"What to do on flags?" Topic

I've now got about 40 Bns of great figs based, all Perry plastics.

What do I do about the flags?

Assuming I've got them in hand, do I go with using the plastic poles or cut them off, drill and use wire? I really don't want to screw it up and have never put flags on plastic figs.

Help?

I used a couple of the plastic flag poles as they came on the plastic models but my general paranoia about breaking plastic figures has got the better of me and I am now cutting them off and drilling and fitting metal poles.

My concern exactly.

The plastics come with nice Eagles and such at the tops. Do you fix these to the top of the wire?

With great patience, I have cut Eagles off the tips of flagpoles. filed the bottoms smooth, made a starter hole with a pin, and gradually drilled out the Eagle, with bits of ever increasing size, and made the hole large enough to take brass rod.
I also drilled out the hands.
And I did this with metal 15mm figures.
Plastic 28mm should be a piece of cake!

John, your a madman. (ah I'd probably do the same thing just because I could).

Are they not part of the figure? If they aren't then it seems a pretty easy decision to use wire. You can buy separate eagles from Front Rank or Steve Barber.

If they are I would probably replace them still, but less certain. Don't have enough experience with plastic to know how durable such things are in plastic.

John, I too to this with brass wire to 15mm Old Glory. Drilling out the Eagle and fitting on the flagpole is very tedious work.

I have done that for 5 standard bearers now. 'Very' delicate work my friend, glad I am not the only nutter out here.

I did what John the OFM did. A few seconds with a dremmel and a really small bit. I use a pair of jewellers pliers to hold the eagle for drilling.

Depending on the period you are doing, you might not have an Eagle per battalion. Seems to recall by 1812 you had an Eagle per regiment and other battalions than the first carried colored flags called "porte fanions." I think the colors were blue, red, green and yellow. Not my era any longer, a little help here?

Ha Duke
I have replaced all my plastic flag poles with wire and have either reused the plastic eagles or bought the from Steve barber (through Triangle Miniatures).I am also doing this with the Victrix Austrians I am working on and using spear hear finals. It is not that hard to do and you can make the flag poles just a bit taller to make them stand out.

Runicus

There are so many extra arms in the Victrix French sets that I am using high port and low port arms for my Brtish sergeants – just add epoxy steel to the currs. Using brass wire to do the pikes. I see that Brigade Games sells 50mm long spears, but have not seen them. Seem like good raw material for flag staffs and kurz gewehrs (half-pikes). One could twist thin elecrtical wire around the saff near the spear head to replicate the half-pike.

GdeP

If your using paper flags on wire replacements just cut the wire replacements a bit shorter, then cut the eagle off leaving some of the pole left on it ( say 10mm)so the total length of the two is the right length for the flag pole.

When you fold the flag around the wire pole before you close the sides of flag up to the wire pop the eagle into the fold then close up ( I add a little extra glue to the pole bit left on the eagle) and there you go.

Once you have varnished etc the whole thing is a tough as you can want.

You need the majority of the flag to be around the wire as this makes a natural 'tube' and keeps things straight. Takes no real effort once you've done it once its a doddle, specially in 28mm scale.
L