MAKING STANDARDS
THE BPFP WAY

I have been asked so many times how I make my standards and I have said so many times that I would post an artcle on my website, describing how I do it. Well here it is.

Materials and Stuff

Paper,( plain or textured), Scissors, Stanley Knife, Ruler, Pencil, Brass Rod,
Paint Brush Wood Glue and the all important Research Material.
Commercial Flag Top and Flag Tassels (Optional)

Step One: Measure out the the size of the standard you want to make, 
I normally make my standards 40mm X 50mm wide. I then start drawing in the
detail of the standard using a fine tip pencil. This is the most important stage and will determine how your standard will look.

Step Two: I always use Acrylic paint, usually Vallejo or Foundry, start by
laying down the base colour make sure that you paint right over the edges, you
do not need to be that neat as you will be cutting the standard to size later. Lay all
your base colours in at this stage until you have completed the standard.
 

Step Three: Start to lay in your midtones, highlights and fine detail, note the black
edge I have painted that will be snipped at a later stage to create a fringe,
 using your Stanley knife and ruler cut along the edges of your flag. You should
now have your standard which is 40mm X 100mm.

Step Four: You will need to decide if you want Flag Tassels or not, If you don't
then get your brass rod and hammer one end flat then cut at roughly 45 degrees
to create a point then file edges smooth.  If you do want Flag Tassels then attach
them to the the top of the brass rod.

Step Five: Gently fold your standard in half, apply wood glue to the inside then
fold around the brass rod making sure all the edges are aligned. Gently wrap the
standard around the paint brush handle to make an S shape to simulate
wind movement then leave to dry. Once dry then snip the edges to
create a fringe. Remember you have already painted the edge black you can
now drybrush the fringe with gold acrylic paint and apply the final highlights
to the highest folds of your standard then attach to your figure.
Voila you now have a standard.

I thought I would add this photograph of two standards I am currently working on
16/02/06 these are the standards for the Gardes Francais Regiment.

I hope the above artcle "Making Standards the BPFP Way" has been informative
and will serve as a step by step guide to creating your own standards.

Making Standards the BPFP Way by Brian Phillips

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 USING AND ENHANCING COMMERCIAL STANDARDS.