Austrian Napoleonic flag pole help

[Jaybo]

Hello all,
Does anyone have any tips or tricks in painting the slanted 'barbershop' flag poles of the Napoleonic era (black/yellow/red/white stripes)? The scale is 54 mm so 4 slanted pieces of detailing tape has not been successful so far. Your thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Nap]

Hi Jaybo

I would suggest you paint the pole in one colour , lets it fully dry then mask out every other one , paint the other in the 2nd colour ...take off tape carefully ......that's for a double for a 3 colour same again

Personally in scale painting might be possible with a good brush and less fiddly

Just my thoughts
Googled and found this

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=252472

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[Jaybo]

Hi Jaybo

I would suggest you paint the pole in one colour , lets it fully dry then mask out every other one , paint the other in the 2nd colour ...take off tape carefully ......that's for a double for a 3 colour same again

Personally in scale painting might be possible with a good brush and less fiddly

Just my thoughts
Googled and found this

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=252472

Happy benchtime

Nap

Thanks Nap. The problem with masking off is I have not been successful in masking off 4 1 mm stripes. I have managed to do 2 3 mm spirals which leaves the problem of how to do the other 2 colors. The link you shared indicates that I am not the only one to struggle with this problem.

 

[Nap]

Thanks Nap. The problem with masking off is I have not been successful in masking off 4 1 mm stripes. I have managed to do 2 3 mm spirals which leaves the problem of how to do the other 2 colors. The link you shared indicates that I am not the only one to struggle with this problem.

Sorry couldn't be more helpful .......that's a very small area to do ...perhaps mask one off and gradually work down ?

Happy painting

Nap

 

[NeilW]

One method I read about is to forget trying to paint a spiral, but rather to just do diagonal stripes on ONE SIDE, then when dry do the same on the other to join them up. I think the idea is to reduce the problem to just two rather than three dimensions.

Otherwise you could cut strips of solid colour decal sheets and spiral them down.

I've also heard of rotating the shaft and slowly moving the brush down, but that sounds like a near impossible feat of timing and precision.

 

[Richard Baxter]

What you need is a brush with 4 small parallel heads, so that you can paint all 4 colours simultaneously. You will also need to contrive a means for rotating the flagstaff while you do this, and have endless patience, a liberal supply of alcohol and the phone number of a psychiatrist.

Joking aside, I know that Dave the Brushman produces one with two parallel heads for painting parallel lines on railway livery, perhaps he could manufacture something for you. Contact him on [email protected]. He's very helpful and knowledgeable. He's based in the UK but am sure he'd be happy to export to the USA.

 

[Jaybo]

What you need is a brush with 4 small parallel heads, so that you can paint all 4 colours simultaneously. You will also need to contrive a means for rotating the flagstaff while you do this, and have endless patience, a liberal supply of alcohol and the phone number of a psychiatrist.

Joking aside, I know that Dave the Brushman produces one with two parallel heads for painting parallel lines on railway livery, perhaps he could manufacture something for you. Contact him on [email protected]. He's very helpful and knowledgeable. He's based in the UK but am sure he'd be happy to export to the USA.

Now that is funny!

 

[Jaybo]

What you need is a brush with 4 small parallel heads, so that you can paint all 4 colours simultaneously. You will also need to contrive a means for rotating the flagstaff while you do this, and have endless patience, a liberal supply of alcohol and the phone number of a psychiatrist.

Joking aside, I know that Dave the Brushman produces one with two parallel heads for painting parallel lines on railway livery, perhaps he could manufacture something for you. Contact him on [email protected]. He's very helpful and knowledgeable. He's based in the UK but am sure he'd be happy to export to the USA.

One more thing Richard, I don't think that your 'multiple brush ' solution will work since it must be done slanted or 'barber pole' fashion. I think I will try something different........

 

[NeilW]

Seeing the link to the thread about German helmet decals, I see that Pronto do decal sheets in various colours and widths... though it may be an expe3nsive solution for just an odd figure

http://www.tauromodel.it/ElencoOggetti.aspx?Genere=4&CodFam=Deca

 

[Jaybo]

Seeing the link to the thread about German helmet decals, I see that Pronto do decal sheets in various colours and widths... though it may be an expe3nsive solution for just an odd figure

http://www.tauromodel.it/ElencoOggetti.aspx?Genere=4&CodFam=Deca

Thank you Neil.That looks like a possibility.

