Sammi's first Silicone Tail - The Journey

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Hello everyone! This my first post here (after having to change my e-mail a couple of times to get an actual verification e-mail) and I am super excited! My entire life I dreamed of being a mermaid. I sewed my own fabric tail a few years ago and it was awful, lol Anyways, I pouted for a long time as not being able to get a "real" tail. I contacted a few companies and never got a response, which I completely understand because their wait is crazy! I'm a creative person and I have been my entire life. I'm primarily a photographer (genre: conceptual) and I'm not stranger to being creative. I realized that I've used these items before - in a smaller scale. So I decided that I want to take a go at making my own tail. I've been doing crazy research on it for months now and finally gained up courage to do it!

Any advice you guys can give will be greatly appreciated! <3 I'm opening this thread to share my journey and everything with you all!!

First thing I ran into: I decided not to do individual scales for my first go at this. Instead, I'm going to do a scale sheet. I'm going the ol' foam scale sheet method. Of course, out of everyone on this planet that works with crazy tools... no one has a belt sander like the one I need to shave the stupid circle punch down to fit a 2mm craft foam between. We tried the manual way by using a rat-tail filer and that was a bust. Oddly enough it was going good and then got to a point where it wasn't doing much, even with a fresh file. I decided to give the internet one last search and I found a circle punch that SHOULD work. I should be getting it in the mail Monday to know for sure and I'll let you all know the brand and everything if it ends up working! :)

[Mermaid Caspiana]

Good luck! :) I don't have experience making a fully silicone tail, but with searching around here (which I've seen you've been doing already, good for you ��), I'm sure you'll get all the tips possible. Lol Do you have a design made up? :)

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Yay! I have some sort of update. So, I'm going the ol' craft foam route. Of course, I ran into the whole hole punch not fitting 2mm craft foam inside. BUT I found Fiskars made a new "thick" materials line that fits the 2mm foam inside, so now I'm super happy because I can start working on this for real now!

I can't upload images right now from my phone but look it up :D

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Good luck! :) I don't have experience making a fully silicone tail, but with searching around here (which I've seen you've been doing already, good for you ��), I'm sure you'll get all the tips possible. Lol Do you have a design made up? :)


Yes! I do, I'll post that when I can I'm still drawing it out. The colors are inspired by the Portuguese man of war, the fins on the back will be inspired by beta fish, and the fluke will be inspired by a bunch of different things. I'm pumped!

[Becoming_A_Mermaid]

I can't wait to see how this all turns out!!!

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

I can't wait to see how this all turns out!!!

Thanks, I've been punching out these things like crazy! I'm hoping to be able to start gluing the scale sheet together tonight. I have family in town right now and that has been taking up my tail making weekend a bit lol!

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Okay, I'm finally on a computer for a second to post a few images. Nothing too exciting just yet.

Here is the circle punch I was able to get. Fiskars Thick hole punch line. Work for 2mm craft foam. I saw a lot of people having to use a belt sander for their circle punch, but you now don't have to do that! :) I'll start building the actual scale sheet tomorrow. I had family in town and everything so it took a lot of time away from doing this.

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[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Yay! I was able to work on some of the scale sheet last night :)

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I also have some important information. E 6000 is absolutely awful for you and especially if you're not in a well ventilated area. I work full time in fumes all day so is poisoning is very real and can cause serious health issues. With that said, since e 6000 is the popular go to here for some reason, I highly recommend everyone stop using it and use tacky glue instead. I've been using this glue for many years and it is cheap and adheres very well. If it's humid outside it may take a bit longer but there is virtually no scent and is like Elmer's glue better and stronger brother.

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[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

My actual color inspiration. Blue (the lighter tones) is my absolute favorite color! Underneath that would be purple. I absolutely love the man of war and have written essays on it multiple times in school. I also truly love beta fish so my tail will be a mix of beta, man of war, and my imagination:)

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[Mai'ana]

A betta inspired tail sounds amaaaaazing! [emoji7] Which type would you so after? Crown tail like the image or something else? [emoji4]


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[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

A betta inspired tail sounds amaaaaazing! [emoji7] Which type would you so after? Crown tail like the image or something else? [emoji4]


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For the fluke it will be something made up. I'm not 100% sure what I wanna do with that just yet but I do want it flowy. The dorsal fin will be the betta part and the coloring will be a mix of the first image and the man of war. Once I figure my fluke out, I'll definitely post the sketch :D!

