Tom Hering’s War of the Worlds Martian

This is the Pegasus 1/8 scale kit of the Martian from producer George Pal’s 1953 film, The War of the Worlds. My goal was to paint the Martian according to the descriptions given by Diana Gemora, who helped her father, Charlie, build the original studio prop. (Her article titled “How to Make a Martian” can be found online.) I also wanted to modify the kit’s base to better represent the dark room in the wrecked farmhouse where Sylvia and Dr. Forrester encounter the Martian.

George Pal, in the October 1953 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine, describes the studio prop as “lobster red” (which I believe is an accurate description of the color, as Pal was not just a producer but also an artist), though it comes across browner and darker in the film. Diana Gemora describes the main, pulsating veins as purple, and says her father tried to make the Martian’s skin look as wet and translucent as possible – by applying Vaseline and spraying it with a mixture of “studio blood” and glycerin.

I primed my Martian with Mr. Surfacer 500, and then gave it a base coat of Polly S 400402 B&M Red. This was drybrushed with a mixture of Model Master Rust, Model Master International Orange, and Titanium White artist’s oil. I then painted about a third of the veins purple (a 50/50 mix of Testors 1111 Dark Blue and 1104 Dark Red) and all the remaining veins Testors 1104 Dark Red. A translucent red coat was applied next, made of Super Thick Gel Medium (artist’s acrylic), Future floor polish, and a little Polly S B&M Red. This clouded the appearance of the purple veins, so I painted them again. Finally, I applied two coats of Future.

The Martian’s eye was painted with Testors 1124 Gloss Green, 1110 Gloss Blue, and 1103 Gloss Red. It was finished with a triple coat of Future.

I left the electronic eye and the two books (included in the kit) off the base as I felt they distracted from the Martian. I added a section of ruined stud-and-lath wall to the Martian’s right, as a similar ruined wall is located next to the Martian in the film. I then added larger wreckage to the floor (larger than the wreckage molded into the kit’s base), as beams and joists also litter the floor of the studio set. Everything was given a base coat of Model Master Gunship Gray FS36118, coated with a Lamp Black artist’s oil wash (mopping up all excess with paper towels), and drybrushed with Model Master Dark Gull Gray FS36231. The final finish for the base is Testors Dullcote.

Tom Hering