

Remember the game Command and Conquer "Red Alert" and the Soviet Tesla coil? Here is my take on the Tesla coil in that classic game:

Red Alert Tesla coil

Background to the Game

C onstruction

Special Effects

This photo in the media

Red Alert Tesla coil 2007



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The Soviet Tesla coil fires a long lightning bolt at a hapless Allied soldier while a Tesla trooper provides extra power. A conscript is on guard and an engineer sets off.

Now read this carefully.

1 This is a single photo from a Nikon D70s digital camera and is a 17 second exposure of a real functioning Tesla coil and is the result of perhaps 100 hours of preparation. It is completely untouched. It is not, repeat not, photoshopped. It does however achieve the result using special effects which I will explain.

2 A real Tesla coil cannot make ultralong sparks and it can't direct them specifically to a point (like the enemy). This is not a real weapon. (Email me if you want the hi-res pic 3000 pixels across for $10. This is usually needed for print media)

Video (I have done an explanatory and running videos be added soon).

Background to the Game 2007

Red Alert is a Westwood game in the Command and Conquer series which has the Guinness record for most popular real time strategy game with 12 million sold according to Wiki. The main Soviet defense was the Tesla coil which has a long reach and can direct it's sparks to the enemy without placing Soviet units in danger. Indeed the Tesla trooper could be placed next to the Tesla coil to increase it's power. I have played several of the Red Alert series but specifically refer to Red Alert 2 which was the version from 2000 to 2003. See the Red Alert 2 Wiki.

The Soviet units of interest are from the Official Red Alert 2 page.

From left, Tesla Trooper, Engineer and Conscript.

C onstruction of Props 2007

To give the feel of Red Alert in my backyard, some props were made. The basis of the Tesla coil will be my 18 inch diameter TC that has had 11 foot sparks.



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The RA props under construction include, in the left photo , a different shape to the normal top of the Tesla coil with a sphere on top and two concentric rings (toroids) below the sphere. For convenience of connections I have used an old defunct Tesla coil (4 x 23 inches) secondary on top of the old one with the sphere on top of that. The center photo shows 4 upright supports around the Tesla coil before painting in Soviet red. The right photo shows the Red Alert version.



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My latest addition to my base is the Soviet wheelie bin. First photo shows the best side. Second, the not so best side.

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Above is the completed Tesla Trooper and during construction. Not that true to the original but I'm no expert and I can't spend too long on just one model. I hope to have sparks coming from him in the final shot.

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This is a model of a Soviet conscript wearing my Driza-bone stockman's coat, army boots and carrying some optics from an 8 kW Xenon arc coagulator in lieu of a gun! Yes he is left-handed.

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The Engineer was a bit more challenging than the others in that the body has to be more anatomical. I feel like Gepetto (Pinocchio's maker). The case is my school case from about 37 years ago. I knew it would be useful one day. Lesson: never throw anything out - ever.

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The 3 units in the one shot.

And finally the target of the long sparks.

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This is just a cardboard cutout on a wood frame covered with sheets of white A4 paper. Paper fluoresces under UV (remember the nitrogen laser) so it shows up as bluish color with the sparks plus fluorescence. I am not sure that it looks the best but is not too dissimilar to the Red Alert representation. Often a skeleton like look is used and maybe that is what was intended but in limited pixels wasn't able to be done in the game.