Insignia and Costume Devices of the Battlestar Galactica 1978 series

Tuesday, 06 February 2007

Jim Stevenson has done some great research again on the insignia of the original Battlestar Galactica 1978 series. He analysed the insignia, the patches, the medals, and the diversity of pins used and traced many of them back to the original military insignia or patch.

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 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it so that I can update this chart.

Identified and Unidentified Patches and Pins

Identified Patches
"Battlestar Pegasus" Korean-era SCARWAF (Special Category Army with Air Force) Flying Tigers Surplus Kobol.com Battlestar Galactica Merchandise	"Celestra" 78^th Infantry Division The Battlezone Flying Tigers Surplus 4 Armed Forces Saunders Insignia Military Best Kobol.com
"Martin"/"Battlestar Acropolis (?)" 18^th Medical Command Military Best Kobol.com	"Prison Barge" 3^rd Army Corps (Upside-down) The Battlezone Flying Tigers Surplus 4 Armed Forces Saunders Insignia Military Best
"Rising Star" U.S. Air Force Academy (Modified) 4 Armed Forces Saunders Insignia Kobol.com (Already Modified)	"Battlestar Galactica" Custom – no origin Kobol.com (Originals?) Battlestar Galactica Merchandise (All Colors)
"Canaris Shuttle" Hawaii Command Flying Tigers Surplus Saunders Insignia Military Best

Identified "Beret Flashes" from "Gun on Ice Planet Zero" Used on Winter Jacket Shoulders (upside down from normal use)
NOTE: Many of these flashes are modifications from known patches and may not quite match actual patch design and color. Some artistic license was required to do some of these. -JMS
"Apollo" "Fantasy Flash" According to ASMIC	"Starbuck" "Fantasy Flash" According to ASMIC		"Boomer" 20^th Engineer Brigade (1970’s era)
"Kroft" 19th Special Forces Group (1966 – Present)	"Wolf" 1^st Special Forces Group (1961 – 1963)		"Thane" 7^th Special Forces Group (1961 – Present)
"Leda" 325^th Airborne 1^st Battalion (“Red Falcons”)	"Vickers" 509^th Airborne		"Haals" "Fantasy Flash" According to ASMIC
"Voight" 508^th Airborne 1^st Battalion
The flashes that have been found can be obtained through these various websites: Uniform Accessories Unlimited Flying Tigers Surplus The Battlezone 1st Army Good Stuff To Go Insignia World		Other beret flash resource pages: Military Shoulder Patches of the U.S. U.S. Army Special Forces Groups (Airborne) Falcon Brigade Unit Insignia The Institute of Heraldry Special Forces Flashes The American Society of Military Insignia Collectors (ASMIC)

Unidentified Patches
"Battlestar Galactica Medical" Kobol.com (Originals?)	"Battlestar Atlantia" Combination of BSG patch & something else (NOTE: This is an approximation)
"Enforcer" Version 1 – Commander	"Enforcer" Version 2 – Soldier
"Lunar 7" Possible Pan-Am Airlines or U.N. Origin?

Identified Pins & Badges
"Battlestar Galactica" U.S. Army Military Intelligence Branch (Standard and Modified – Upside-down) Flying Tigers Surplus The Battlezone (different colors available!) Saunders Insignia Kobol.com (Gold) Kobol.com (Silver) Battlestar Galactica Merchandise (Gold/Silver)	"Battlestar Pegasus" U.S. Navy Command Ashore Flying Tigers Surplus (Choose “mini” version) Saunders Insignia Kobol.com Battlestar Galactica Merchandise
"Distinguished Service Medallion" (Cain & Kronus) Combination of U.S. Air Force Combat Readiness Medal and U.S. European Command H.Q. The Battlezone (Combat Readiness) 4 Armed Forces (Combat Readiness) Flying Tigers Surplus (Combat Readiness) Saunders Insignia (Combat Readiness) Saunders Insignia (EuroCom) Combined resin kit available from Gordon Smuder (aka Spcglider) Final version should be all painted in gold
Cain’s Jacket Device WWII Italian Assault-Combat Badge (Modified) Resin kit available from Gordon Smuder (aka Spcglider) Final version should be all painted in gold

Unidentified Pins & Badges
"Battlestar Galactica Medical" Kobol.com (Resin Casting)		"Eastern Alliance" Cap Device
Reconnaissance Viper Helmet Possible Upside-down Police Badge From Laos, Cambodia or Thailand		Adama’s Neck Medallion
"Count Iblis" Medallion Custom – no origin	"Seal of the 9^th Lord of Kobol" Modified Adama Neck Medallion		"Constable Shield" Custom – no origin
Adama Medallion, Count Iblis Medallion, Seal of the 9^th Lord of Kobol and Constable Shield Resin kits are available from Gordon Smuder (aka Spcglider) At Dewback Wing ASAP in BSG “Original Series Props” and “Original Series Costumes” sections

Resource Credits:

Jim “137^th Gebirg” Stevenson (document author)
Gordon “Spcglider” Smuder (costume device researcher, resin caster and all-around good guy!)

Kobol.com – http://www.kobol.com/
Members of Dewback Wing ASAP – http://pub23.ezboard.com/bpropreplicas
Saunders Insignia – http://www.saundersinsignia.com/
4-Armed Forces.com – http://www.4armedforces.com/
Military Best – http://store.yahoo.com/militarybest/
BBS Costumes and Props – http://surfkid.net/battlestar/

Battlestar Galactica – The Complete Epic Series DVD Collection

Badges and Insignia of World War II, Air Force – Naval – Marine By Guido
Rosignoli, Peerage Books, 1980

Patch and Insignia Identification and Accuracy Advisement from
The American Society of Military Insignia Collectors (ASMIC) – http://www.asmic.org/

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