Jeeps

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magnetic_Monster

I recently watched an old movie called The Magnetic Monster.

They had these two really cool Jeeps with a dish and a loop antenna.  I think they will end up being the basis for some conversions for use by my Pentomic Army.  Always look for hobby inspiration where you are at.

WOTW

The greatest invasion movie and book series is of course, The War of the Worlds.

The 1954 George Pal version is one of my favorites and Pegasus Models makes the war machines in both 1/48 scale and 1/144 scale.  I use the 1/48th scale size with my 1/72nd scale troops because it's more intimidating.

I give the Martians shields but I also give the humans the ability to pierce the shields and the Martians can't both move and shoot and stay protected.

In the movie when the H-Bomb hit them there were several of them together, stationary and not firing.  That gives the Martians more protection.

As I kid I read this version of the book.  I like the war machine on the back cover, really running after the humans.

The front page shows the tentacle with a human victim, the death ray and I like how the body is reminiscent of the cylinders they used to come to travel inside to Earth.

Monster Movies

The Atomic Submarine gave us battles under the ocean with a UFO.

An atomic submarine investigates and finds the cause of mysterious ship disappearances.  Then they have an undersea battle against an invader that looks a lot like The Crawling Eye.

Visit toy departments and look for giant crab monsters, I know I do!  A group of scientists are on an island and are attacked by giant crabs.  The island falls away bit by bit and the crabs get more and more victims.  I imagine an attack on a coastal city by giant armored crabs, nothing can stop them!

The planet is headed for destruction but people are building an ark to save themselves, but you have to fend off the rioting mobs!

Chinese Communists are tunneling under America for underground conquest.  After a game of Them! us the giant ant nests as nests for Commies!

Movies

Sometimes small groups of people have to face monsters on their own, outside of normal society.

Sometimes a group with a reasonable number of people get injured and nibbled down to a small group.

In the Land Unknown, a US Navy team enters a volcano and gets trapped with their helicopter.

Sometimes people are transported by submarine or aircraft to a place where dinosaurs still exist.

Othertimes, they are sent through time to deal with a world that is not their own.  I have all these movies on video and have seen them many times.  They are all great in their own way.

Monsters

I like to play wargames of monsters vs soldiers.

Certain movies have had an inspiration for these kinds of miniature wargame.

These movies sometimes start in the Arctic.  In the 1950's radar picket lines were built there to defend North America from the Soviet Union.  Sometimes the monster attacked there first.

These movies take place in Japan, the USA, the UK and even Italy and Denmark.

Sometimes the monsters are totally fictional, and sometimes based on legend.  Still the idea of the troops racing the the scene of the attack, while trying to keep civilian casualties low is interesting.