Mark’s B9 Robot Resources

Robot Collar

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge
The collar gets made from 108 pieces of 1/4" square acrylic rod heat-formed at 250 degrees to the shape shown at the left. The tracing at the top is supposedly from the original, but you may need to extend the top and/or bottom straightaways depending on your support frame. The bottom photo is a rib made by Classics Reborn, which is slightly shorter than the top rib. Its ends are extended for proper attachment to the collar rings. I used the pattern at the top.

Several methods can be used to construct the collar, depending on whether you are building your robot for a person to operate from the inside. If you aren't concerned about having a person inside, you can just glue the collar ribs to acrylic circles. However, if you want to make your collar the way the original was done for Lost in Space, you'll need a pair of aluminum channels. I had Craig Reinbrecht make mine. Below are some photos of Craig’s work.

Aluminum channels Collar under construction
Finished Collar

If you don’t use aluminum channels to construct your collar, the size of your acrylic discs will typically be 11" for the top circle and 15" for the bottom. Some people sandwich the rib ends between two pieces of acrylic for extra strength. Myself, I used two aluminum channels plus an acrylic disc on the top (14" I.D. on the bottom to match the brass ring on my torso).
Collar Alignment Rings

These are the collar alignment rings that were sold by Classics Reborn. They’re made of molded plastic and quite sturdy. They came without Classics’ center support, which is OK if you’re trying to accomodate a person inside the robot.

The whole thing is very sturdy once it’s all glued together. In all, it’s a fun project.

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