Like traditional Sith armor[6] and patterned after that of ancient Sith droids,[7] Darth Vader's suit was made to be both intimidating and fearsome.[1][8] The front was carved out to fit around his head and show his "face." This helmet had a raised ridge that ran from between his eyes to the back of his head, where it merged into the[9] durasteel,[10] obsidian,[11] and plasteel[12] of the helmet itself. In addition, it was also rumored that the helmet's already strong metallic hull had also been further strengthened via dark side alchemy, with the specific technique not being found in the database of the Rhinnal Medical Academy.[8] Two less jagged ridges swept over the eyes of Vader's mask proper and served to accent them.[9] The jagged edges also acted as a means to deflect potential energy blows onto the thick shoulder armor.[8] This helmet locked into the mask,[13] via a pressurized seal comparable in integrity to a Class C spacesuit.[8] Besides protection, it also stuck needles into Vader's skin when fixed in place, which feed neurological data on brainwave activity to the central chest computer, and possessed radiator conduction pads that were installed into the helmet as a means to allow excess heat to bleed through the metal surface.[8]
The mask itself went halfway around Vader's head. The mask's appearance was given a similar appearance to a skull in order to enhance the fear factor of the Dark Lord of the Sith. The top of this mask was crowned with a circular interface dotted with an array of square slots around a disc of silver. This disc served as an interface between the mask and the helmet. Made of black durasteel, these components were hermetically sealed and connected with a flat backpack that cycled air to Vader's lungs. The air pump itself was located inside the top of the mask, which, via a ventilator, supplies a distinctive rasp. An implanted enunciator linked to an electronic voice processor enabled Vader's scorched vocal cords to produce speech. Around the part of the mask covered by the helmet was the external neural sensor array. Also hidden beneath his mask were four red heat dispersion vents, accented by yellow wire. The face of the mask was somewhat exaggerated and angular, with two ridges above his eyes that fit in with those of his helmet. The optical lenses appeared bulbous. This front part of the mask was of a more highly polished black material than that of the back, being the more flexible of the two. The ridged bridge of the nose seemed lost in the largeness of the eyes, but jutted out in a manner similar to a bare Human skull. The mask's cheekbones were generally angular, curving slightly to join the nose at its base. The base of the nose was a silver multipurpose detector that acted as the suit's primary environmental sensor, and could measure radiation, temperature, and atmospheric toxicity and displays the information in the HUD, was rounded in shape,[8] with a triangular grill growing out from beneath it that served as an air filter,[9] further contributing to its skull-like appearance.[14] The optical lenses served as visual filters, allowing for Vader to detect infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths, while also blocking out excess light, due to the inability to repair Vader's damaged retinas. In addition, the lens also came equipped with a HUD that supplied critical data automatically as an overlay if Vader entered new environments, including information about atmospheric composition, nearby bio-signatures, and others, which could also be selected via the mouth or tongue controls (by pursing the lips, or extending the tongue). The lens, likewise, came equipped with secondary eyeshields that activated within 5 milliseconds, automatically sliding over the optical blisters to prevent blindness when approaching intense light. Components for a disassembled SoroSuub DH-57 comlink were also built into the mask's interior, as a result of it being a cheaper solution compared to custom-designing a new unit. It also was equipped with audio enhancers and sonic dampeners, the latter of which were also capable of reducing noise as a defense against sonic weapons, and they can extend Vader's hearing range to 40 kHz, enough to be higher than a Ronto. It also came equipped with a voice synthesizer, which, upon picking up the electronic sounds from a built-in vocoder, translated Vader's otherwise weak speech to be audible, and also added a timbre, bass and amplification to produce an impressive amount of vocal quality.[8]
A hermetic[13] collar wrapped around Vader's neck and slanted forwards in the front to meet the mask at the bottom of its triangular grill. It was added in because the artificial vertebrae alone were of limited value as structural units.[8] The back, which sloped slightly outward at the base of his neck, was studded with metal interfaces. The two sides of the front were edged by two tubes that followed the mask's edge until it reached the base of the triangular grill. At the end of these tubes were two silver studs. On top of the slanted front of this collar were several interfaces, with wires running back from it to the back of the collar. From the sides of the collar came two metal stems capped with a curved fixture. These touched the outer corners of Vader's mouth.[9] The collar, along with the chest armor, was also lined with electrodes that feed information status of the suit's performance during monthly maintenance sessions at the EmPal SuRecon. The collar was also equipped with feeding straws that allowed Vader to feed himself from an implanted bladder filled with RepMed vita paste, and could be refilled either during monthly maintenance, or on demand. Despite this, however, a redundant system to accommodate intravenous feeding was also installed because of the vitapaste's terrible taste. The collar also came equipped with a vocoder in the jaw assembly to aid in Vader's weakened speech, as well as mouth controls that Vader could utilized to his advantage in combat, including visual overlays; optical magnification, comlink-frequency selection; boot magnetization; and targeted audio amplification for surveillance. The collar locks the mask in place via electromagnetic clamps.[8]
Wookieepedia
Item#: MMS314
Number of sheets: 2 Sheets
Difficulty: Moderate
Assembled Size: 2.24"L x 2.09"W x 2.64"H
(5.7 x 5.3 x 6.7 cm)
