"Soda cans for making waving Banners" Topic

I've made my past banners, out of paper. Recently, I found this on YouTube. The video demonstrates how to cut an aluminum soda can, with scissors, to make wavy banners. He also discusses how to paint them. Me, I plan on printing my own designs on full sheet label paper, applying that to the aluminum can, prior to making the final cuts to shape it.

I use the paper banners to help identify different units of figures which are otherwise the same figures! I use colored plastic tubules, glued to their bases, as well, using the same colors as the Unit Flags/Banners. It really helps differentiate the figures by Units. Note in this example, the figures on the right side, are all Hill Giants (blue and red tubules), but the colored tubules show they are different Units, standing next to one another.

The paper banners/flags work well enough (not every Unit has a flag/banner, hence the tubules on the rear corner of the bases), but I think the aluminum can method will be even better. It will certainly produce more durable, more animated, dynamic flags and banners, than just paper.

I searched TMP archives, but I could not find anything on the use of aluminum cans to make banners. Nearly every banner/flag post I did find, dated from 2008, or earlier. Cheers!

The big thing used to be toothpaste tubes for flags.

TMP link

Previous topic has a little bit on it

Or the foil from wine bottles

Couldn't soda can pieces be really sharp? I have enough trouble with stabby spears without adding slicey standards.

The video claims that by cutting with a scissors, the edges are dull. If you create a sharp point, then, yes, it will be a threat.

I have not tried it, yet. I hope to do so, this weekend. Cheers!

The best system is paper with white glue and water. It dries hard as a rock and it is very easy to shape and paint.
I made this one with printed paper and white glue:

Are we going back to the 70s and 80s? I remember those kinds of "how to's " in the hobby magazines back in the day. Today, however, there are far too many quality paper flags for all scales to even consider this kind of alternative. Not to mention that you can make banners using Photoshop, Illustrator, or other graphics programs.

I am a veteran of the previous soft drink can, toothpaste tube and wine bottle foil era. (Toothpaste tubes used to be metal.) We eventually concluded that paper, paint and white glue drew less blood and was less likely to shed paint, though I knew at least one holdout for two-part epoxy instead of white glue. You can bend the paper into whatever shape you want. The thin metal eventually flexes and loses whatever is stuck to it.

Nothing against commercial printed flags or graphics programs, but I don't suppose I've painted my last banner on very thin cloth either.

I found this on YouTube, for using straight paper flags, how to achieve dynamic curls, etc. I printed my flags on label paper, which limited my ability to curl them, somewhat.

I agree, using regular printer paper in my color laser printer, and PVA Glue, as shown in the video, would allow for pretty dynamic flags, even non-rectangular flags and banners. I will need to give that a try.

I would assume that brushing on PVA Glue/Mod Podge over the dried, curved flag/banners would add additional strength to them, when dry (noting that while wet, they would become more malleable, subject to losing the desired curves).
Thanks for the input, Gentlemen. Cheers!

Yeah – "back in the day" it was toothpaste tubes and tomato puree tubes.

The stabby thing. I have a regiment of Westphalian lancers with sheet metal pennons, and would have been spared much useless effusion of blood were they paper. The paper pennons of the other lancer regiments have treated me much more respectfully--and never required repainting.

Print on paper and white glue, does the trick for me.

I have not tried soda can foil for flags.

Back in late 90s / early 2000s, I made many banners and pennants for my Warhammer Fantasy Bretonnian army using paper and white glue. Every knight lance has a pennant and some are big enough to substitute as standard bearers if needed.

Basically you make the design on printer paper, either printed directly or hand-drawn, let dry, seal with thinned white glue. Cut out, wrap onto the flag pole and attach with white glue (thinned works). Once attached and dried completely it hardens. Trim if needed. Touch up design with paint and darken the edges with thinned paint, black or brown or matching the design. To shape, wet the dry flag with thinned white glue to soften, wrap around a paintbrush handle to represent fluttering, let harden. Repeat until it looks perfect.

These were well received by my opponents and my own biggest criticism is they were too oversized to be realistic, but then again, it's a fantasy army. And maybe you can have more self control.

The other big issue is they catch on everything and sometimes tear. You can repair with white glue or super glue depending on the situation. You can touch up with marker instead of paint but beware super glue makes that run.

For the long term … Nowadays in the 2020s I am revisiting some of those models, making repairs, improving their storage system for better protection. Many (about a quarter?) of these paper pennants have started coming apart. I have opted to replace with 2-part epoxy flags ("green stuff" or Kneadatite). These look well enough and will be more durable.

It takes several sessions to get the putty flags going. You mix a blob of putty, and keeping your tools really wet, press it flat – I use wax paper or plastic but the putty HAS TO BE VERFY WET. Smooth, press/cut 2 or 3 flags or pennants from it, let harden. Once hard, use more putty to attach around the pole and let that harden. Then paint. I make sure to make enough at a time to have some left over and so ready for my next batch of knights.

Thinking back to back when, modelers used something called tooling foil as raw material for flags. I think that's this stuff: link

It's normally used for metal embossing – I vaguely remember an 8th grade summer school craft class where we did metal embossing with copper foil then darkened it with acid and buffed it and framed it.