Extended tail idea?

[Mermaid Oona]

I find that extended tail are very interesting! I know I never worn a tail before and it's extremely unsafe for a beginner to have one as their first as extended or silicone. The science of its construction behind it is awesome! I started drawing out my own idea on the mechanism for the extension and adding channels to reduce drag and what materials are light and have minimum buoyancy for weight underwater. And creating a custom monofin that can give a better illusion of a fluke flicks . I'm also researching different types of metals that can withstand natural and chemical waters! Keep tuned from the extension construction idea!

[Merman Storm]

Or you could buy one.

https://www.ultimateswimfin.com/

[Mermaid Oona]

Or you could buy one.

https://www.ultimateswimfin.com/I'm too broke for that O.O

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[Mermaid Oona]

So I found a plastic sheet called UHMW and it's very neat that I can use it for the monofin area of the tail that is very flexible and have moisture resistance and rust resistance!

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[Merman Storm]

Ive used that stuff. A few words of warning:
First, its polyethylene, the same stuff many plastic bags are made from. That is not a bad thing, just something to know. UHMW stands for Ultra High Molecular Weight, which just means the polyethylene molecules are really long. (Even longer polyethylene molecules are used to make Spectra, a fiber that, pound for pound, is 2 times stronger than Black Widow spider silk.)

Polyethylene has a low melting point. If you leave the fin in the car, it can warp and take a set. I had a fin made from it warp, and I could not get the warp out. Its like it had a memory effect, and even after being heated and clamped back into shape, it would slowly creep back to being warped.

Instead, you may want to consider polypropylene. Ive had good luck with it, at 1/8th inch thickness. You can even heat and bend it. Ive found that if you bend the monofin right at your toes, so the fin surface lines up with the top of your foot rather than the bottom, it works better and looks better.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#polypropylene/=1csn299

[Mermaid Oona]

Ive used that stuff. A few words of warning:
First, its polyethylene, the same stuff many plastic bags are made from. That is not a bad thing, just something to know. UHMW stands for Ultra High Molecular Weight, which just means the polyethylene molecules are really long. (Even longer polyethylene molecules are used to make Spectra, a fiber that, pound for pound, is 2 times stronger than Black Widow spider silk.)

Polyethylene has a low melting point. If you leave the fin in the car, it can warp and take a set. I had a fin made from it warp, and I could not get the warp out. Its like it had a memory effect, and even after being heated and clamped back into shape, it would slowly creep back to being warped.

Instead, you may want to consider polypropylene. Ive had good luck with it, at 1/8th inch thickness. You can even heat and bend it. Ive found that if you bend the monofin right at your toes, so the fin surface lines up with the top of your foot rather than the bottom, it works better and looks better.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#polypropylene/=1csn299I'm gonna show my blueprint soon and I have a certain way I'm placing it on my extension so it's less stress on the whole thing and having certain channels to release water to prevent drag. I'm doing a revised sketch of it to show what I'm going to do

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[Mermaid Oona]

This is the front view of my extended contraction . The prosthetic around my lower calfs is go in to be filled with silicone for custom foot pockets for comfort and a separate compartment for the paddle to move the fluke.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180511/e5273e4d1df5ef5b5f3bc56a1d2e5c30.jpg

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[Mermaid Oona]

Whit this tail I'm doing an individual scale method. Look up H2O behind the scenes: tails. The scales on how they shown on the video is what I'm gonna do and my boyfriend is even considering helping out on that process !

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[Mermaid Oona]

The body of the tail will be made with neoprean with the components sewed into the fabric. Then I'll be adding tin cure silicone base to the body to help out to blend the seams and add a nylon fishnet while it's curing to build up strength. After that I'll spray pain the tail ( with silicone obviously) and add the base tones to the tail and fins. Hang up the tail on a hook to individually add very thin plastic scale shaped pieces. By myself will take a long while. After that step use clear silicone and that a thin layer to seal in the scales, after it's cured I'll finally add the color layer + detail that's needed for the look I'm going for and finally seal in the work in two thin layers. This is pretty much the plan I have when I get around to this. But first thing is first I have to make a mold for my legs, feet ( individually ) and make pectoral, fluke, hip, and dorsal fin molds

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[Sea~Phoenix Savannah]

Super awesome Oona! I love what you're doing with the monofin, can't wait to see the progress or the finished tail. Have fun and good luck!

[Mermaid Oona]

Super awesome Oona! I love what you're doing with the monofin, can't wait to see the progress or the finished tail. Have fun and good luck!Thank you it's just a plan not exactly a plan I want to go in action because I just started using a monofin and I know all of this will be too heavy for my to swim in. Untill I retrain myself to hold my breath longer while swimming across a pool with out looking like a fish out of water in water xD

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[Sea~Phoenix Savannah]

Gotcha, lol.