 

[Jaybo]

Still no luck using modelling tape. This is so frustrating and in theory, solvable. Not so far.

 

[NeilW]

Still no luck using modelling tape. This is so frustrating and in theory, solvable. Not so far.

Did you try this method: forget trying to paint a spiral, but rather to just do diagonal stripes on ONE SIDE, then when dry do the same on the other to join them up. I think the idea is to reduce the problem to just two rather than three dimensions.

Otherwise, ever thought of taking up other nations?

France had simple blue staves and GB crimson.

Otherwise some simple colour schemes:

PRUSSIA............................................RUSSIA

... and (amongst some others such as Sweden, Switzerland and Westphalia) best avoid:

ITALY.......................................................NASSAU

 

[Jaybo]

Did you try this method: forget trying to paint a spiral, but rather to just do diagonal stripes on ONE SIDE, then when dry do the same on the other to join them up. I think the idea is to reduce the problem to just two rather than three dimensions.

Otherwise, ever thought of taking up other nations?

France had simple blue staves and GB crimson.

Otherwise some simple colour schemes:
View attachment 373981 View attachment 373982
PRUSSIA RUSSIA

... and (amongst some others such as Sweden, Switzerland and Westphalia) best avoid:
View attachment 373983 View attachment 373984
ITALY NASSAU

Thanks Neil but I want to replicate it authentically if I can. After experimenting I think that I may be on to a solution. More later.

 

[NeilW]

I want to replicate it authentically if I can.

Yes, I think the idea is to paint half of each spiral at a time, not just diagonal lines .

It may be best to do the white base, then the yellow (over-width if necessary) to get the spiral right, then use that as a guide for the red/black on either side?

Worth a go on a spare bit of rod/cocktail stick or whatever?

May also be worth experimenting with permanent marker/pens as the line width is under control?

BoL, Neil

 

[Jaybo]

Thanks Neil. That is precisely how I have approached. I just ordered some Molotov acrylic paint pens in 1.5 & 2.0 mm for better control. I sprayed the staff white than I sealed it with Dullcoate. Next I used Tamiya 3 mm tape and spiraled it down the staff leaving a 3-4 mm gap. Then I painted the yellow on, let it dry overnight. Voila! It worked. Now I have a guide to use when the red & black pens arrive. I will keep you posted.

 

[NeilW]

Great... will await the results with crossed fingers and bated breath

 

[Richard Baxter]

If you have Danilo Cartacci's book "Painting Figures", it contains a pic of a French hussar carrying a captured Austrian flag. The staff has the colour scheme which you are proposing. Looking at the pics carefully, I am guessing that he has done this by the masking method, as the lines look pretty straight and clean at a distance, but the closer view reveals tiny irregularities where the paint might have bled a bit under the tape. Danilo describes how he painted the flag itself in the book, but says nothing about how he did the staff, so more guesswork. Just out of curiosity, how long is the length of staff that you need to paint? Subject to scale, it can't be more than a few centimetres long, which only adds to the challenge of trying to use masking.

I think that I would be tempted to try and do it freehand over a painted white base colour. Maybe mask to lay in the black stripe and then add the yellow and red either side of this freehand.

I wonder if Ivo Preda could offer any guidance on this? Might be worth asking him.

 

[Jaybo]

I indeed do have DC's excellent book and consulted it. As for Ivo, I also contacted him and he recommended painting it carefully & patiently!

 

[Paul20100]

I have painted a Revolution era cavalry standard recently and the pole was blue-white-red. I put a 1mm stripe of Tamiya masking tape on the primed pole, leaving another 2mm width for the blue and red colours being next to each other, which were quite easy to paint. I finally painted the white stripe after removing the masking tape. Ivo is right, be patient. It is much less difficult than I was expecting.

 

[DaddyO]

Just a thought and I'm sure painting will look nicer, but what about printing a transfer (decal) to apply?

I've got absolutely no experience of doing this, but there are plenty of aircraft and tank guys who do it regularly for a one off marking.

Good luck with whichever method you use
Cheers
Paul