The stout, red automaton Tom Servo, along with Crow T. Robot and the rest of the bots on Mystery Science Theater 3000, was created by Joel Hodgson. After the original bots, Joel continued to build them, as did “toolmaster” Jef Maynard who worked for the show until the sixth season, when he left to pursue his own company. Cast members Trace Beaulieu (Crow) and Patrick Brantseg (Gypsy) have also had a hand in bot-creation.
Luckily for fans, Tom is regarded as the easiest of the bots to build. His parts, however, are just as hard to find as Crow’s. Because of this fact, the later bots were not made completely of original parts, but rather vaccuformed replicas and in some cases look-alike replacements.
- Head: Tom’s head is made from not one, but two Carousel Industries “Executive Snack Dispensers” (a different brand was used for a few episodes in the second season). The cap is used from the second one to extend Tom’s head slightly, creating a longer space between his mouth and clear dome. Though already red, Tom's head is painted ruby red along with his body so that the colors match.
- Torso: The parts for Tom’s torso are incredibly difficult to find. The main body, created from a "Money Lover’s Bank", is known as the Holy Grail of Bot building. The design on the front of his chest is an engine block from an unknown model car. Both parts were subsequently molded.
- Arms: Tom’s shoulders are made from two Eveready flashlight (#108 wb) covers. His upper arms are from a Seymore Bunz doll. The original hands were from an unknown ventriloquist’s doll and were later made from a mold. The hands and upper arms are connected together with springs.
- Hoverskirt: Tom’s hoverskirt is made with a large plastic "Boo Bowl." On the hoverskirt are six vaccuformed molds of a Tyco Turbo Train Engine painted black. Around the bottom of the skirt is foam copper pipe insulation tubing.
Tom's body is painted with Testor’s #1629 ruby red metal flake. His shoulders and hover skirt are white, and he has silver accents. Jef did not paint the hands, so some versions of Tom have peach hands, while others have white. The theater version of Tom is painted completely black, so the movie cannot be seen through his dome (although it was clear in very early episodes).
Tom is animated using PVC tubing and puppetry thread.
References: The MTS3k FAQ @ http://www.mst3kinfo.com