rom the opening moments of the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope, when the menacing black form of Darth Vader entered the rebel blockade runner, the visage of evil became a solid, black-helmeted mask. With sharp angles and a sloping cowl-like backing, the mask of Darth Vader evoked fear like no other villain in recent history, and fan fascination in this Dark Lord of the Sith, enforcer to the evil Emperor, was cemented forever.
But while the image of this shiny black mask was a cause for heart palpitations, the voice that emerged from it was cause for a heart to stop. Mechanical breathing creaked from the mouth grid in a raspy cycle that will forever be associated with evil, and the deep, booming, electronic voice will forever represent the sound of fear.
Hasbro, reigning king of the Star Wars license, has created the Darth Vader Voice Changer, a plastic helmet and mask combination that features a box that plays the infamous breathing sound and various sound segments from Darth Vader, and electronically enhances your voice to sound more like the menacing Darth Vader.
Packaged in a large, open-faced box, the mask is gorgeous to look at. Nicely designed, very professionally crafted, it's molded in a shiny black vinyl plastic, strong, durable and incredibly faithful to the mask as seen in the Star Wars films.
The mask portion covers your face, attaching by way of a highly adjustable strap that is made to fit just about anyone. The eyes are tinted plastic and are easily seen through, and rubber stripping protects your nose from sharp edges. The helmet portion attaches by a small clip at the forehead of the mask.
Suspended from the neck of the mask at chest height is a small box with several buttons. This resembles the box seen on Vader's chest. One of these buttons produces the mechanical breathing sound. Another plays one of a series of quotes from Darth Vader. The third allows your voice to be altered in three different ways.
Change is (not always) good
There have been Darth Vader masks practically since the week this film was released. I've seen a few, some intended for adult Halloween costume wearers, others for kids. Their prices and quality have varied widely.
Let me tell you first that this is probably the nicest Darth Vader mask I've seen for its cost, and it would be well worth it even without the electronic gadgetry.
The mouth gridding is open, and the eye lenses are smoky gray and easily seen through. Inside the mask, a rubber flange surrounds the "goggle" portion, making for a comfortable fit for practically any size head. I can wear this mask even without removing my glasses, and my head isn't tiny. The microphone that you speak into is adjustable, so you can move it closer to or farther from your mouth for optimal performance. Once the helmet portion is secured, this is a great-looking Vader helmet.
When pressed, one button plays four cycles of Vader breath. The sound is quite clear. A second button plays one of five phrases: "You don't know the power of the Dark Side," "Don't make me destroy you," "Your powers are weak," "There is no escape" and "The Force is with you." Clear samples from the films.
Sadly, where this toy falls down is in its eponymous feature—the voice changer.
After testing this feature myself, and with my daughter, who is quite a bit smaller, we found that it is difficult to hear anything from the voice box over what the wearer is actually saying. Moving the microphone closer to the mouth and using a low, slow voice helps. There are also three separate voice-altering settings. A user manual gives hints on getting the best performance.
With the superlative features of this helmet, it is difficult to fault it for one feature that is less than perfect, but since this is the very reason many people will purchase this mask, it is a more serious downside.
But, as I have already said, this Darth Vader helmet and mask are well worth the price paid even without any of the electronic gadgets enclosed.
