the prop was reused, owing to the fact that Star Trek's property masters liked its shape. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary)

Rick Sternbach's design notes regarding the restoration of Picard in this episode

To create Locutus' Borg suit, Costume Designer Robert Blackman worked in close collaboration with Make-Up Supervisor Michael Westmore, the latter of whom made the suit's face-pieces from life castings of actor Patrick Stewart. (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borgtext commentary) On 15 November2001, Westmore recalled the makeup for Locutus: "With Patrick when he was Borgified, he had a lot of skin showing, which we had to make up. He never got fully Borgified, so he wasn't really totally white or had to have, like, the Borg helmet on. Patrick mainly had individual little pieces thatwere glued on in different parts of his face and then the flesh around it was starting to decay or Borgify in different areas. But it meant wearing a robe and having to sit in a chair for a while." (Departmental Briefing: Production, TNG Season 4 DVD special features) Rick Sternbach worked on the depiction of Picard's restoration from his assimilated appearance as Locutus; Sternbach, in June 1990, created design notes for this sequence. (The Art of Star Trek)

As part of the attempt to maintain anticipation for this episode, production staffers were kept apprised of the episode's progress strictly on a "need-to-know" basis. Everyone who participated in the episode's production was admonished not to discuss the episode with anyone, not even with friends or family. (Star Trek: Fan