Hi, Steve, I use aluminum foil to make flags, laminating several sheets with CA glue, then priming and painting. But I work in a slightly different style from the rest of the community. Here are some samples from my collection of the Prussian army of the Seven Years' War, in 54mm:
A
Hauptmann of the Regiment "Itzenplitz" (IR 13) (Stadden):
A
Faehnrich of the Regiment "Kleist" (IR 9) (Puchala conversion):
And a
Faehnrich of the Regiment "Prinz von Preussen" (IR 18) (Also Puchala):
As you can see, I like the glossy style of the traditional toy soldier, though I do strive for as much detail as I can. But I hit on using foil to make flags years ago, they're lighter than lead or tin sheet; more substantial than paper, which I never really considered; and compared to the cast flags included with some figures, a couple of pieces of foil laminated have more of an accurate thickness, in scale.
I also use foil candy wrappers. The foil used to wrap the smaller Reese's peanut butter cups and Hershey's Kisses, when folded in quarters, is a pretty good match for the dimensions of the Prussians' infantry flags.
Hope that helps, and good luck with whatever you decide, prosit!
Brad