How to Make Banners?

[vonplutz]

Having just ordered a bunch of the Perry WOTR miniatures to paint up as Pisan mercenaries I was wondering if anyone knows how to make your own banners? What material? What glue? Banners like the these. http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=20045.0

[Captain Blood]

I used tomato puree tube foil, cut open and smoothed out with the back of a spoon. Then cut to shape, rolled around a length of stiff piano wire to create the sleeve that will slide down over the flagstaff, to which the handpainted finished item is attached with a dab of superglue.
You need to undercoat the foil (naked side and painted side) with enamel paint or spray before you can paint onto it with acrylics...
Hope helpful 

[JollyBob]

Or if your design isn't too complicated, you can do them in Word or Publisher on your PC, print them out on regular paper, paint them, cut them out, then fold them in half and stick them to the pole with PVA (white glue).

Examples of my own:







You'd be surprised what you can cobble together with a bit of cut&paste and some trial and error. If things don't entirely match up you can easily rectify them at the painting stage.

Of course, I had to be told how to do this as well, so all thanks to Anevilgiraffe for his advice. 

[Johnnytodd]

I used same tomato puree foil but split wooden dowel then inserted painted metal flag:

[vonplutz]

Neat ideas. For those un-educated what is tomato puree tube foil? 

[zizi666]

Another medium you can use is the lead foil found on wine bottles (although nowadays you see more and more plastic wraps)

[Wirelizard]

I use greenstuff to make flags and banners, it works surprisingly well.

Mix up your greenstuff, press it out into a flat sheet, smooth the fingerprints out of it, then carefully cut the edges straight with a knife. Roll one end around a length of wire for a flagstaff, then put the flagstaff vertical (pushing it into a scrap of styrofoam works nicely). Then you can carefully work some folds and drapes into the flag and leave it to dry.

The resulting flag is about the same thickness as lead foil, and slightly flexible but very resilient. You can actually flatten it out slightly to make painting easier and it will spring back into shape.

Here's one of my brother's photos of my White Russian banner.

Whites hurry to the wall by burgundavia, on Flickr

I'm away from home this week, but next week when I'm home I'll be doing another round of greenstuff flags and I'll get some work-in-progress photos taken, and some better closeups of the existing flags.

[AzSteven]

The 'Cake or Death' halfling bannerman pleases me greatly - excellent idea!

[Captain Blood]

Neat ideas. For those un-educated what is tomato puree tube foil? 

 

Don't know where in the world you are, so maybe it's a peculiarly British thing, but our tomato puree here comes in tubes ( like old fashioned toothpaste) made of a thick gold foil, which is ideal for making flags. I have to eat a great deal of spaghetti Bolognese to free up enough tubes! 

There are probably lots of other foodstuffs and substances which come in similar thick foil tubes. The good thing about it as a medium is that you can bend it into whatever shape you want, and it will hold that shape, even in thin streamers. If you're going to handpaint your flags, it also provides a perfectly smooth and rigid surface for painting on. You can even bend it a bit more once you've painted it, and the paint doesn't seem to flake off - miraculous! 

[Plynkes]

The reason we always say tomato purée tubes is that in the UK at least, they seem to be the only tubes of this type still made of metal. In the 80s I used toothpaste tubes, but they are all plastic here nowadays. The plastic doesn't behave the same way as metal foil, and is thus useless in banner-making.




Edit: I believe some types of glue are still sold in metal foil tubes. I have a tube of UHU on my modelling bench that is.

[vonplutz]

Ah I know the tubes you mean. Sadly not a whole lot is sold in those here in Canada. I know Ikea used to carry shrimp bread spread in them but I doubt they still do since I can't see it selling well to the suburban Canadian population. I think some toothpaste tubes may still be though.

[6milPhil]

I used to use puree tubes but now use paper, which I dope with liquid superglue.

[zemjw]

You can get sheets of metal foil for crafts - search for ArtEmboss from AMACO (American Art Clay Co.) and see what turns up (Amazon, Art Cellar to name but two).

It's not cheap, but there is a lot (the aluminium one I have is a 9.25" x 12" sheet - 237.5mm x 305mm), and you don't need to wash it to get rid of the tomato smell first 

[Red Orc]

Garlic puree is also sold in the UK in those same tubes. Sometimes the word 'puree' has an accute accent on the first 'e'. Not here though, I have no idea how to do accents on LAF.

Or as has been suggested wine bottles have a similar foil. I have been saving mine every time we have a metal-foiled bottle, I probably have more than I can ever use for banners.

Not only are they relatively cheap, you get a free bottle of wine! They are small though. But you get a free bottle of wine!

[Plynkes]

Copy and paste from here, if you like...

tomato purée

 


Alternatively, 'e' acute is Alt+0233 on a British Windows PC (though you have to punch the numbers on the numeric keypad, not the ones above the letters). Might be the same on other PCs, couldn't tell you. I can't remember whether you are a Brit or not Red Orc, sorry.