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Lost in Space
B-9   ROBOT
Kit Used: Moebius - 1/24

Review & model by:
Ian Dow
Pictures: R. Forys




[The B-9 Robot in 1/24 scale is now produced by Moebius.]

As a young boy one of my favorite TV shows was "Lost in Space".   The futuristic setting, the dreary landscapes, the intensity of each show and will our lost family Robinson ever make it back to planet Earth?   These were very scary ideas to a 5 year old.   One thing that always gave comfort was that they relied on a big robot that was analytical yet compassionate; a friend who was able to help out when no one else could.   This Robot of course was the B-9 Robot, but it was always referred to simply as "Robot".   He had flashing lights, his clear domed head moved up and down, and occasionally when he got really fired up, he would shoot bolts of electricity out of his claws.   Every kid I know would have loved to have a robot like this.   As an adult it still would be pretty cool.





[The kit's 4 clear parts include around the bottom of the body, the front upper area, where the robot would talk from, and a head unit.] [The head unit is made up of one internal piece that holds a small silver triangle with a few markings on it, and two clear pieces that fit as top and bottom of the head.]




Originally the B-9 Robot kit was packaged with the 1/24 Chariot kit, which was a neat little addition to that kit.   Someone at Moebius had their thinking cap on and decided to release The B-9 Robot in 1/24 by itself.   It is a very simple kit with about 18 parts total making up the entire kit.   It has a front and back to the body, a front and back to the legs and track module, two arms in the retracted position, and the two claw arms.   The inside has 4 clear parts that go around the bottom of the body, the clear piece in the front where it looked like the robot would talk from, and a head unit.   The head unit is made up of one internal piece that holds a small silver triangle with a few markings on it, and two clear pieces that fit as top and bottom of the head.   That's about it.   This would be a fine little kit to assemble just as it comes, but somehow it seemed like it needed more.







The assembly is not great and not bad.   The front and back of the body fit together ok, but the seam needs to be worked on to eliminate the appearance of two parts.   It is suppose to look like one round unit.   The same goes for the legs and track unit.   The legs required more sanding and scraping to get rid of the seam.   I wanted to give the kit a little more detailed look so I scribed deeper lines near the track and added small wheel detail with Evergreen rod pieces.   It is not that noticeable, but it is there.   It was then that I got the bright idea that it was possible to light the kit.   I noticed that the kit was primarily hollow, like most kits, and that a small LED could be placed in the body and wired to a switch.   With this in mind I set to work to have it lit up.   To accomplish this, I drilled two small holes in the bottom of the leg and track half to feed wire that would later be used for lighting the LED.

[Because the interior was hollow, it was possible to light the kit.]




[The front glass was painted with a clear orange/red mixture, and all the small clear pieces in the lower body were tinted with various colors such as blue, orange, and smoke and inserted. ]

Before the light was added to the body, I replaced the shoulder hooks with brass wire to make it look cleaner and not so thick.   The body was then painted with Model Masters Metalizer Steel and washed with a very light blue oil wash.   I then painted the legs grey and the lower track unit an aluminum color with black tracks.   This was given a wash of Sepia to bring out the details and lightly weathered to give contrast to the various areas.   I then mounted a small post on top of the leg unit to give the LED something to sit on.   The front glass was painted with a clear orange/red mixture.   All the small clear pieces for the lower body were tinted with various colors such as blue, orange, and smoke and inserted into the body.   A multicolor LED was soldered to the wires that were inserted through the bottom of the legs that lead to a switch and 9 volt battery.   The LED was then mounted on the post that was attached to the legs, and the body was placed on top of the legs.   Luckily it fit snugly without having to glue it down, otherwise I would never get access to the light if it burned out.






The hardest part of the build was accomplished.   The head assembly went together well with no real issues, and when placed on the robot looks really cool, especially when it glows in a dark room.   The LED gives off enough light that it illuminates all the clear pieces and when the color fades on and off from green/red/blue/purple/orange, it looks very animated.   That was about it except for the arms.   These were in the retracted position and really were not very impressive.   Well that can be fixed also.   After all, I just illuminated it.

[The LED gives off enough light that it illuminates all the clear pieces]




[The arms were in the retracted position and needed help, so they were customized to be outstretched and flailing.]

I knew I wanted to have his arms outstretched and in a flailing position.   How hard could that be?   After some trial and error, I came upon a very simple solution.   I took pieces of brass tube and wrapped brass wire around them.   Then I placed some heat shrink tubing over that, and then took the tubes out, and gently bent the arms slightly into position.   As I warmed the tubing, I gently adjusted the arms in the position I wanted, and continued to warm the tubing.   In the end, I had two arms moving akimbo to signal danger.   I attached the claws to the arms, and mounted the arms to the body.   This completed the entire project, or maybe not.   I still had a switch and battery that needed to go somewhere.







I decided a small plastic box, constructed of sheet styrene and angled Evergreen strip would do the job.   I mounted the switch and battery with Velcro underneath the box, and the little base was mounted on the plastic box.   The box was black and really needed some visual help to not look so large and take away from the kit itself.   I then found "Lost In Space" images and shrunk them down to the right size and added the "Danger Will Robinson" graphic on the front.   This totally finished the kit up, and when it was done I was very pleased with it.   The kit alone would have been a nice little weekend project, but doing a little extra really made an otherwise average kit stand out.   As a last note of insignificance, the Robot said "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger" in only one episode, but yet that has become the "tag line" that everyone remembers!

[A small sheet styrene plastic box dressed up with some Lost In Space images, houses the battery and power switch.]





[The kit alone would have been a nice little weekend project, but doing a little extra really made an otherwise average kit stand out.]