Hi fellow members,
I'm creating this new topic thread for anyone to discuss the techniques covered in:
http://www.roundtable-bretonnia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=561&Itemid=1

I'd also welcome any feedback or comments.

Sir Guy

Great article!

I just linked this discussion topic with the content article (You'll see when opening the article). Everyone can do that by using the little "Discussion" button in the Editor and choosing the right forum category when editing articles.

Guillaume,

Thanks for the feedback / comment.

Doh! I was wondering how folks managed to link discussions to their articles.
You're a star!
Many thanks.

Sir Guy

This article is worth reading and contains many information.
For my part I always wondered how you could effectively remove those shields on the horses' harnesses.
Now I know.

I am sure you put a lot of effort into this on and it was worth it.
Good one.

Excellent article Sir Guy!

As a quick technical question, do you have any trouble making paint adhere to the foil banners, or is it just a case of priming well? An alternative I have used is old roller-blind fabric, which has a nice tapestry texture to it.

Sir Agravaine.

Many thanks for your feedback.
Much appreciated.

Yes, a technique I use, which I forgot to include in the article , is to give the surface of the lead / aluminium foil a light rub over with either the fine grade Wet & Dry paper or fine grade Wire Wool, so that it lightly scores the surface of the foil and provides a 'key' for the paint to adhere to better.
That's also why I suggest bending the foil into shape before painting it and also to seal it with either gloss or matt varnish after, to help seal and protect the paint from any chance of flaking off due to general wear and tear.

I've not thought of using old roller-blind fabric as an alternative material.
Doesn't it appear a bit too thick, scale-wise, though for a banner / standard?
Also, what do you use to help stiffen the fabric so that it holds some sort of appearnace of fluttering / movement, PVA glue or is the paint sufficient once it's dried?

Sir Guy

many thanks for your feedback, Lamorte.

Sir Guy

A great article Sir Guy! I'm currently in the process of adding 6th Edition figures to my army(my existing ones are all 5th or older as well ) so this has been immensely useful in helping maintain the existing aesthetic style of the older models!

A quick question; what are the virtues of a foil banner over a simple paper or card one? Is foil easier to work with, does it produce better results etc.?

Doesn't it appear a bit too thick, scale-wise, though for a banner / standard?
Also, what do you use to help stiffen the fabric so that it holds some sort of appearnace of fluttering / movement, PVA glue or is the paint sufficient once it's dried?

They do tend to look more like an old, heavy, embroidered tapestry banner from the saxon/norman period than a fluttery banners from medieval time. I got rid of all my old banner when I stripped the paint from my old 5th edition minis to re-use them recently, so I don't have any pics.

Provided you stiffen the places where the banner meets the pole with PVA/superglue, the banner is quite stiff, just curl it round the blades of some scissors (primary school style!) to make it curved. The banner then holds its shape, but is still flexible which makes ranking up really easy!

I really don't know about these new fangled plastic banners GW has made now, they look nice on some kits, but the bret ones just look a little gigantic and fat. I've never really gone to town painting one so I shall reserve my final opinion till then.

Cheers!

Thibault,

Thanks for your feedback.
Pleased to know that the article is proving useful to you.

The use of lead or aluminium foil is a personal preference based on the fact that I wanted a surface to which I can apply water slide decals, rather than draw and paint designs onto paper.
Also, foil is harder wearing and more robust than paper and it can be shaped and cut easily, while still being as thin as, say, 80gsm paper.

Sir Guy

Sir Agravaine.

Hmmm, not too sure that a heavy tapestry style banner appeals, but wouldn't mind seeing a picture of one of yours to get a better idea of how they look.

I really don't know about these new fangled plastic banners GW has made now, they look nice on some kits, but the bret ones just look a little gigantic and fat.
Well, the idea behind them is fine, but they just look so clunky, which of course is no fault of the actual design itself.
It's just impossible to produce a plastic banner in the manufacturing process that could be as thin as, say, a paper or foil one, without the plastic being highly fragile.
It's kind of naff, I know even suggesting it, but I think GW would have been better off including good quality paper banners in the kit rather than the plastic ones.
Just a thought...

Sir Guy

Great article - you were very clear in the steps required to convert everything which I found to be immensely helpful. Thanks for sharing it with us.

The Blind Guardian,
Many thanks for your kind comments and feedback.
I'm pleased that you found the article helpful and hope that you can use some, if not all, the techniques described.
Hopefully, I'll be posting some more articles about model-making techniques in future.
In the meantime, you may be interested in the following article http://www.roundtable-bretonnia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=579&Itemid=1
However, I have a feeling that my using the word Notes in its title may be creating the wrong idea about the article's content and style.
I'd be really grateful if, perhaps, you could let me know what you think.
Thanks.

Sir Guy