PARA BADGES AND BERETS

Hi all

I was just updating the reference section and when i got to the paras i noticed there were a few variations to the beret i.e cloth and rubber but i also noticed there was a version with a paper badge and wondered how many people actually knew of their existence ?????

Anyways here you are so be honest did you know ????

Nope not me Dan. I've got the rubber and cloth and also use the Tommy Gunn beret, which is redder on my arctic para kitbash but had no idea of a paper badge. Can't imagine many of those exist!!

There must have been some variety in the paper badges :

I have a paperbadge from Belgium , very small & so easily lost. I have it somewhere , God knows where but as long as I don't move house. It's here somewhere. Sticky paper one is very 1st issue done. Quite hard to get hold of. Not 100% sure , but I think it belongs more so to Tommy Gunn.
Great thread Dan.

There are at least five different para badges and berets

1st issue Cloth with metal badge
2nd issue Cloth with paper/cloth badge
3rd issue rubber with thin plastic badge
4th issue rubber with metal (Tom Stone) badge
5th issue rubber with thick plastic badge

many people say the paper/cloth badge is 1st issue but if you look in the manuals you will see the 1974 manual shows the para with a metal badge then the 1975 shows it with the paper/cloth badge and the 1976 shows the thin plastic version.

Great info Dan

Thanks for that

Ive got a Tank Commander conundrum if your up for that next ????

The paper/cloth version was made alot earlier than 75 VAM80, as it was 1st used on the Tommy Gunn Para. The idea then transferred over to the 1st issue early fuzzy HH from there. Then came the intro of the small plastic beret badge (early 70's) for the later issued Fuzzy.
The later badges ie Tom Stone etc were introduced as the Para badge 76-78 making it the late issue one.
I think it was used as a variant to the larger plastic issue once Tom Stone made by Pawtucket introduced it. Hoping Joeman/Joe90 will know more on Tom here than I.

ghost recon wrote:

The paper/cloth version was made alot earlier than 75 VAM80, as it was 1st used on the Tommy Gunn Para. The idea then transferred over to the 1st issue early fuzzy HH from there. Then came the intro of the small plastic beret badge (early 70's) for the later issued Fuzzy.
The later badges ie Tom Stone etc were introduced as the Para badge 76-78 making it the late issue one.
I think it was used as a variant to the larger plastic issue once Tom Stone made by Pawtucket introduced it. Hoping Joeman/Joe90 will know more on Tom here than I.

I'm talking about the Uk Palitoy range not other companies, sorry for the confusion.

The 72,73, and 74 manuals all show the cloth beret with a metal badge it's not until the 1975 manual that the paper/cloth version shows up on a Palitoy Action Man para.

The rubber beret is shown in the 1976 manual, this is the thin plastic badge version.

The Tom Stone version is a Kit Locker variant (1977-1980) Probably the later years (79/80) as a way of using up the Tom Stone badges once the Tom Stone figure was no longer produced.

The late issue beret with the thick plastic badge is from 1981-1983 covering the Book, Window, and Last issue carded release This is also a slightly darker red.