The Lost in Space B9 Robot Replica

Here's a  peek into my latest "little" project. Building my own Lost In Space B9 Robot replica. For those of you old enough to remember, no explanation is necessary. For the younger ones looking in, he is the Robinson family's environmental robot from the campy Lost in Space TV show during the mid sixties. So next time your looking for something different to watch from the video store, rent an episode. You may want to see the whole series, only 3 seasons. Its definitely different! And it is unlike any project I've done before. Theres a lot more info here: The B9 Robot Builders Club  Maybe you'll want to build your own?

Pics from the LIS TV show.

Below are some pics of the project so far. I started on it in the fall of 2004 and I'm not sure when it will be done: 

I started with the torso.  Many start with the legs, but I wanted to get into the electronics and automation first.  Mine will be patterned after the original and made as a costume so there wont be a CSS added.                          

The torso section in the midst of being sanded and primered and the holes being cut out. 

A little paint and some of the lights being put in. Also test fitting the bubble, radar & collar.

Radar and bubble initial test fitting.

 Finger lights mounting & wiring. I hollowed out the base of some small incandescent bulbs and inserted bright LED's inside. The globes were painted orange. These will move up & down after the motor is installed and the crown will turn also.

The neon "mouth" glued to the back plate and ready for wiring up the neon amp. This will flash in sync with the Robot's voice just like on the series.

The robots plexiglass collar made by Fred Barton. An exact duplicate of the original robot's.

I made a latex arm mold and retainers since I wanted the angled mount surface and the grey color.

The prototype arms with rings inside to keep the arms round like the original Robot's.

Claw pic and other details after painting.

You can see the lights and animation done so far here: Ear motors movie  (click the link or right click and hit "save target as")

A look at the inside of the torso section with the wiring in place. You can see the speakers and amp. I'm using a CF Sound II module for the voice.   www.cfsound.com   Later I'll have a plug on the tread section for a laptop or music source. You can also see the switch setup for the power pack.

5-25-06 The project so far. Now the legs and tread section are next.

Movies of the B9 operating:  B9 movie     B9 movie 2

I found a small regulated 12v power supply on Ebay. It fits into one of the legs nicely and powers everything in the robot. Be sure you use a quality supply or you will get noise in the audio system. I also will have a 12 volt battery in the tread section for stand alone operation.

Steel tread sections I had made, which I sell in the B9 site vendor area, are getting ready to ship out.

Work has begun on the leg section. Here are some pics of the waist plate, legs and support. The support is made from plans provided by Craig R. Very nice heavy duty design and allows the robot to be used as a costume. The torso can also tilt about 20 degrees forward and backward. The leg supports are set to make the legs at max height. About 38 1/2" from the floor to the top of the waist plate. The pics farther down the page are with the legs at their shortest height adjustment giving them the squished look like on the TV series.  They measure 37" floor to waist plate.

December 2007: I've installed the wheels and treads into the tread section. Mine wont be motorized so there is room for a person's feet while wearing the B9. I also added a little detail not seen much. The holes in the bottom panels as on the series robot. I think this is where the cables that pulled the robot were attached. I may also use them for that purpose.

A pic of the bottom of the tread section from the series:  

The claws are from Bill K / Rod R. Very nice pieces. I made a mount to operate them by hand. I used a piece of 1/8" aluminum plate I bent and drilled and added  3/4" aluminum stock bent 90 deg and a hose clamp for operating them with my thumb. A return spring keeps the claws closed.

Putting all the pieces together....

March 2008 finally "done". I'm sure there will be some changes in the future. Its been a great challenge and lots of fun building.