Looking for 15mm pompons...

[gloriousbattle]

...so I can turn British naval brigade into reasonable facsimiles of French, Belgian, Italian or Austrian sailors.  I'd like a bunch of little balls that are either red or can be painted red that I could attach with spirit gum and then remove.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[Mitch K]

A 2" or 3" pompom would be (about) 0.5-0.7mm in scale, so I'd guess you're looking at using tiny specks of Fimo or something similar. Even the tiniest "seed" beads from a habadashery / embroidery shop would be far too big, I would think.

I thought to start with you were looking for light automatic cannons 

[Mr.Marx]

A small blob of undiluted paint? It would be kinda stodgey if you used some kinda old dryed out paint. Might make a small enough lump for you.

[gloriousbattle]

Fimo?

[Mitch K]

Sorry,

air-hardening polymer clay. This stuff http://www.fimo.com/FIMO_classic_eng?ActiveID=136137You can buy it in art shops, craft superstores etc, in a huge variety of colours. Make tiny balls of a suitably coloured one (it comes in about 2oz packs, so you'll get a lot...), bake for half an hour at about 130C, then attach with suitable glue.

[gloriousbattle]

Sorry,

air-hardening polymer clay. This stuff http://www.fimo.com/FIMO_classic_eng?ActiveID=136137You can buy it in art shops, craft superstores etc, in a huge variety of colours. Make tiny balls of a suitably coloured one (it comes in about 2oz packs, so you'll get a lot...), bake for half an hour at about 130C, then attach with suitable glue.

Thanks for that!  As a last resort, I'll go there, though I still hope somebody can come up with a source for really tiny ball bearings, or something similar, that is already spherical.

[Arlequín]

Cake decoration candy perhaps? 

[gloriousbattle]

Cake decoration candy perhaps? 

Thanks, but I can see that turning into a real mess. 

[FifteensAway]

blow torch, lead free pewter (a knickknack store, maybe) and some very cold water (wear protective gear!) drop bits of molten metal into water and hope some of the blobs are tiny enough?  Assume you've already googled ball bearings for size options.

[gloriousbattle]

blow torch, lead free pewter (a knickknack store, maybe) and some very cold water (wear protective gear!) drop bits of molten metal into water and hope some of the blobs are tiny enough?  Assume you've already googled ball bearings for size options.

   You have more guts than I.  I had a nasty experience with molten metal and water once.

[vikotnik]

Apply gel super glue with a toothpick in the desired amount, shape it a bit(surface tension should take care of most of it), then kick it with an accelerator.
Instant pompoms in less than 5 seconds for each that even stick to the desired surface.