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I am working on an elysian drop trooper for XCOM 2 and I finally got to a point where I have to deal with the chest attachment with the tubes.
That thing has had me flubbered ever since I've seen it. I cannot wrap my head around as to what it's function might be.

The top part is not attached to the chest., so at first I thought it was a mask, but their mask looks completely different.
maybe a control unit for the gravchute? but then what's the point of the tubes. They look more like they are carrying liquid/gas.
So maybe a heat exchange of some sort? They seem to attach to something vaguely canister like on the back.

what IS that?
My best gues would be some sort of temperature control for the suit?
It's supposed to be pretty much a pseudo space suit kind of thing right?

Could be a heat exchanger. It gets cold up there!

Looks like a high frequency chest wall oscillator, which are normally used for treating chest congestion.

Maybe it's supposed to assist the wearer during air drops from high altitudes where air pressure rapidly changes.

I thought it was an oxygen tank for HALO jumps.

The other thing I didn't even mention is that werid round piece at the bottom, in some screenshots it looks like it is literally just a curved sheet? Like it's not connected to anything. Like a piece of paper being printed out the bottom


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I mean, it's the imperieum, for all we know it might be a live receipt being printed for what they owe the departmento munitorum lol

I think its their respirator (remember not all the head bits have the respirator piece on)

 tauist wrote:
I think its their respirator (remember not all the head bits have the respirator piece on)

I thought that for the longest time, but...the angles are wrong, the slits are wrong, there is no button. I don't think they would have made the headpiece look THAT different if they intended it to be the same thing?

And especially with a more or less accurate model, the rebreather looks completely off.
It doesn't work at all once you make room for a face to fit inside.

It could be an auxiliary oxygen supply with a separate mask. The gas mask respirator thing might be good for filtration but sometimes there is nothing to filter. Either that or the original designers intended to have it as a mask, and then the designer of the head packs forgot and gave them all masks anyway.

It's a reasonable suggestion, but having two masks seems weird to me. what need is there for filtration if you have an isolated oxygen mask?, beyond perhaps saving some oxygen? No need to filtrate when you can be isolated from the environment completely.

I've heard another suggestion.
Could it be a sort of powerbank?
They operate behind enemy lines, I suppose it could make sense to have some extra juice.
With a venting system at the front because the grave chute would sit on top of it in normal operation, so no room to cool it there plus it would get hot by proxy I imagine.

The cables sure don't look like power cables but....maybe?

I always thought that was a face mask.

 Roknar wrote:
It's a reasonable suggestion, but having two masks seems weird to me. what need is there for filtration if you have an isolated oxygen mask?, beyond perhaps saving some oxygen? No need to filtrate when you can be isolated from the environment completely.

You need to bring your oxygen with you if you are totally isolated. Better to filter where you can, as I imagine that spare filters are lighter and easier than carrying pressurised/liquefied gas tanks. However, I agree it is weird to have more than one mask. You would think that the O2 supply system is just compatible with the filter mask and you can choose which source to use

I've heard another suggestion.
Could it be a sort of powerbank?
They operate behind enemy lines, I suppose it could make sense to have some extra juice.
With a venting system at the front because the grave chute would sit on top of it in normal operation, so no room to cool it there plus it would get hot by proxy I imagine.

The cables sure don't look like power cables but....maybe?

A feasible suggestion

Don't tell BorderCountess I used ChatGPT again... but I asked the AI what it was:

Yes, I'm familiar with the Elysian Drop Troopers from *Warhammer 40k*. The rebreather you see attached to the front of their armor is part of their standard issue equipment designed for survival in various hazardous environments. The rebreather serves as a life-support system, primarily designed to provide breathable air in hostile or toxic atmospheres.

In the context of the Elysian Drop Troopers, who specialize in airborne assault and often operate in extreme and volatile conditions (such as dropping into enemy territory or fighting on planets with harsh atmospheres), the rebreather ensures that the soldier can continue to breathe when exposed to dangerous or oxygen-deprived environments. This is especially critical during their parachute-like airborne drops into battle zones where atmospheric conditions can vary greatly and be unpredictable.