[Lilyrose Fish]

I love your color choices. I look forward to watching your progress.

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[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Little quick update! This week has been so busy that I haven't been able to work much on my scale sheet, but I'm off work today so I'm going to be hustling on it! Also, I got my monofin in!!!! I got the Finis Shooter monofin. I didn't want anything huge like a competitor but I wanted something that would still get me somewhere. I took it for a swim last night and I FLEW!!! lol I'll probably post more as my scale sheet continues! :)

[Hydra1337]

I know this thread has been inactive for a while but I just wanted to say I love the inspiration pictures for your tail.

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Thank you! I had a lot of traveling that came up and I had to put my tail on the back burner so I could pay for other things! I plan to get back to it soon but sadly I had to stop for a bit :) I'll definitely update once i get back to it, which should be soon!


I know this thread has been inactive for a while but I just wanted to say I love the inspiration pictures for your tail.

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Okay! So, I have decided to scrap my original tail and start over. Haha, I know I didnt update much with that but life has been absolutely crazy lately :) once I start sculpting again, I'll post image updates!

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Okay! I actually have updates! lol!

The whole reason why I haven't updated any is because I had a lot of stuff that needed to be taken care of before I could invest in any more material for a tail. I had a photography convention to go to in September and in October I taught a workshop that was hosted by House of Flynn. Which, btw... if you don't know who they are... you're missing out! Here is a link [http://www.thehouseofflynn.com/products/presale-professional-mermaid-tail-bag] to her MERMAID TAIL BAG! Yes, it's girly... I'm sorry about that but I heard she is teaming up with a wonderful mermaid and tail maker to make some wonderful things! <3 I also got a chance to see Finfolk's new Mythic tails before they were released while in Mexico, too! For anyone wanting to know... they're wonderful! Such talent!

Anyways, enough of me fangirling! I just had a lot of financial responsibilities I had to take care of. I ended up scrapping my foam scale sheet idea because truthfully... it wasn't realistic enough for me. I'm an artist and I LOVE detail so I needed to take a step back and really plan out my tail making. I chose to go with an individual scale design and was able to complete the fluke design and everything. I'm keeping all that stuff hidden for now until I actually have it molded.

Speaking of molds! I did a little experiment. I bought this rubber mold crap from Hobby Lobby and it had no ingredients listed anywhere and no real details about it. The smell was really strange and actually made me nauseous, but it actually took detail really well so I was super excited for that. Luckily I only made a small mold for testing.
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I got in my pigments which are as I described [purple, blue, and pink]... except the pink I got was red/brown lol I'm talking to the supplier now. Well, as a Christmas present, I got some silicone! AHHH!! Super excited and quickly realized this wasn't the same kind of silicone I've used before. I think I mentioned somewhere that I was familiar with it, but this type... nope... it's definitely different. I also really love Smooth-on's saying on the side of the box! :D So true! Just make it!
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I was so excited I instantly opened it, which.. no one told me how freaking hard opening Smooth-on's dragon skin was lol I have to have help opening it. In case you want to know... I have horrible finger grip and my hands are pretty sensitive, which you'll read about more in a minute. Anyways, Got it opened and did half a teaspoon of part a, half of a teaspoon for part B (mixed the pigment in part B first) mixed it all together, used vaseline as a mold release agent (until I get some) and made my pour! After I cleaned everything up, I didn't wash my hands. Why? Because I only had a tiny drop on my finger and it wiped off... I thought nothing of it. Well, I was super itchy afterwards lol I went and washed my hands and everything and the itching stopped, so I'm not sure what that was about. I've never read anywhere of anyone have any kind of allergy or reaction to the raw uncured silicone, so if that's something anyone else has dealt with... let me know!

