Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

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137th Gebirg
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Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by 137th Gebirg » Fri Dec 18, 2009 1:08 pm

I've posted this on other forums, but on the off-chance that some of you may have missed it, I'm posting it here as well as it seems pretty topical.

This document is to be used as a guide for identifying and procuring military insignia for the construction of uniforms and costumes from the Battlestar Galactica 1978 Series. Many of the devices in question are from Korean and Vietnam era American military units. Others were custom-made for the show. All known devices have been identified and given links as to where one may be able to purchase them. Other devices have not been identified yet and are marked as such. Any ideas on what these items may be, please contact me at gebirg@icqmail.com

Enjoy!

http://www.shipschematics.net/bsg/BSG_Insignia.pdf


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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by GoldCylon » Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:44 pm

I made a quick dash to see if by chance the unknown patch from the Enforcer has been found or at least ID'd yet. I have Croad's (Ted Gehring) uniform, but helmet. It would be cool to finish that costume off.
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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by Galactifan » Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:04 am

I love that .pdf !!!

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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by Red Eye » Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:59 am

137th Gebirg wrote:I've posted this on other forums, but on the off-chance that some of you may have missed it, I'm posting it here as well as it seems pretty topical.

This document is to be used as a guide for identifying and procuring military insignia for the construction of uniforms and costumes from the Battlestar Galactica 1978 Series. Many of the devices in question are from Korean and Vietnam era American military units. Others were custom-made for the show. All known devices have been identified and given links as to where one may be able to purchase them. Other devices have not been identified yet and are marked as such. Any ideas on what these items may be, please contact me at gebirg@icqmail.com

Enjoy!

http://www.shipschematics.net/bsg/BSG_Insignia.pdf
Thank you for sharing your awesome work!

By the way: Do you have any idea where the neck and chest insignias of the Cylon Garrison Leader on Carillon originated from?

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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by Cylon-Knight » Sat Dec 19, 2009 9:38 am

That Enforcer patch has to be some US one, upside down again. Have to track that down!

YES - ID'ing the Cylon chest stuff - THAT would be cool (it it was a found item).
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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by 137th Gebirg » Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:02 pm

Thanks much for the kind words, all!

Haven't found anything about the Cylon chest pieces yet, although I can't say I had been looking very hard - I was concentrating more on the Colonial symbols and regalia. I fear it may have been some random detailing that the costume designers found and said "hey that looks good being glued there", much like the amalgamation that became Adama's medallion. It is sad that there are no historical records of any of this stuff. Tracking down the origins of some of these things is sometimes quite frustrating, but equally fulfilling when something is re-discovered.
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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by Tinman » Fri Dec 25, 2009 1:41 pm

<SHARP SALUTE>! 137th on the great chart you put together on BSG Insignia. I had seen it years ago but never know who put it together. Was a great help in my collection! :salute:

I have a question on the ATLANTIA patch if you could explain something for me.
What is the "Ren-Fair" patch affixed to the Galactica patch?
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Tks up front.

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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by 137th Gebirg » Sat Dec 26, 2009 2:19 am

This was actually something that Gordon Smuder (a.k.a. SpcGlider) found in his vast collection of patches. Unfortunately, due to the age of the patches, there really isn't any additional information on them, nor are they (I believe) produced any longer. Here are some photos of his patch collection:

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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by Tinman » Sat Dec 26, 2009 7:48 am

Tks 137th for the help.

Is it just me or does it seem they didn't keep records on ANYTHING they did during the TOS BSG series? :frak: :frak: :frak:

Well... another mystery to solve. :roll:

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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by 137th Gebirg » Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:26 am

Yep, no records whatsoever, at least none that I have ever seen, aside from the McQuarrie stuff, the "blueprints" set, and the odd pre-production photograph here and there. I get the impression they were under such continuous aggressive deadline crunches and budget constraints, they simply didn't have the cycles to make a record of what they were doing. Something that has haunted us all for years, sadly, when trying to reconstruct what they've done.
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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by Reaper63 » Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:31 am

maybe 2 years ago, Gordon did a run of the Patch inserts for the Atlantia Patches. I suppose, if there is enough interest, he'd do another run. He was also ready to do a run of Med Tech Patches, but there wasn't interest at the time.
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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by Tinman » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:57 am

Would be up to purchase a couple.

Need them for the ATLANTIA DEATH SQUADRON'S TROPHY WALL. :cylon:

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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by Red Eye » Thu Aug 28, 2014 5:14 pm

Time to revive an old thead...

Any luck identifying the patches used by the Proteus prison guards?

Additionally, I'm looking for a detailed photo of the medical / medtech pin... perhaps someone here can help me out with it. Thanks in advance!
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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by 137th Gebirg » Fri Aug 29, 2014 10:10 am

Periodically, I do an internet search for such things, but without any luck. The arrival of various image reverse look-up search engines have not been as helpful as I had hoped. I think most of them are still somewhat experimental.

The Proteus patches are still unknown - way too generic-looking to nail down any socio-cultural cues that could demonstrate its origin. The Lunar-7 patch also eludes me, even though it has a distinctive Pan Am/United Nations/Olympic feel to it - still have found no source. Finally, I am convinced that the med tech patch is a custom patch based on the pin they made, which appears to be an amalgamated device from two different objects glued together, possibly of Thai, Cambodian or Laotian origin (due to the stylistic ceremonial head covering/spire on the base part of the pin that is a common motif in that culture - I believe the badge on Starbuck's recon helmet to be of similar origin). The four-pointed star device on top of the main base seems to also have a southeast Asian flavor, but I haven't been able to find anything exact, only approximate. http://www.thaiinsignia.com/ has some things that are close, but not precise. The stylistic nature of the things I HAVE found there, however, leads me to believe that this is the best bet where it came from. You can do a Google search on "Thai Insignia", go to the "Images" section to see all the stuff that looks really close to the med tech pin and you'll see what I mean. I DO so wish that someone from the original series costuming department opened up with background info and/or photos on these things. And the few people that are known to have some of the original devices and source knowledge of the same aren't talking. :evil: A personal gripe of mine. I know they own the stuff and they have every right not to share it with the rest of the community for fear of "cheapening" its worth. Conversely, however, I have every right to consider them selfish douchenozzles - in my humble opinion, of course.

I have not given up, but I also sadly don't spend as much time researching this like I used to.
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Re: Insignia and Costume Devices of TOS BSG

Post by GoldCylon » Fri Aug 29, 2014 4:26 pm

I haven't heard of anyone by name except the costume designers by name. The add on's like patches were most likely a combo of prop designers, and the costume makers. Just my thoughts, and totally 100% wrong... LoL

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