Thunderbirds Are Go is a new CGI adaptation of the original 1960s TV show Thunderbirds, the repeats of which and comics I thoroughly enjoyed when I was a wean. Like the original show Thunderbirds Are Go is set in the late twenty first Century (post 2026) and follows the exploits of the International Rescue Agency, a non profit organisation run by the Tracey Family, which rescues people in need using their State of the art Thunderbird machines and advanced technology. International Rescue is a secret organisation to safeguard its equipment and technology from falling into the wrong hands and being used for evil. Their are a couple of differences in the new series and original show notably its made using CGI and not puppets, however most of the original characters are present.
The International Rescue crew from the original series (left) and new adaptation (right)
The original International Rescue from the original Thunderbirds had its own insignia that was orn on their uniform (particularly crossbelts) were the letters "I R" were worn in the cap (which was only worn part of the time)
As can be seen with the above pic the new adaptation has no badge i decided to correct this, my thinking was something that would look good as an arm patch, I eventually came up with this:
It was inspired by the arm patch United Nations Peacekeepers wear. It features the globe, wing and hand of the original emblem but altered, There two wings stretching across the globe and supporting the organisation's name, and the hand is reaching out to help another one. International Rescue appears around the badge in English and Spanish which are I believe the two most common languages. I decided to take this a little further an design a flag for International Rescue and separate arm patches for the crew (depending on which Thunderbird they operate). First the flag:
My first design uses a blue field with six stripes, one for each of the Thunderbirds (in the colours of the craft itself) Thunderbirds 1 -5 and Thunderbird Shadow. The International Rescue insignia is in the canton.
Or alternatively the stripes are moved to the centre and the insignia is placed over them in the hoist. This is my personal preference.
As for the individual arm patches they are based on the agency's insignia but with a coloured outer boarder, the hands replaced with a number and "International Rescue Agency" replaced with the Thunderbird's name:
The exception to these patches is Shadow which is new to the series and didn't appear before and as it is the only Thunderbirds machine to have a name rather than number, it uses a coloured variant of the hands.
Also in the new series is a new organisation called the Global Defence Force (GDF) which is a government organisation that works alongside International Rescue, although its primary role is international security rather than rescue work. International Rescue's liaison officer in the GDF is Colonel Casey (it is speculated is based on Colonel Tim Casey an Air Force officer and old friend of International Rescue's founder Jeff Tracey fro the Space Program in the original series. ITV has neiter denied or confirmed this). I designed a flag for the GDF, it is based on a unit Camp flag used by the British Military. It is a blue field with a large grey bar flanked by two gold stripes running diagonally across the field, with the GDF badge in the centre:
Really very interesting, you can find more like this here
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