5 hours passed by and it wasn't cured yet. Oh now! What did I do wrong? I know there are several things that could of gone wrong. The measurement seemed descent but I'm not sure... has anyone ever mixed more part A than B and it not cure or something? I'm feeling like I may of had more part A. Anyways, I know some pigments won't work as well and temperature has a lot to do with it too. I moved it to a warm dry area to cure over night. I wake up and it's STILL not cured and it's goopy. I'm assuming it must of been the type of silicone that mold I made is made out of. I'm assuming it's not compatible. If you guys have any info on it, I'd really appreciate it! lol Here is the goopy mess after 14 hours of curing.
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That's all I have for now, so if I missed anything I'll update later! :)

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Oh! to add, the silicone cured where the air was hitting it and even cured in some spots at the deepest part of the mold which is why you can see some detail in the piece and no detail in other parts. So, it's partially curing which is why I'm so confused.

[LouLouBelle]

Silicone won't cure against rubber. I know a lot of people use shell shock, and I quite like EasyFlo 60. Plaster also works, although it's not so hard wearing.


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[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Thank you!!! I did a lot of research on it all and couldn't find some specific details, so at least it was just a "patch" test essentially :) I thought silicone wouldn't cure with polyurethane resin?

[WaterDragon]

The rubber you used is most likely a tin cure silicone which prevents platinum cure silicone from curing.
I used smooth-on's smooth-cast 300 resin for mold making with great results.
do you have a list of ingredients that are in your pigments? we might be able to let you know if that was causing a problem as well (although if the silicone was curing in most spots then its most likely the mold).

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

The rubber you used is most likely a tin cure silicone which prevents platinum cure silicone from curing.
I used smooth-on's smooth-cast 300 resin for mold making with great results.
do you have a list of ingredients that are in your pigments? we might be able to let you know if that was causing a problem as well (although if the silicone was curing in most spots then its most likely the mold).

No actual ingredients with the pigment, I did message the shop before I bought it and he said it should work fine. Here is the description anyways.

"Our pearl pigments can be mixed with oil and water based paints, nail polishes, acrylics, resins, cosmetics, crafts, Plasti Dip, coatings, air brushing, inks and countless other mediums.

It has good disperse performance and high temperature resistance
They are non-toxic and are in powder form, so the list of possibilities are endless

A little goes a long way."

And yes, it did cure in some spots and not others. I have a feeling it was a mix of things with the rubber mold, vaseline (which, I've seen people use before with no issues so... who knows) and probably mixed more part A than B with it. I tried to be careful but I do know my excitement can cloud my mind sometimes haha

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Also, for making a mold... someone told me that they're using Bondo Fiberglass resin and some fiberglass cloths. Any experience with that? I was going to go with Smooth-cast 300, but I'm curious to know other methods.

[Mermaid Fenicia]

If you use dragonskin silicone, you don't need any release-agent ;)

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Thank you! :) Yeah, I know I was just being extra sure lol! I'm going to go buy some stuff for making molds later and I'll update everyone on how that goes. Right now, on my calendar, I gave myself deadlines to have things done. I'm gearing towards having the scales completed in the next few weeks and having the fluke 100% sculpted and casted by 3 weeks from now. Once those two major things are finished, I'll be able to start putting my scales on 1 by 1. Tedious but worth it! :D

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

I decided to go with some bondo and oh lawd, no thanks. It is horrible lol I think I'm just going to get the smooth-cast. I like experimenting with all sorts of different things but bondo sucked so bad haha

For anyone reading that would like to know. It's Bondo fiberglass resin. It's pretty viscous (I wouldn't say as thick as the Dragon Skin Silicone, though) and you need a hardener (comes with it) to make it react and harden. This is typically used for car repair shops, but there are creative ways to use this. I've heard of people using this a lot for making their fluke molds and everything, I however did not like it one bit. Before you get this stuff do know that it is in fact cheap. That's good, but don't go for it just because of that. This stuff you need to be careful with. Wear gloves, a mask, and a cover and long sleeves if possible. Getting the actual bondo on your hands without the hardener sucks so much. It basically never comes off. I managed to spill it everywhere (I have this thing where I literally can not pour properly...) and the bondo got all over me. It took me 45 minutes to remove the bondo. Not because it hardened on my hands or anything, but because it coated my hands and no amount of soap or anything could get it off. Luckily, I was determined and pulled out a scrubby pad and got it all off. WEAR GLOVES. Lord, WEAR GLOVES. Also, please wear a mask and do this outside. This stuff is so strong and my sinuses are tore up from it.

