first tail, suggestions please!!??

[~Mermaid Amanda~]

I have been dying to become a mermaid since I could talk! Lol these last couple of years, I have been trying so hard to research tails and fins. I have seen mertailor and the bad reviews that go along with his tails... The tails are pretty in the pictures but I can't seem to find any videos of the fabric tails in use... Also the finis Aquarius monofin that goes in his tails look small.

I have seen finfun tails and although their reviews are excellent, I do NOT like the fact that the bottom of the tail is open, where the monofin goes in and out; it just doesn't look natural to me..

I have specific wants when it comes to my first tail, it has to be perfect!

Since I am a beginner, I probably should start out with a fabric tail. I have seen some that are half latex and fabric- how would this affect me? Help me mermaids :-)

I would like for the bottom of my tail to be closed and natural looking, not open like finfun (maybe I could alter the bottom?)

Also I love flukes that are firm but floppy at the same time. Like when I'm on land and my tail is up behind me, I would like for the fluke to sort of roll forward like a real fish, not stick strait up lol

Where can I find a good affordable mertail with all my desires for my first tail? What do all you mermaids recommend? Where did you get your first tails?

Oh, I have attempted to make a tail and that is a no go lol I am not crafty in the fabric area, the tail ended up fitting my 8 yr old, and I abandoned the project hoping I would find the perfect tail for me. Fingers crossed.

Maybe I could even find someone here to make a tail for me that fits all my merneeds lol

Sorry so long, but I am serious about finally being a mermaid! And all the help and advice is greatly appreciated! :-)

[~Mermaid Amanda~]

Me again, just to get an idea of what I like in a fluke, and in a tail, I absolutely love these tails!
http://www.creationetventequeue.sitew.fr/#Accueil.A

https://www.facebook.com/AuroreLaSireneBleu/

Help me!! Lol :-D

[Mermaid Wesley]

Unfortunately the tails in those links are barely functional. The monofins break and can be sharp in addition to other problems.

You might want to check out Mernation's "silicone lite" tail. It has a silicone body and a fabric fluke. I don't know if they have made any other than the one in their add but they have great custoMER service.


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[Mermaid Alea]

I made my first tail and it sucked so I quickly made a second one and I definitely like my second tail wayy more. I personally liked making my own fabric tail because I could use the exact fabric I wanted, make it the shape I want, etc. You can definitely buy a fabric tail and alter it. I haven't tried it but mers have certainly done it before with good results. You might want to check out Jadestone's fabric tail making topic because she extended her monofin in such a way that the extension is more floppy - but not too floppy so that it looks realistic. Here is a link to her topic: http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2548-First-time-tailmaking-Jade-s-attempt

Another alteration that you talked about was closing the fluke. This could be done with a zipper and you can hide the zipper using say shelf liner as fringe which doubles as a way to hide the zipper (Mermaid Hannah Fraser used shelf liner for the ends on her first tail flukes. It concealed the zipper and I believe she also used velcro on the shelf liner to keep it even more together.) You could maybe look into using snaps or hooks too. My fluke is open at the bottom in my tail, but I left a lot of extra fabric on the end so that you can't see the monofin. The problem is my tail started to pull up over the monofin so I need to figure out how I want to close the end. I might go with a zipper.

The tails you linked to appear to be silicone and latex tails. A fabric tail is the best starter tail though - I haven't swam in a silicone tail before nor have I seen one in person, but from what I have read they are definitely different from fabric tails. For one thing a fabric tail is the easiest to care for. Silicone and latex tails need special care to prevent them from getting mold. There are some beautiful partial silicone tails on this forum. One example is Mermaid Momo's tail that she is working on: http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?12571-Let-s-try-this-again!-Mermaid-momo-tail-attempt-2!-Hybrid-tail/page7

The partial tails will cost more of course which is why a fabric tail is the best kind of tail to start with. Fabric tails are the cheapest, easiest to care for, fastest to make/get, fastest to put on and take off, lightest, etc. There are mers whose first tail was a silicone tail, but generally everyone starts with a fabric one. During the off season I dream about what my dream tail would look like, but when I do get in the water with my simple fabric tail I don't even care that it isn't my dream tail because I still feel magical and have lots of fun!

