Handy Cloth Flag Resource I just recently discovered

[Laura Beinbrech]

[pid][/pid]Libraries

Updated links to new sites that currently sell the Becc Flags & ship internationally

Well, some of you might know about my Neo-Confederate Battle Cruiser that I've been working on (using the black hull pieces from the Black Pearl set), and I was trawling the internet for a good online shop for suitable cloth or plastic confederate flags (I'm using the first national flag or "stars and bars" as the national ensign and the battle flag or "rebel flag" as the naval ensign).

Update:  Since the original Becc dealer, Modelflags has retired, and I'm finally getting back into LEGO stuff after a rough 2 and a half years since I was last active, I decided to do some digging & found two other sites that sell these flags & decals & will ship internationally:

Cornwall Model Boats (Direct link to the section with all the flags)
Always Hobbies (Direct link to the section with the flags)

Sorry it took me so long to update this info.

I thought I'd share this with you all, since it could be a handy resource for Pirate MOCs....

Edited August 29, 2018 by Laura Takayama
Found new sellers to replace the defunct one

[Big Cam]

Good find, I can definitely see some ship builders or even MOCers who might utilize this site.

[Laura Beinbrech]

Good find, I can definitely see some ship builders or even MOCers who might utilize this site.

Thaks! BTW, I just found out that the flags aren't treated for anti-fraying, so you have to do that yourself (they have a tutorial on the site)... I was just planning on more, or less soaking them in Model Airplane Dope (basically a thin glue/varnish), which would give them a similar finish/feel to the official LEGO flags. They also have hull decals (vinyl, IIRC) and signal flags as well.

[Big Cam]

Since this may not get a lot of attention right now, I'll add this to the index so when someone is looking to build a ship later, it can be found.

This has been added to the master index under Libraries.

[Hiawatha]

Thanks for sharing, it sounds like a very useful website and I hope you find what you are looking for your upcoming project.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Hiawatha

[Laura Beinbrech]

Thanks for indexing it, Big Cam! I just hope someone will find it useful....

Thanks for sharing, it sounds like a very useful website and I hope you find what you are looking for your upcoming project.

Well, my first order from them is on its way... Expect a proper review when I get it. ;)

[Big Cam]

Thanks for indexing it, Big Cam! I just hope someone will find it useful....

Well, my first order from them is on its way... Expect a proper review when I get it. ;)

When you get them, be sure to do at least a mini review in this thread since it's on the index.

[Laura Beinbrech]

Ok, my flags finally got here (actually they got here Wednesday afternoon, but I didn't have the time or materials to finish them out and post a review until tonight), and so on with the promised mini-review:

The flags arrived here from the UK after only 6 days, which is impressive, considering how long PAB orders usually take to get here (i.e. about 3-4 weeks). The flags arrived inside their own individual, cardboard-backed zip-lock bags and were in excellent shape.

BECC Flag Review by Hikaro Takayama, on Flickr

As you can see from the pic, they are a "some assembly required" proposition... First you need to seal the edges of the flag, either by using model glue, as shown in the video below:

...or using some kind of anti-fray treatment, like the Fray Check (shown in the photo above) that I used, then trim off the excess material... When I fray-checked the flags, they felt almost identical to official LEGO cloth products and had the same aroma, meaning that LEGO possibly uses this anti-fray treatment on its stuff...

In addition, I found that the cloth was of a thickness that allowed me to use Brick Arms U-Clips or Monopods (also pictured) to fasten the flag to a LEGO flagpole, without being loose or putting undue stress on the Monopods. The pictured flags are their size "B" and "C", which are 25mm and 38mm, respectively, and how they stack up compared to official LEGO flags in size... For my massive ship project, I should have ordered the "Stars and Bars" flag in the 38mm size and the Confederate Battle Flag in the 50mm or 75mm size (D and E), and they also have flags up to 150mm in length.

All in all, I was very impressed with the quality of these flags, both material and printing and wouldn't hesitate to order more flags from this outfit.

Oh, and in addition to flags they have vinyl decal sheets (i.e. the same exact type as the official LEGO DSS decals) for applying to ship hulls and/or aircraft and vehicles.

I hope this review and resource proves helpful.

Edited December 10, 2011 by Hikaro Takayama

[Hiawatha]

Thanks for the review! I can't wait to see these flags on your Confederate ship!

[Laura Beinbrech]

I'm just giving this post a quick bump to let everyone know that, after being run through the wringer by life for the past couple of years, I'm back, and since I'm in the market for flags again, I did some searching for alternative sellers of Becc Model Flags to replace the defunct one I used to buy from.  I found two that explicitly stated that they ship internationally, and I updated the first post with links to both sites (so hopefully if one goes out of commission for some reason, there's a backup this time), and I apologize for not looking into updating this topic sooner.

[Roadmonkeytj]

Thanks for the update ... Welcome back!