The Time Machine).
...
And I must admit, I do enjoy older Science Fiction, like HG Wells stuff
...written before real science came along and corrected it
and made it more scientifically accurate
...and less adventurous, and less romantic!

LOL
...
well, I'm off to read your "water" making tutorial now
even though I don't get much call for water themed dioramas.
You never know...one day, I might need it.

I'd say the Mechs were standing on the Continental Shelf in those scenes.
Those coastal sea plains go out pretty far.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

@ Zakopious: Yes I was aware of all three. The last one is from the 1950's movie, which discarded the legs and made the war machines 'walk' on three invisible beams, as I was told once. Yeah, right. They just were too hard to animate and Ray Harryhausen wasn't available, I guess.

The other two are based on the Jeff Wayne version. Stiff and clumsy legs. Not the way Wells described them in his book. They were quick and nimble, like spiders. That's why I chose to make them my way.


And @ Rico: about the war machines in the water, they might have legs that can extend a bit further but this is still very close to the harbour. I just didn't make the river banks. Also, in most estuaries, there are deeper dug fairways for ships to get in and out the rest often is indeed quite shallow. Perhaps the war machines made use of that feature. Who knows? it's SF after all. (-;

[Gixergs]

Amazing! great work as always and a great tripod design, as others have said much more in the classical style of earlier illustrations I hope the new BBC version is as good.
I liked the designs used in the History Channels The Great Martian War but I think yours are more Wells like.