F.S.D. (full scale drawing) 6, a full scale drawing by DeShields of Robby’s chest hopper panel, showing the mechanisms to operate the flashing lights and constantly moving parts. It took art department draftsmen, supervised by bob Kinoshita, eight weeks to draw up the twelve sheets of full scale drawings to guide the prop sop in the construction of Robby. The robot’s body parts were custom molded in plastic, about 1/8 inch thick. First attempts to pout the robot together were unsuccessful because the plastic was unable to withstand the stress of the human operator inside. The legs kept cracking under the pressure. A stronger plastic formula made by Royalite, used primarily in the manufacture of suitcases, was used in subsequent castings and the problem was overcome. Royalite plastic was orange in color. The component parts were painted metallic gray after casting. The arms consisted of eight hardwood rings, linked by rubber bellows for extension, attached to the body via a ball-and-socket joint which permitted them to pivot about 40°. Robby’s head dome was cast in clear Uvex plastic made by Kodak, and painted over in part to match the body.

Frederick S. Clarke and Steve Rubin. “Making Forbidden Planet.” Cinefantastique, vol. 8, no.s 2-3 (Spring 1979): pp. 4-67. [caption photo on page 50].