Steampunk Juggernaut Leather Mask
While perusing Mr. Eisenberg's journals, I stumbled upon a referance to a rare steam-powered war helmet designed by Dr. Morgan Banfield:
"Dr. Banfield was a man of science and letters, not of the martial arts. So, when the good Doctor discovered that Admiral Sahlt had corrupted the Banfield Steam Battery for use in war, Dr. Banfield, with great remorse, proceeded to retrieve the battery by force. Before recounting the battle, however, for the uninitiated in theoretical steam physics, some background might be appropriate. According to steam physicist Professor Mau, the mass strength of solid objects increases with the amount of energy added to them. Mau estimated that the mass strength of an object is equal to the applied energy divided by a universal constant number of 8.987 x 10 to the 16th power . Or, more famously known as m=a/u. With this knowledge, Sahlt created the A. Sahlt Cannon, a weapon that used a single Banfield Steam Battery to imbue heavy-metal projectiles with additional mass. A single projectile, the size of a thimble with the weight of a large soup ladel, could penetrate four decimeters of solid granite. Banfield, wearing a Banfield Juggernaut mask powered by four Steam Batteries, confronted Sahlt, demanding the return of the Banfield Steam Battery. Sahlt refused, and the battle commenced. But, no matter how many projectiles Sahlt fired at Banfield, the added energy to Banfield's helmet made him indestructible. Admiral Sahlt yielded to Dr. Banfield, conceding that the best offense was an excellent defense. Thus, the only injury delivered that day was to Sahlt's pride."
From pictures in Mr. Eisenberg's journal, I attempted to copy Dr. Banfield's Juggernaut Steampunk mask in exacting detail. I included four full-size replicas of the theoretical high-pressure steam battery that provided all the steam power necessary to increase the protective mass of this helmet by an estimated factor of 50! Unfortunately, any referance to the additional armour worn by Dr. Banfield was unaccounted for in Mr. Eisenberg's journals.
Following no pattern, this mask is truly unique with remarkable ornamental details; the closer you look, the more you will notice.
I have great respect for the leather that I create my masks from and normally try to make my masks from one continuous piece of leather. While I try to cut my patterns to keep scrap to a minimum, the creation of smaller snips of leather is an inevitable byproduct. I used some of those "scraps" when making this mask. Fortunately, Steampunk encourages the cobbling together of disparate elements to create new, fantastic realities! Each of my Steampunk masks are one-of-a-kind and will never be relisted.
This is a full-face leather costume mask designed for long-wearing comfort. While this leather mask covers the nose and mouth, there is plenty of space and ventilation to breathe and talk. Drinking is possible through a straw. Each leather mask is shaped and painted by hand (well, painted by a brush wielded by an actual human hand). The leather mask has some flexibility, but will not lose its form, as the leather has been fixed in shape by liquid acrylic. (Please note, this mask is purely decorative, it will not work effectively as a steam-powered mass increasing device, nor will it offer any real physical protection).
This Steampunk-style mask is made of hundreds of pieces of leather glued to a larger mask base for strength. The mask is made from 4 to 5 oz. vegetable-tanned top-quality leather, low v.o.c. acrylic-based glue, low v.o.c. eco-friendly acrylic paint, and 3/32" elastic cord. This leather mask is painted Iridescent Copper, with stainless steel and bronze accents, with a black drybrush wash for texture. It secures to the head with black elastic cord.