Dear Brent,

Thanks for responding to my poll! Actually, the problem is not necessarily producing the image, thouhg that might be a bit tenuous if I opted for silk or some other fabric, as your technique sounds superior to anything I had in mind for image prodcution. The heart of my debacle is identifying the most ideal medium with which to use a flag As the prior positing indicates, I am skeptical that a decal would ever look like a flag. However, there are also problems with any fabric or paper substance that I know of.
As it so happens, I may have found the clue, however. WHne I determined that the suggestion, provided in an article, of using fibre-glass screen to replicate the grating surface on the tower's deck was neither cost-efficient nor terribly impressive in its result, I wandered into a fabric store while the oil was being changed on my car. There, I happened to procure a mesh-lace ribbon that fit the bill exactly. Now that I have cemented it to portions of the tower-deck, I can say I most impressed with the result. In any event, while talking with the lady, I told her about my questions regarding the ensign problem. She said that silk does in fact "take" ink or paint very well. Moreover, some of the silk ribbon material is fortified with a wiry fibre that prevents it from drooping down, as it allows for a wrinkling effect, similiar to that of a war ensign rippling in the Atlantic winds....
As my last posting indicated, I am interested in an *historically accurate* DKM naval ensign for the VII-B building project I am undertaking. The decal provided suffers from the curious omission of the swastika, thanks to anti-nazi laws that fail to convince contemprary xenophobes, yet prevent apolitical parties from replicating historical phenomena as it actually occured. My soap-box aside, the kit also provides a paper sheet, with the same historical innacuracy. I suppose one could easily hand-paint this emblem in, but I am perhaps more skeptical of paper's look than I am of a decal. If you think you could apply your technique to a fabric like silk, that would perhaps be the best way.
As a final note, I will add that the size of the ensign for a 1:125 model does dissuade me from any attempt to hand-paint the approprixmately sized fabric, though I might take that delicate chore upon myself if, in fact, the 3/4 inch dimension is more suitable. Yet, as my last posting also indicates, I am nsure whether 1/4 or 3/4 of an inch is correct, or if both dimensions are correct due to varient sizes of the ensigns used. If it is 3/4, I may pay the ten bucks to order the 3/4'' ensign from England. But right now, the first component of my inquiry is to determine which medium--silk, paper, or decal--will yield the most realistic results. Once I establish that, I will then determine how to use that medium most effectively. In all events, I thank you for your kind response. I think this issue, the imperfections of the market kits notwithstanding, may be one of the most formidable issues confronting serious modelers.

Warm Regards

Einsamer Wolf