Silicone Mermaid Tail: Questions.

[Mermaid.Mikayla]

So, I have started to make my tail. I'm creating my plan of action and I'm not sure it it is best to place fabric mesh on the silicone before it cures, in order to stick it to the monofin. Or if I should just leave it not attached. If I have drainage holes in the tail and slits in the fluke, would it still be okay if it isn't attached? And, I want my fluke to be floppy, but I'm not sure if I should stick with the FINIS Foil. I'm not sure if it can hold the weight of the silicone. For anyone who uses that monofin, is it strong enough, or should I go with the FINIS Wave?

[Mermaid Alea]

Merbella studios has the option to have a Finis Foil monofin in the fluke. Mermaid Raina's Merbella tail has a foil in it. The foil seems to do just fine in a fluke but I would keep in mind that you don't want the fluke to be too large because then it will be harder to swim in. For example, while Raina's tail works fine with a foil, her company has another Merbella tail, the She Creature, and this tail has a foil in combination with a really huge fluke. Raina has mentioned on several occasions that the tail is hard to swim and pose in because of the combination of a massive fluke and a less powerful monofin.

You can get a floppy look with any monofin as long as you extend the silicone past where the monofin is. A foil will certainly give you a very floppy effect.

Here is Raina's Youtube so you can get an idea of how her fluke moves underwater. There are also clips of the big She Creature tail. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1Ayn-ucy6oi1IzHygxqC6g

As for the fabric question I am not totally sure on that. I guess people have made tails without using fabric in the fluke but the reason why people use the fabric is to create a better adherence between the silicone and the monofin. Silicone only really sticks to silicone, but when you glue mesh fabric around your monofin and then put silicone on top of that, the silicone will seep through the holes of the mesh and will 'stick' better. It probably helps keep your monofin from wiggling around in your tail. Also keep in mind that for your scale sheet you can add that same fabric mesh in the middle of the silicone casting in order to give your tail body extra strength.

[Mermaid.Mikayla]

This helps a lot, thank you!