What ever happened to Locutus of Borg?

The character Locutus of Borg, who first appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation classic episode “The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I and II” ended up back on the Enterprise-D thanks to the leadership of acting Captain Riker and Lieutenant Commander Data, working with Dr. Crusher and Counseler Troi, who figured out the code (sleep!) to rescue Captain Jean-Luc Picard and remove his cybernetic components. Hands down, Locutus was our favorite of The Borg–that cybernetic race that was the nemesis of Starfleet and every culture they came in contact with and subsequently assimilated.

But what about the costume Patrick Stewart wore in “The Best of Both Worlds” episodes as Locutus? In Trek canon, you could speculate that the components went off for testing at Starfleet Medical. In the real world? The fact is The Borg characters returned in subsequent episodes of the series, including the great character study episode “I, Borg” and the two part “Descent” episodes which featured more than a dozen of these cyborgs of the future. The idea for the Star Trek borg characters were first thought up by Star Trek: The Next Generation writer Maurice Hurley and created by Robert Blackman and Michael Westmore. Just as the Paramount production staff re-used other costumes over the seven-year series run, Stewart’s rubber and plastic components were reused as parts of other costumes and the original Next Generation Locutus costume does not exist complete and intact today. Paramount did create and sell a replica of a limited edition life-size version that looks great as a display. Here is how the replica appeared when they were selling these at the now-defunct Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas a few years back:

I am getting ready to put together a display of Locutus, featuring actual components labeled as Stewart’s that I was lucky enough to pick up over the past few years, that became a part of Adrian Tafoya’s costume seen in Descent as well as used in part in a Borg video game by John de Lancie (who also appeared in The Six Million Dollar Man and the original Battlestar Galactica) as “Q as Borg” and other characters. Tafoya is seen here on the left:

And I am starting with this replica resin cast I purchased to be used for the head of the mannequin:

First, to find time to paint and refine it! I’ll post an update down the road when I get this painted and the cybernetic components displayed. For now, here are some components of the actual Locutus worn by Patrick Stewart (repainted with a rust paint by production staff and with some parts added later for subsequent actors who played members of The Borg collective)…