Yay Courage!

[Ayla of Duluth]

Kay, so after having an epiphany a few weeks ago, I decided to go ahead and start experimenting with making a silicone tail.
It will be a full silicone tail with a model 2 monofin from WaterWay. Maybe a model 1, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Anyways, reading all these silicone tail tutorials is rather confusing, so I'm going to try it in a way that may be the way you have all been doing it all along, but I just didn't understand it. If not, this will be a rather interesting experience.

So here's the plan:
Today I bought foam sheets to use for scales. Walmart didn't have one of those punchie things, so I'm getting one ordered to the store.
I'm going to glue them together and then lay them in the bottom of a wood box. [we'll also cross that bridge when we come to it]
I'm going to use this stuff, http://www.smooth-on.com/Lifecasting/c1240/index.html [the blue goop that you paint on faces and such] and paint it over the scales.
Once it dries, I'll pull it up and it should be a mold of the scales. I'll probably reinforce it somehow, I'll have to see how durable it is by itself. Come to think of it, they do use some other smooth on cloth like stuff to make it stronger.
Then I'll pour the Dragon Skin silicone into the scale sheet, let it cure, and then cut out the sheet to the size it needs to be. I'll do another one, and glue those pieces together with more silicone.

After all that's done, I can start the fluke...Lets hope I have an epiphany about how to work on that soon...

You guys think this method will work or fail miserably? :)

[Lyna]

good luck! i know absolute zero on any of that, i'll stick to my tops. but i hope you share pics of your progress!

[Mermaid Saphira]

Are you still getting a Raven tail? Just curious. You are very brave, I am to scared to fiddle with that stuff. BTW just as a tip, I believe I heard that you can use a fork to make fish rays in the tail ;)

[Ayla of Duluth]

Went and bought this foam today, its 2mm foam craft sheets from Walmart
4519

Also these, because you don't find these anymore :(
4520

Also this, for the schmucks outside
4521

I just ordered this off the internet because I can't find it anywhere in stores, not even Michaels has them
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Paper-Shapers-Large-Nesting-Punch-Circle-1.375/12356333
They're damn expensive for what little purpose they serve.

[Mermaid Saphira]

Love gel pens <3 lol :)

[Ayla of Duluth]

Are you still getting a Raven tail? Just curious. You are very brave, I am to scared to fiddle with that stuff. BTW just as a tip, I believe I heard that you can use a fork to make fish rays in the tail ;)

Yes, I'm still getting a Raven tail. I'm doing this now because I don't have to desperately save up my money for one, so I can play around with this idea.

What's a fish ray? I've never heard of it.

[Mermaid Saphira]

u know..like the lines on the fluke... thats the best I can explain it :p

[Ayla of Duluth]

oooooh, like the fluke veins?

[Mermaid Saphira]

yes! fluke veins! that is what I was trying to say but I couldn't think of them O_o

[Mermaid Bubbles]

yea you are talking about the fluke vain

[Mermaid Saphira]

yea you are talking about the fluke vain

Thanks Bubbles! What would I do w/o ya? :D

[Ayla of Duluth]

lol you two

[Mermaid Saphira]

Gotta love us right? ;)

[Kanti]

Using the life-casting silicone isn't a good idea for the mold. Since that stuff is pretty floppy you'll
need to make a "backing" in order to help hold the shape. I would highly recommend a liquid plastic
or resin instead. Lorelei and Dr Seaweed used Shellshock with great results. It's a lot cheaper than
life-casting (which is expensive since it goes right onto your skin) and it works much better!

You can get the paper punches at michaels and joanns! Also online places like ebay and amazon have
them for cheap! :')

[Ayla of Duluth]

Really? I was hoping the floppiness would make it easier to work with, seeing as I'd be able to peel it apart from the Dragon Skin and then just roll it up to store it, maybe use it for another casting or so.
I've heard of shellshock, but I haven't researched it yet. I'll look into it.

Also, I went to Michaels today, they didn't have a circle one. they had scalloped circles. And we don't have a joanns here. :( And amazon only had really big ones, like 2 inch diameters.

[Kanti]

Hmmm that's weird. Maybe they ran out of the regular ones?
If you go to bing and go to the shopping area they actually help
you find stuff nicel so maybe you can find a store nearby or a site
online?

As for the floppiness, I suppose if you put enough silicone so that the back
of your piece laid flat along the floor you could do it. I just assumed if there was
any uneven-ness in the silicone, it would "deflate" in a way.

Hmm nott sure, but you know, you should go for it and see how things turn out.
You could be 100% right now that I think of it xD

[Ayla of Duluth]

Well in the videos they have, they put plaster bandages over the silicone mold for support.
Also, the shellshock stuff has a pot life of 3 minutes? Holy man, how am I supposed to cover a scale sheet that fast? :O

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I used Shell Shock slow, which gives you a pot life of about 6 minutes. Also, you don't mix up a batch that is large enough to cover an entire sheet. (Unless you really feel like killing yourself or something.) My scale sheet was poured in three different batches, which is much more reasonable.

[Ayla of Duluth]

So I should mix up enough to cover 1/3 of the scale sheet, lay that down, then mix up another 1/3 and put that down as well? Will Shellshock cure to already cured Shellshock?

[Ayla of Duluth]

My circle punchy thing is coming in the mail today, it's one city away! I can start making scales :D unfortunately I have to work today at 1, so I probably won't be home til midnight. :(

[Ayla of Duluth]

Okay, we'll this is stupid. The paper shaper circle punch came just now. I was really excited to see how well it works. But get this, the slot you slide the paper into isn't wide enough to fit the 2mm thick foam. =,,= the slot is so small that the only thing I can fit in there is things 1mm or skinnier. So I pretty much just bought a $16 paperweight. I'm not sure if I can return it because I ordered it online even though it was from Walmart. Ugh I'm so pissed right now.

What have you guys been using to punch circles in your foam sheets?

[Mermaid Cascada]

I got a circle paper puncher from michaels for $8. It's small white and pink. It's a small and tight fit for the foam but it still goes in and punches the circles out.
Hope I helped a little and good luck :)

[Ayla of Duluth]

well, I might head up to the mall with my parents today and see if michaels has anything. When they say "paper shapers," they literally mean paper. nothing else fits in the slot. >,,<

[Mermaid Lorelei]

To answer your earlier question, yes, shell shock will adhere to shell shock. :>

[Ayla of Duluth]

Then shellshock it is. :)

[Winged Mermaid]

I haven't read the latest (in a rush!) but I thought I'd say Michaels has 50% off "Craft Punches and Trimmers" in the coupons for this week.

[Ayla of Duluth]

I went to michaels today to get a better circle puncher. THIS ONE DOESN'T WORK EITHER!
There were 3 brands. Paper shapers, Martha Stewart, and one other that I can't remember the name of. Paper shapers doesn't work, and neither does the one I just bought. >,,< if the Martha Stewart brand doesn't work, I don't know how I'm going to get these circles cut.

[Lyna]

sorry, you're having so many set backs. looking forward to seeing some progress. don't let it get you down!

[Ayla of Duluth]

Martha stewart punchie isn't working either! Ohmygoodness! Don't tell me I'm going to have to cut these out with a scissors...