Material for painting miniature flags

You can also skip the decal part and print it directly on paper. Seal it with Decal Saver and moisten it with thinned white glue and fold along the edge for the staff (or over the staff) and put your folds it. It will dry nice and solid. 

Glamdring

During a recent model club Zoom meeting they were showing off miniature figures that were holding flags. 

One of the presenters mentioned that he uses some kind of material that starts as a blank wavey flag, but he wets it down and flattens it on hard surface and it dries as a flat "canvas."  He then paints the flag design using Plaka paint, once the paint is dry, he wets the flag material again to mold it as the flag is fluttering in the wind, and it dries like that.

Does this sound like anything you have ever heard of?  I thought Plaka was the flag material, didn't find out until after the meeting and googling it that this was the paint.  I could not find anything that lined up with this description of the flag surface.  Perhaps some kind of a paper? 

Did that meeting happen to be the recent MMSI meeting?  One of our (ie, the MFCA's) members did a presentation on vexilology.  I don't know if he included his method or tips for painting flags, but if it was, let me know, and I can ask him.

The only cloth material I have heard anyone use, is draftsman's cloth.  It's a fine-weave cloth, and it has a coating on one side.  You have to boil it to remove the coating, before working it.   I can't recall where I saw that; it was a long time ago.

Personally, I use metal foil.  For example, I've used foil candy wrappers, like the wrappers from Reese's miniatures.  Folded in quarters, it's about the right size for a Prussian company flag.  I flow CA glue between the layers, then shape it and let the glue set.  Here are some examples:

and this one is really folded, like a flag in no breeze:

I have also used stiff metal foil from wine bottles.  The contemporary material is not all metal, but it still works.  There, too, I can fold it to shape.  I attach this to the staff-a piece of brass rod-with 2-part epoxy.

Either way, I prime the piece with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer and paint with my usual acrylics and enamels.

Best regards,

Brad

Yeah, I have read about printing a scale flag and using this.  I have never tried any of the methods, but perhaps some day.  That certainly would the the most efficient method for a historical flag.

Baron - It was indeed the MMSI meeting.  It wasn't during Art's flag presentation, but during the show-and-tell of member projects.  I think it was one of the club officers who was giving the description of this magic material.  I'm terrible with names, but this was the first time I actually "went" to a meeting as I am a member from afar.  They had recording of the meeting but it was turned off before this part.

Perhaps this is all a figment of my imagination too, but it seemed pretty descriptive.  I'll just pose the question in the chat of the February meeting if nobody knows what this mystery material could be.

Jay Jay

I found a good way to reproduce flags; find a pic of the flag you want online, save it to your computer, reduce it down to the size you want, print a decal of it , glue it to a piece of aluminum foil then bend it to simulate the waving effect. easy peezie

 

works every time. Wine foil also works and I use it for larger scales. The flag on this 1/144 scale UBoat is nice and thin on kitchen foil.

Glamdring

Yeah, I have read about printing a scale flag and using this.  I have never tried any of the methods, but perhaps some day.  That certainly would the the most efficient method for a historical flag.

Baron - It was indeed the MMSI meeting.  It wasn't during Art's flag presentation, but during the show-and-tell of member projects.  I think it was one of the club officers who was giving the description of this magic material.  I'm terrible with names, but this was the first time I actually "went" to a meeting as I am a member from afar.  They had recording of the meeting but it was turned off before this part.

Perhaps this is all a figment of my imagination too, but it seemed pretty descriptive.  I'll just pose the question in the chat of the February meeting if nobody knows what this mystery material could be.

Thanks Baron, much appreciated.  I hope I didn't completely misinterpret the description.  I was just looking to try out something new.

Hi, Glamdring!  I asked Art and he remembered the presentation you're thinking of.  It was by Joe Berton, and it was the material I remembered, too, but I didn't remember the name quite correctly-it's drafting linen.  It was used to make master drawings, from which copies were made.  It was impregnated with starch, and soaking it in water would soften it for shaping.

Art said he used it when he was starting out as an engineer, but he's not sure it's still available.  Today, draftsmen use a Mylar sheet, treated to take ink on one side.

I can't remember where I read about it, many years ago.  I want to say it was on one of the figure-painting forums, like PlanetFigure, or the now-defunct TimeLines Historica.  But I can't recall.  I never tried using it, myself.

Art and Dennis also remembered that Joe talked about using 2-part epoxy putty to make flags.  I think I mentioned in my earlier post that I've thought about trying that method, too, just to see how it works.  But I wouldn't use a sandwich bag and oil to roll it flat.  I use epoxy putty already, and when I need to roll it out, I use butcher paper on a piece of plate glass, and talcum powder to keep it from sticking.

Anyway, try searching for drafting linen.  If it's still made, a web search should turn something up.

Hope that helps!

Best regards,

Brad