[~Mermaid Amanda~]

I have looked all over her Facebook pages and website and have seen kids swimming in her mermaid tails.I have no experience with a tail what so ever, but I am just curious why these tails are "barely functional" and could be sharp and break? All the tails I've seen by her are flowy and so graceful in the water.

The only issue I can come up with is she is located in France and that is so far away... I really wish I could try a tail before purchasing, but I'm guessing when buying a tail comes trial and error. I just want it perfect especially for the money.

https://www.facebook.com/AuroreLaSireneBleu/

Here is a video of one of her fabric tails and she makes her own monofins. I haven't gotten the material it's made out of yet, but it is so pretty!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdlkUdOABKs

[Mermaid Wesley]

I'll see if i can find the thread on Yulia's fiasco...

[Mermaid Wesley]

http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?9427-My-tail-from-Aurore-la-sir%E8ne&highlight=aurore+sirene

heres the thread, it seems like most of the pictures have vanished, but you can see most of the struggle. She may have improved since then, but I wouldn't trust it based on this. There are ALOT of tailmakers who use shoddy materials, and they will only show what they want to show, you know?
I think she uses acrylic sheets in her tails, and acrylic is not a good monofin material. it snaps into sharp shards :/

[~Mermaid Amanda~]

Wow! Thank you so much for that. Something inside me is telling me to go with a finfun tail to begin with and after trying it out a bit to see if mermaiding really is truly for me, (in my heart, I know it is! ) but maybe modifying the tail to get the actual fin I want and what works best for me. I really want a closed and flowy natural fish like fin, but I really think this might be the best route to go as far a quality and budget and being a beginner :-)
What do you think?

[~Mermaid Amanda~]

Mermaid Alea, I really appreciate those links! I read Jade's way of doing things with the zip ties and duct tape. I may end up experimenting myself with those sorts of materials. I think I have pretty much decided on the best route to start off my mermaiding journey! I am really excited!

I think the main thing I have fear of is getting the basic tail part down. At least I know with a fin fun tail, the basic tail part is there and I'll have a decent monofin to start. Also the tail will be open to allow me to get creative with the fin part. The fin does look small to me, but that probably could work in my favor with adding some flow and length to it later on once I get used to swimming in a tail lol

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Get a Magictail if you want realism. Then you can mod the tail with extra fabric and fins for that flowy look.

[Merman Andrew]

I would like for the bottom of my tail to be closed and natural looking, not open like finfun (maybe I could alter the bottom?)


I have a FinFun and you cant even really tell that it has an open bottom when you're swimming along. Also just be aware that having a completely closed bottom will cause issues with drag, since water will get trapped and build up in the bottom of your tail. That's why all pro tails have drainage holes at the bottom to prevent this.



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[MermaidCelesteFL]

Be sure to check out Delfina's tails- http://delfinamermaid.com/ I saw a few of them at MerMania this year, and they truly are stunning for a fabric tail.

In my opinion, I suggest you get yourself a monofin first and work your way up from there. If you have never been in a monofin before, you are going to want to train in it, and understand how to swim in it before getting a tail. From what I have heard, SunTails, MagicTail, and Finfun also offer their monofins sans tail skin. Once you get used to it, you can invest in as many tail skins as you want.

[PearlieMae]

I agree with Celeste!

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Me again, just to get an idea of what I like in a fluke, and in a tail, I absolutely love these tails!

http://www.creationetventequeue.sitew.fr/#Accueil.A



https://www.facebook.com/AuroreLaSireneBleu/



Help me!! Lol :-D


I sent you a PM 😊