For primer, the best thing to use unfortunately is GW and other high end brands. Regular paint simply does not cut it, it takes away detail and has an uneven finish from my experience with it (and from models purchased from others who have used it). If you are going to bother priming, you might as well do it properly, otherwise just use a pot of black. It's one of those things you just have to do unfortunately, and I don't like the GW paints, but the spray has always done well by me. If someone is using a cheap one, they never say the brand otherwise they would be onto a pot of gold if it didn't obscure detail etc, so I don't believe people who recommend that.
For pinning, im not 100%, id just use paperclip or brass rod. For the banners, I got some brass rod, pretty cheap, very sturdy. I got 1/16 which is 1.57mm, but you should get the size slightly smaller I think. Cost $3 from my hobby shop for 3, 12" rods.
Strip styrene I have seen frequently in plastic packaging and comes in strips as well. I got .040 x .156 (1.0 x 4.0mm) strips. Again, I think I got a slightly big size, still very useable, but maybe get something just under 1.0mm thick. Cost $8 for 10 strips. Not sure where to get big sheets of it from. Get it from hobby shops generally, you won't need more than 1 for a long while.
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