Fighting machine (The War of the Worlds) the tripods' main body and the aliens' heads resemble cuttlefish. In Pendragon Pictures' low-budget, direct-to-DVD "H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds" (aka "Invasion" internationally or "War of the Worlds"), the only Victorian-set adaptation of Wells' novel, the tripod fighting machine design is loosely based on the look of a praying mantis, which, according to director Timothy Hines, was a favorite insect of H. G. Wells. Tripods have a large, free-moving head atop the smaller main body, giving its sole Martian occupant a panoramic view. It has four thick, metallic tentacles, which are held on high, made up of boxy-looking
Flying machine (The War of the Worlds) the tripods described in the novel, might be an obscure reference to the novel's Martian flying machine; the look of these machines actually derive from the complication of making convincing walking tripod effects and were given "invisible legs" to give the machines support and lift from the ground. In the pilot episode of the "War of the Worlds" TV series, a sequel to the 1953 film, these same machines are seen but the "legs" are not present and are given more of a look of taking flight, but still possess the speed and movement of their film counterparts. The flying