Project: Jedi ‘SCUBA tank’

This project has spent far too much time in the WIP drawer, but I’m happy to say that after a recent bit of prime scavenging, it’s finally finished up!
After assembling my first functional kit (Silo, washout Jedi from the Agricultural Corps) for Star Wars living history purposes in 2016, I first got the idea to add some Jedi accoutrements about two years ago. I was using the impression to teach mini survival workshops, and since Silo didn’t have a lightsaber, I figured he should at least have some recognizable Jedi gear in his belt pouches to help sell the impression. I reckoned the Aquata A99 breather would be a good fit, since I could use it as a prop to underline the first element of the Rule of Threes—you can’t last three minutes without breathable air.
I couldn’t wait to get started on a new project, so I pulled out my reference books and…immediately ran into a roadblock.
Y’see, the A99 I had in my head was the one I’d been seeing in DK’s Episode I Visual Dictionary since 1999:

However, when I got online to see if anyone had made their own or offered a kit, I kept seeing something totally different!:

Seeing such a discrepancy at this early point, I went straight to the original source material: my Episode I DVD! Sure enough, when Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon bust out their breathers, they’re ‘sparkplug’ style:

Now there’s a good lesson for any would-be historians: while contradictions are inherent when investigating a work of fiction like Star Wars, being able to evaluate sources is a necessity. In this case, we can’t always rely on what a reference book says, if it clearly contradicts the primary source! As for where that first breather model comes from, I found pictures of it in Lucasfilm museum exhibits, so my hunch is it wasn’t just whipped up by DK to pad out their book, but was made as a prop early in production only to be replaced by the sparkplug model for filming.
Honestly, I kind of like the earlier model, and wish it had stayed in Episode I (and I don’t just think that’s the nostalgia talking). Its Art Deco-ish style has a cool charm to it that makes it fit well in the 32 BBY period…if it wasn’t Jedi-specific gear I could easily see it as a Naboo-made breather. The sparkplug style seems more suited to the Clone Wars period, with the more industrial vibe of the Imperial era killing craftsmanship.

So, now that I had verified the design of the breather I’d been making, the fun part began: how was I going to make it? As usual, the first step is to gather reference pictures from every angle, and then any known measurements.
The only known pieces of the breather were the hinges and the lower tips of the tanks—3/16” RC model airplane hinges, made by Robart. With the diameter of the hinge known, I was able to scale up my reference pictures to create a 1:1 paper version.
Though it was the earlier design, I did find someone who offered an A99 kit online. Thankfully they let me buy just the mouthpiece for my build. The resin mouthpiece was extremely roughly cast, and needed a fair amount of dremel-work to hollow and round it to give it the graceful curves that wouldn’t feel awkward in the mouth:
Through close examination of my references, I believe the black part of the mouthpiece was rubber, but I don’t know what exactly was used for the piece. If you have an idea, drop a comment below! Until I can ID it, I’ve painted the correct areas flat black. If I ever wanted to level-up this part of the breather, I would mold and cast the white mouthpiece and black connector as separate pieces and then attach them together. Until then, the white nylon screws on the back side suggest a two-part assembly (see first image).
After printing my plans out at 100%, I powered up the wood lathe and turned out some ‘sparkplugs’:
These were epoxied onto the Robart hinges and then darkened with oil-based wood stain. I would like to give them a little extra shine with shoe polish, but they look pretty good for now.

The breather only needed one last thing, but this was the hardest part: the fine ‘screen’ for each tank. Being unable to find anything appropriate that would work for this was the main reason this project sat on hold for more than two years. I saw some RPF propmakers who found finely-perforated metal sheets by the square foot, but as I only needed a few square inches such materials would be cost prohibitive for me. In this case I chose to play the patience game and keep my eyes out during each trip to the thrift shop or craft store. Eventually, I found a scrap of mysterious perforated plastic washed up on the riverbank of all places!
I cut out two strips the proper circumference with locking tabs (as seen in reference pictures), slipped them on the tanks and superglued them in place. While I would of course prefer something more durable, these easily pass the three-foot rule. If you have a better idea of a better material I could upgrade these with, leave a comment!

I had hoped the completed breather would fit in the more triangular ammo pouch I wear on my belt, but alas it’s just a little too tall and sticks up too high…but it does fit perfectly in my Serbian(?) pouch!
In the end, I’m very glad to have this piece of Jedi gear finished up, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out. Now if we could ever have in-person events again, I’d have a chance to show them off and demonstrate its use in galactic survival situations!

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