How to create parchment strips/extra long purity seals?

[Halandaar]

Sorry, I had trouble giving these things a name. Basically, I want to try and create some long strips of parchment, similar to those on these models;

But I haven't really got the first idea how to go about it. Ideally, I need a material that is both firm enough to look like a single continous strip, rather than a blob, but also be pliable enough to wrap around arms/weapons, drape over pauldrons and so forth. Does anybody have any suggestions?

[Major_Gilbear]

Thick foil, such as that from tubes of garlic or tomato purée is an old staple, and normally pretty good for this sort of thing. You can also get small sheets or flat strips of thin brass, which would also be very effective and durable is suitably trimmed and bent.

 

Alternatively, you could try some thinnish plasticard and gently heat it with a heat gun to warp it (be careful not to melt it though - less is more). The nice thing about the plasticrad option is that you can still use plastic glue afterwards.

 

Other options like thick paper that's then saturated with extra-thin superglue are possible, but I don't find them to be as durable (or to paint quite as well).

[Arkhanist]

This is a great job for brown stuff, aka aluminium epoxy putty - it's often what sculptors use when doing that sort of thing on a master, along with banners, weapons and concrete. It's the same idea as green stuff, i.e. a two part putty that you mix before use, but it's a bit harder to work and it dries far harder and stiffer and doesn't change shape when drying like green stuff, so is perfect for smooth surfaces and hard edges. 

 

It's also much tougher than green stuff when dry, so works well for more vulnerable pieces, such as paper ribbons, though it can still be a bit brittle with only a small model contact area - you'll note the ribbons in your examples have quite a large area touching the model and often brace against each other.

 

Just make sure you mix it really well, the brown dye makes it look more mixed than it really is, so keep mixing it for a little bit even after it's a uniform colour. If you find it too stiff for an organic shape when mixed, you can mix it 50/50 with fresh mixed green stuff (i.e. mix both types separately with their own hardener, then mix the two blobs together) which will make it more malleable when sculpting and less brittle, but retain the clean finish of pure brown stuff.

 

Greenstuffworld do some, as does P3 with their Brown/Aluminum Epoxy Putty.

[Kierdale]

Long long ago I made some with GS. I’m sure I could have made them thinner, but for what it’s worth, here’s a pic:

Ignore the horrible model. It was a very early one :D