Additionally, the rebreather likely serves to filter out harmful chemicals, biological agents, or other toxic particles that might be present in the environment, thus enhancing the troopers' ability to fight and survive in areas where others might be rendered incapacitated by environmental factors.

did you also ask it what the OTHER mask then does? lol

 Roknar wrote:
did you also ask it what the OTHER mask then does? lol

Ehh... no.

I just sent it a picture and asked what's on his chest.

Chatgpt is just being a yes-man to me. Agreeing with every suggestion lol.

 Roknar wrote:
Chatgpt is just being a yes-man to me. Agreeing with every suggestion lol.

I tried to feed it a short story I wrote. It loved it more than I did.

I don’t think it’s a rebreather/face mask thing.

The sculpting shows it to be moulded into the chest armour.

I think it could be a (very simple) control panel for Grav Chute. The full colour art depicts the cables as armoured, ala certain marks of Power Armour. And whatever it actually is being an extrusion from the chest plate, and not something you can detach. The models are of course a bit more ambiguous on both counts.

But, and here’s what makes me good at my job? Look for what’s not there. There’s no wrist mounted dooberry which might control rate of descent. And there’s nothing elsewhere on the models or art that’s obviously for that purpose. Doesn’t mean it’s not there, hence the italics.

Thinking in vague understanding of physics? Mounting such controls, however simplified (faster/slower dial being the most rudimentary), on the chest instead of elsewhere on your body might make sense.

Consider the modern parachute. Your ripcords is located on the webbing near your chest. Why might that be? Wind and that. To move one arm, which is resisting wind flappage, to a relatively fixed area on or around the chest area (which doesn’t flap in that way), is easier than requiring you to coordinate both arms to get at something mounted on a given wrist.

Grav Chute Control Panel. That’s my updated claim, based on (admittedly possibly gak) claims

I don't think it could be a second respirator because the hoses aren't long enough, if that piece was on the guy's face the hoses would need to be under his armpits.

I think it's meant to be part of the grav-chute harness, so maybe an air intake for cooling? If you were para-dropping then cold air would be pushed up into the trooper's chest so I think that makes sense.

Who designed the Elysian range?

Maybe the designer knows.

I did consider sending forgeworld a mail, until Iremembred they don't exist anymore...


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 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I don’t think it’s a rebreather/face mask thing.

The sculpting shows it to be moulded into the chest armour.

I think it could be a (very simple) control panel for Grav Chute. The full colour art depicts the cables as armoured, ala certain marks of Power Armour. And whatever it actually is being an extrusion from the chest plate, and not something you can detach. The models are of course a bit more ambiguous on both counts.

But, and here’s what makes me good at my job? Look for what’s not there. There’s no wrist mounted dooberry which might control rate of descent. And there’s nothing elsewhere on the models or art that’s obviously for that purpose. Doesn’t mean it’s not there, hence the italics.

Thinking in vague understanding of physics? Mounting such controls, however simplified (faster/slower dial being the most rudimentary), on the chest instead of elsewhere on your body might make sense.

Consider the modern parachute. Your ripcords is located on the webbing near your chest. Why might that be? Wind and that. To move one arm, which is resisting wind flappage, to a relatively fixed area on or around the chest area (which doesn’t flap in that way), is easier than requiring you to coordinate both arms to get at something mounted on a given wrist.

Grav Chute Control Panel. That’s my updated claim, based on (admittedly possibly gak) claims

This makes a whole lot of sense.
Still not sure about why that woudl have a vent, or THAT much cabling....but this is at least a functionality that they would have to have somewhere.
Liking this.


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It seems that some of the parachuting gear makes audible noises at various altitudes. Didn't know that. With that in mind, that grill might be a straight up speaker? And the buttons would then be some sort of control unit.

So if that's a grav chute controller, where do the guys whos heads dont feature a respirator store theirs?