After failing last night, I decided to try it again today... but this time I was protected and prepared and even had a helper to pour it into cups for me. All seems well, until I had some on my glove and didn't realize it and accidentally touched my face. This time the hardener was mixed in. Talk about BURN. It sucked so bad and luckily it was only a tiny spot but my face was on fire so much. I seriously wouldn't recommend this stuff. Especially if you're young. Please just be careful.

With all of this bullcrap said, and yes... you're allowed to laugh but I highly believe in putting ALL details out there so others can know and learn from my mistakes, I'm waiting on this to cure and let's hope it goes well! I am also going to try my previous test mold AGAIN. I looked at the piece I took out and there were some spots that were actually cured, so it leaves me to believe that it may of been the Vaseline that inhibited the full cure. I am about to go out and get a spray release. I know silicone doesn't stick, but I want to be 100% sure and like I said... I like to test all sorts of things out for future reference and just the experience of it all.

So far this tail making journey has been a funny one full of mistakes, but I wouldn't change it. I'm having so much fun! :)

[LouLouBelle]

I use platsil rather than dragon skin, so I'm not sure if they'll react differently. Also, not all polyurethanes are the same. The easyflo is rigid and I've never had any problems. I tried a flexible polyurethane and the silicone didn't cure properly.


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[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Yay!!!! I finally had some sort of break through! Haha so, I cleaned my original tester mold, sprayed some actual release spray and I also tested a small piece in a small piece of clay with a design imprinted. The original tester mold is in fact not compatible, which is fine. However, the clay one set really well and it's so beautiful!!!!! It's really mat though, so, it bring out the beauty of the color and see the pearl in it, should I got over it with something? Like, maybe a thin layer of dragon skin, kind of like if I'm spray painting it?

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Just wanted to poke in here with an update! I've been chugging away at making scales the last few days. I decided to make about 25 individual clay molds of my design, pour about 25 scales every 3-5 hours for the last few days. I have a good bit of scales! I've been trying to make some and let it cure between me packing to move and work! lol We move Sunday, so I won't be able to work any more on this for the next few days. I'm also waiting for my beautiful blue pigment to come in to do the other part of the scales! I have a really nice hot pink coming in as well so I can accent everything with it, I don't have a color sample image of the pink but I do the blue! Also, my purple color is NOT showing up well in my stupid cell photos. It keeps coming out really blue compared to the pretty purple it really is. I have an example of the back of a scale so you can see the pearl in it and that's what it will look like after I do a shiny coat over the entire tail once it's more assembled! My picture with all the scale together just shows the pattern... some of those scales I can't use because they're a bit too thick, I want my scales to be fairly thin without been too thin, but you can see the design in the scales here! :) I think I have 150-200 scales completed so far.

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[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

That's the wrong blue swatch, lol I can't find the right one, but the right blue is more a bright blue/teal color. You'll see eventually lol

[Miyu]

Oooooh I flipping LOVE those scales! They have a lovely, unique pattern to them :swoon:

[The Water Phoenix]

Those scales are effing gorgeous! :)

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Oh thank you guys!!! I had such a hard time picking and working on a design and I spent most of my time trying to get something I liked, unique, and would work how I wanted it to in the sense of laying flat! Lol I'm moving the next few days so I won't update for a few days. I ordered more pigments, so once those come in and I do some more pulls, I'll update! If you want, you can follow me on Instagram during this too... It's easier to post there as I can post photos on mernetwork from my phone... It's so wired.

@sammithesleepymermaid

[PearlieMae]

Cool! How thick are your scales?

