3 am tail thoughts

[MerMaisy]

Ok so I've been thinking. Would it be possible to make a mold so you could have a tail(minus the fluke) in one piece? Like if you took a duct tape dummy, then made a mold of that and carved the scale design into it, then poured the silicone into the mold with the dummy inside. So it would be like a giant mold, but there wouldn't be any seaming. I'm not sure if that makes sense how I described it. I don't make tails, but I was just wondering if that would even work. Anyways if anyone wants to ban me from posting in the middle of the night, go ahead. [emoji13]

[Princess Pearl]

There's no such thing as the middle of the night on a forum with people from all over the world.

I know that using duct tape stops silicone from curing, but other than that I don't know.


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[Mermaid Jaffa]

You mean like a mold that's already have the two halves together? With a solid "body" inside it, and then you pour it, and when dry you peel the tail off the body?

[Dancing Fish]

The fellow who made the gorgeous tails in Thailand, I think his handle is latexman...I'm pretty sure that's how he did it, all in one piece molded over neoprene, after making an extremely realistic 3D clay sculpt. Somewhere on here someone posted YouTube videos of the making of his uber-realistic koi tails.

[MerMaisy]

Interesting. And yeah I think that's what I mean. I don't know how to describe it exactly.

[Mermaid Bailey]

I've been wondering about the exact same method for a while now

[Ashe]

Here is a thread on his silicone tails (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?8062-Moo-s-Mermaids-finally-here). I totally think its possible, but I think it would be a lot of work. Find some clips from the show FaceOff and watch how they make their head pieces and masks. They use the same technique I believe you're describing.

[MerMaisy]

Thanks. Hm maybe I'll try it when I make my silicone tail in the future. Idk. I'll to do more research.

[Merman Lir]

This is tough, you'd need a mold and a dummy to put inside it. without the dummy inside you'd just get a solid person sizes tail shape (no place to put your legs and feet inside). the difficulty with molding that way is you'd need the positive (dummy) to be suspended in the exact center of the negative mold so there's an even amount of space all the way around it so the silicone would have a consistent thickness. otherwise you'd have thin spots where the dummy touched the outer mold. it can be done (they do it in manufacturing all the time for smaller projects) but the set up would be difficult for an independent tailmaker.

[Keiris]

Doesn't MVD from Fliptails use a similar process? I thought that I read he got rid of his side seams 2 or 3 years back.

[Merman Lir]

Doesn't MVD from Fliptails use a similar process? I thought that I read he got rid of his side seams 2 or 3 years back.

no idea, but that would be cool. I don't mean to be discouraging, it's definitely possible! ... just difficult.

might be more doable to make a tail with a center back seam rather than two side seams if your scale board were wide enough.

[MerMaisy]

I was just curious if it was possible. I kind of get it, but I feel like it would use a lot more material and be more expensive.

[Theobromine]

I think this is what you'd call an injection mold, and yes you can make a tail all in one piece this way, but it requires a much more complicated and involved sculpting and molding process. This is generally how professional spfx artists do it for movies and TV, though it would be possible to do at home if you know what you're doing. As stated above, latexmans made some gorgeous tails this way and there's a really nice youtube video of it:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMVEYS7Gc-4

For anyone looking to make a tail this way, I'd suggest familiarizing yourself with molding and casting processes on a smaller scale (har) before undertaking a project of this size, and do plenty of research on other spfx sites as well. Another thing to keep in mind is that all of these tails were individually tailored to fit specific actresses; molds were made of their legs and lower torsos, then each tail sculpt was made over that leg cast. So there is an inner and an outer mold, and the outer molds need to be made in at least two pieces to be removable later, which means you need to know how to make a rigid mold with seams. FaceOff is indeed a good example because they use these techniques a lot for their prosthetic makeups.

[MerMaisy]

I agree the tails are lovely. Are they realistic enough to be worth the extra materials and process? If it's not that much of a difference, then individual scales would be easier and I'll probably end up doing that

[PearlieMae]

You have to be a master sculptor with access to thousands of dollars worth of materials to make tails like Latexman.

Individual scales are at least as labor intensive, but you do get a seamless tail when you're done.

[Yulia]

Mertailor has made two tails like that too.

[PearlieMae]

Mertailor has made two tails like that too.

And he won't be able to make any more because Matt was the one who sculpted them.

[Yulia]

And he won't be able to make any more because Matt was the one who sculpted them.
Poor poor Mertailor.

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131016021556/degrassi/images/7/77/Baby-crying.gif