This torso is beautifully made and finished. It has came sanded and primed. It would almost be ready to be painted but for a few minor tasks that must first be performed:

1. The top surface of the upper horizontal band requires sanding to create a ninety-degree angle with the side aspect of the band.

Note in the photograph below how poorly shaped the upper aspect of this band is. Sanding will fix it without much trouble. Unfortunately, sanding might remove so much fiberglass that the torso will be sliced in two. This will require a bit of fiber glassing on the inside of the torso and perhaps some sculpting with bondo on the outside. Given that most other B9 builders have had to do far more body work than this to perfect their torsos, I feel very fortunate that this is all I have to do.

Note how much crisper this angle is in the original robot:

Thankfully, the lower horizontal band at the bottom of my robot's torso just
below the belly lights and about the vents is perfect in this regard.

2. I need to cut out the holes for the torso knob and the torso microphone.
My torso has flat discs in these places, but on the original robot, the disc for the torso knob is actually a raised ring with an flat inner circle.

Note also that the torso knob in the second photograph has been changed to a tear drop-shaped knob. It is interesting that the first torso knob is larger than the diameter of the inner margin of the raised ring. I have a similar knob (courtesy of Craig Reinbrecht) and am familiar with its dimensions. It must be raised up from the bottom of the inner well using washers of some sort.

It is odd that my torso knob appears to be much larger than the original. Either my torso knob is too large or the torso ring is too small. Perhaps both are true. Further investigation may shed some light on this mystery.

For the torso microphone, there is also a flat raised ring, but inside this ring is a concave dish. Notice these features in this photograph:

A socket has been cut out at the bottom of the dish to accept the shaft of the microphone. Sometimes, in various episodes of  Lost in Space, the microphone slips out of its socket and can be seen protruding.

Here is a list of some of the other projects required to finish the torso:

3. Cut out holes to receive the jacks for the power pack.

4. Insert metal pegs into the ceiling and floor of the arms sockets for the wrist latches.
This is a photograph of just such a peg in Craig Reinbrecht robot.

5. Add matting beneath the torso hooks as the original had, and as can be seen in Craig Reinbrecht's robot.

6. Drill holes to accept screws to hold the collar latches, as in Craig Reinbrecht's robot.

7. Drill horizontal hole through the back of the torso neck ring to accept the fastening screw for the collar, as in Craig Reinbrecht's robot:

8. Remake the neon backplate.
The standard backplate that nearly all B9 robot builders have been using does not fit the torso properly. Look at the unsightly and unnecessary gaps between the backplate and the torso:

There is no reason for these gaps. They did not exist in the original robot. In fact, the neon tubes were tight up against the torso in the original, as these photos illustrate:

Another thing that I have noticed is that the bottom most neon tube is just above the lower lip of the robot's "mouth." My neon backplate is so constructed that the bottom most neon tube would fall below this lip. Clearly, I will have to remake the neon backplate.

9. Fit the acrylic vents with their aluminum sliding channels into the torso

The four acrylic vents as well as their aluminum sliding channels were designed and built by Craig Reinbrecht. One can well appreciate the difficulty in building acrylic vents that have exactly the right curve so that they match the inner curve of the robot's torso perfectly. Building a Lost in Space robot from scratch gives one a lot of personal pride of accomplishment, but it is also a great relief knowing that master craftsmen have already solved some of the most problematic building difficulties and that they are willing to share their expertise and the fruits of their labors.

10. Attach the programming bay

This beautiful piece of workmanship was designed and built by Craig Reinbrecht. The right side wall of the programming bay is smaller then the left wall so that an aluminum channel for the acrylic vent can be fitted to it. The larger left wall acts as a break for the vent, preventing it from sliding to the left.

11. Have the torso professionally painted by an auto body shop
I have decided that I will not have the torso, or any other part of the robot, textured. There is no question but that the torso and other parts of the original robot costume were textured before painting. This served to reduce and eliminate glare from studio lights reflecting off the robot and bouncing into the motion picture camera lens. Texturing also served the very useful purpose of reducing the visibility of flaws, repairs, and damage. It is unlikely, though, that a real robot would be textured in this same way. Bearing this in mind, my robot will remain free of texturing. I fully respect those builders who elect to add texturing to their robot's torso, but my robot, as I have stated elsewhere, is intended to be a realization of the robot from Lost in Space as if it had been a real robot rather than a costume and stage prop in a television series.

12. Install the electronic components