"15mm flags???" Topic

Two quick questions..

What is a good way of making reasonably strong staves for 15mm flags, and attaching them to tiny hands? I need something robust enough to survive wargaming, transport, etc. Freikorps figures don't come with flags at all, and Minifigs staves are so delicate, I can't see them lasting very long.

What is a good way of making the flags themselves? My ImagiNation uses quite a lot of heraldry, so paper is good. India ink, a mapping pen and some felt-tips….but what paper and how to attach?

Thanks!

Use brass rod for flag poles. Readily available in many diameters.
I fold the flag in half then put super glue on the pole then attach the flag to that. Wait for the glue to dry then apply pva to thr rest of the flag and glue the two sides together. Put folds in the flag at the same time. Don't forget to colour in the edges.

What The Goon said. Get brass rods at your local hobby shop. I usually use .032 but you may want smaller – also piano wire.

I get most of my flags from the free Warflag site ( warflag.com ). I also sometimes find a picture of a flag on the web somewhere – I capture it then manipulate it in a paint program to make it work for me. I just print them in color on regular paper on my inkjet printer, cut 'em out, cover the backs with white glue, and wrap around the rod. Then wrap the flag around a paintbrush handle and flex it to get a "blowing in the wind" effect. As Goony said, I then paint the edges of the flag so you don't see any of the paper white sticking out.

For the mini's if they come with a flag staff already in hand, I clip that off then use a 1/32 drill bit (you can also get that at the hobby shop) in a pin vise to drill out a hole in the hand to put the brass rod through. If I accidentally drill off a bit of the hand then once the flagstaff is glued on (I like to use Goop(tm)) I will paint on the missing part of the hand to the flagstaff (since it's 15mm a dab of flesh paint will do it).

I like to make my flags oversized – about 20-25% bigger than they would be in "real life" – it gives more of a spectacle on the tabletop.

What flags are you after?

Just got in some brass rod, 0.8mm. So that's strong enough to be practical, and not ridiculously over-scale at 1:100!

I collect interesting heraldic arms from various sources, and then play on the computer. One of my ImagiNations for instance has regiments with "inhabers" who are named after friends, so I use their arms for colonel's standards. The other has regiments named after their recruitment areas. These are real places, so I use their municipal arms. I'm not sure what the local district councils of Laschkafeld, Darasch, Jahrmein and Weingarten in dem Braunau would make of this if they knew, but my Margravate of Braunau is in a parallel universe, so it doesn't matter. Her Imperial Highness Maria Teresa doesn't seem to mind too much either!