[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

They vary depending on the pour but generally they're pretty thin. Between 1/16" and 1/8". Enough to be man handled but not so thin they're snag and rip. I already tested the snot out of them before I settled for that thinness. The above image isn't a good representation though lol those were some tester scales all mixed together and there are some I can use and some I absolutely can not use because they're too thick or too thin. The thick ones I might be able to cut down, but right now I'm not gonna mess with that lol

I'm in a bit of a brain fart right now... I have a shooter monofin and the ribs on the blade are really thick and protruding. I don't want that to show up when I put my fluke together, so my main question is do I just stretch it over or would water fill up so much there that it would be bad? (Putting drainage in of course). Also, I'm trying to figure how to size my tail so it won't be baggy in the knee/ankle area and not gap at the waist. I have a smaller wiast and then a big ol' butt lol I don't want it so tight I'll get a crazy mermuffin top though. *Sigh* so much struggle planning lol!

[Mermaid_Izzy]

. Also, I'm trying to figure how to size my tail so it won't be baggy in the knee/ankle area and not gap at the waist. I have a smaller wiast and then a big ol' butt lol I don't want it so tight I'll get a crazy mermuffin top though. *Sigh* so much struggle planning lol!

I know it's been a little while...

When I did my skin (which I still assembling), I measured myself and used it to cut out my powermesh. Once I had the power mesh sown together I tried it on (I would suggest trying it on with leggings or no pants) and where it didn't fit or was baggy, my Mamaw and I marked it then took it in.

Hope this helps!


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[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

Thanks! I'm actually doing that soon. Right now I'm working on sculpting my fluke. I haven't been able to update this thread in a bit because my cell images won't upload here, I have to do it all through a computer and I hardly get on a computer. Withat that said, I've poured and pulled a crap ton of blue and purple scales so far! :) I'm excited. I'm a bit stuck making this fluke and it's been quite frustrating, but I'm going to push through.


I know it's been a little while...

When I did my skin (which I still assembling), I measured myself and used it to cut out my powermesh. Once I had the power mesh sown together I tried it on (I would suggest trying it on with leggings or no pants) and where it didn't fit or was baggy, my Mamaw and I marked it then took it in.

Hope this helps!

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[Mermaid_Izzy]

Thanks! I'm actually doing that soon. Right now I'm working on sculpting my fluke. I haven't been able to update this thread in a bit because my cell images won't upload here, I have to do it all through a computer and I hardly get on a computer. Withat that said, I've poured and pulled a crap ton of blue and purple scales so far! :) I'm excited. I'm a bit stuck making this fluke and it's been quite frustrating, but I'm going to push through.

I feel you...the worst part about making the tail is making the fluke sculpt and then mixing, pouring, and waiting for the scales to cure...if I ever make another tail I going to make triple the scale molds so it won't take so long....but my fluke took me forever (I had to sculpt it bigger so my selfmade monofin would fit) and I kept getting bored...

So far I have got a majority finished but I am still pushing through...lol. Wish you the best of luck!




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[Sammi the Sleepy Mermaid]

I feel you...the worst part about making the tail is making the fluke sculpt and then mixing, pouring, and waiting for the scales to cure...if I ever make another tail I going to make triple the scale molds so it won't take so long....but my fluke took me forever (I had to sculpt it bigger so my selfmade monofin would fit) and I kept getting bored...

So far I have got a majority finished but I am still pushing through...lol. Wish you the best of luck!




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Yeah it was coming along nicely and then I noticed that if I sculpted it that way it would come out strange and wouldn't fit together properly, so I smashed dup the whole thing last night. Haha I actually just bought some sculpting tools to try it again instead of using my bare hands. It didn't look at that bad with my bare hands but I'm a perfectionist with things and ugh, it kills me sometimes when I can spot slight imperfections. It ruins the whole thing for me :)

[Mermaid_Izzy]

Yeah it was coming along nicely and then I noticed that if I sculpted it that way it would come out strange and wouldn't fit together properly, so I smashed dup the whole thing last night. Haha I actually just bought some sculpting tools to try it again instead of using my bare hands. It didn't look at that bad with my bare hands but I'm a perfectionist with things and ugh, it kills me sometimes when I can spot slight imperfections. It ruins the whole thing for me :)

That sucks...I drew mine out and sculpted it will my bare hands...I thought I had it even until I cast it in silicone and put it together and I realized I was slightly off, but nothing I can't trim...I hope all goes well for you!


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