My 2008 FW catalogue lists Elysian troopers as "designed by Simon Egan and Will Hayes". I'd wager Will Hayes was the primary sculptor since he is credited as having made all the extra gubbins packs, such as weapons pack, Gravchute pack, drop zone equipment pack etc

Also, bear in mind that the "Elysian respirator heads" was a separate add-on bitz product. The squads came with models without masks.. Hell, its conceivable that the models weren't even supposed to have heads with the mask on until someone thought about it later and they quickly created a set of new heads..? EDIT: Looks like I was wrong. The kit "Elysian lascutters and scanner" also came with respirator heads..

Here's a walk down memory lane for ya.. perhaps this stirs up some memories?
https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20080701050605/http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_ELYSIAN_DROP_TROOPS.html

EDIT II: The www page with the paintjobs etc mentions the following background info: "Alternatively, Elysian Drop Troops attack directly from their Valkyries, rapelling, fast-roping or deploying directly onto the ground." So they didnt always need a grav-chute either..

So far so good.
I'll add a mesh onto the grilled parts to imply a speaker.

What I still can't figure out is what that lower protrusion is?
Dark tide when with more of an inserted...box like thing.
I did something similar with the helmet already.

Anybody got a suggestion?
I've got absolutely nothing. It makes zero sense to me.

Maybr it has the same exact use as the AT-AT driver's chest piece...

Not that familiar with star wars lore. What do those do? They look like some kind of drug dispenser?

Environmental Controls, I think.

It's a respirator.

IA3 The Taros Campaign has this to say about a Drop Trooper's equipment;

2.Armour The Drop Trooper's armour is constructed of cast, lightweight synthi-plas. This provides a good level of protection whilst keeping weight to a minimum. As Drop Troops will often operate far extended periods out of supply, they must carry a lot of extra equipment themselves. Weight saving is important, to reduce encumbrance during drops and to allow space for extra ammunition, grenades, ration packs etc. Each troop is issued a chest and back plate, complete with respirator and air hose attachments for the air supply (required at high-altitude) and attached shoulder pads. Separate elbow pads and knee-pads give extra protection in combat and on landing. Some veteran troopers disgard these pads after landing to help reduce their overall weight, especially if operating in difficult terrain. Most troopers prefer the extra protection. On Taros all armour was painted codex grey.

As for why they might carry two masks?
I would assume the chest masks are standard issue for high altitude drops.
Whereas the other masks might be special issue filter masks for hazardous environments.

I’m not so sure. That could be read as it having attachments for those hoses and respirator, rather than “respirator, and attachments for hoses”.

I've always thought it was a handy place to clip the hoses whilst out of use. If you look on the respirators they have two ports for hoses at a similar angle and position for the hoses to be plugged into whilst they drop. Then once they land the hoses coming up under the arms would be quite cumbersome when the trooper wanted to turn their head. So they detach the hoses from the mask, however to save on a complex/heavy retraction system for the hoses they just get clipped onto the chest mount. The switches and panels are simply the control mechanism for the oxygen system.

I don't see it as being a respirator for two reasons. First is from the model and art it's clear it's moulded directly as part of the chest plate. Second is the shape is far too flat, it would sit really weirdly on the face and not provide the tight fit required.

I'm definitely adding the munitorum receipt functionality to my head canon as well!

Yea, I agree with the idea that they might be attachment points more than the chest piece being the actual mask. So the mask could be attached somewhere on that, and the cables could be attached to the filters.

For the tubes it would provide either more oxygen while in high altitude or provide an isolated system in especially hazardous areas.

That MIGHT be what the "receipt" is for?
To provide some kind of support for when the respirator is attached? I also thought it could be a sort of blackbox/flight log. Not as modelled perhaps, but I could see that being placed where in that area.

Maybe that way they could provide intel even of the drop goes bad. provided the enemy does not know to destroy them.

And the controls are for ..whatever, temperature control, oxygen supply, "flight" profiles for the gravchute, like I dunno...stealth mode or vertical take-off?

With the grill being unnecessarily large speaker grill.