happyguava
08-19-2012, 07:27 AM
Okay, this is a very belated review – I received my tail in February this year, but haven’t reviewed it online until now for several reasons. Here it is at last, using Raina’s “How To Write A Review” tips.
This was an order for a Realistic Latex Tail in Metallic Turquoise from Mertailor LLC. I placed the order in October 2011 and received the tail in February 2012.
I bought this tail to use it in my work as a professional mermaid – childrens’ birthday parties, both wet and dry, visits at a local children’s hospital, charity work, community events, the odd corporate gig etc etc. I considered purchasing a silicone tail but could not justify it financially at the time. I was getting enough work that I needed better than a fabric tail though, so this was the option I went for.
The ordering process happened without incident – I sent a few emails to check I was converting measurements (cm to inches, AU to US shoe sizes etc) properly and asking if custom paint was possible (it wasn’t). Replies always took about a week, and were written in as few words as possible, but my questions were sufficiently answered and so I placed my order. Again, I made sure my inches were measured correctly! I took screenshots of my order form just in case I’d need them.
The only hiccup was when I was told I would get a tracking number, but never received one. This was a little distressing as my tail was travelling from the USA to Australia and I was a little paranoid about it getting lost in the mail! I sent another email requesting the tracking number but again no reply. The tail then arrived.
The product arrived wrapped in plastic in a cardboard box. It had some sort of powder all over it, presumably to stop the tail sticking to itself. The most noticeable thing when I opened the packaging was the overwhelming smell of vinegar. It was unbearable at first. I aired the tail out for a while, but the smell stayed. It remained for months. I’ve heard this could be uncured latex, but I’m not 100% sure what this smell is all about.
5479
(First attempt at putting the tail on, also powder)
5480
(Amazing shiny tail in the sun!)
Vinegar smells aside though, I think the most upsetting thing was when I tried the tail on. My feet would not go into the monofin. It became evident that despite me writing my large-ish, Rapid-monofin-sized feet on my order, a Wave had been put into my tail. More about this later!
The tail itself looked beautiful. I washed the powder off and it positively shone in the sunlight. Beautiful, beautiful shimmering turquoise. The fluke was nicely shaped and the scale texturing was mostly good. There were, though, a few nasty bits where the latex was a bit lumpy and the paint hadn’t covered it properly.
I’ll bullet point the pros and cons that weren’t part of these initial reactions:
- The monofin. This is still the biggest issue with this tail. The Wave monofin is said to fit shoe sizes 1-7. I wrote very clearly on my order that I am a US size 9 ½. Squeezing my feet into this fin is only just possible, and my feet ache the entire time I am wearing this tail. It bruises my feet badly and leaves my big toes numb for days after wearing it. Now, granted, I could just not wear it and save myself this pain, but I am a professional mermaid and this is my only realistic tail – I don’t have much choice!
- The body of the tail itself never fitted properly – it was, as many other people have also experienced, too loose around my waist. It’s also too tall and goes almost up to my shell bra. The looseness means that the tail fills with water when I’m swimming in it, making it very heavy. I think the material could be neoprin, as it has continued to stretch and stretch – in fact I noticed it was even looser after the first gig I wore it for.
5481
(the thing is practically falling off my waist)
- The paint started chipping away almost immediately. Only a little bit at first, but it’s gotten to a point now (only 6 months later) where I can’t hide it. The fluke especially is now turquoise with spolotches of weird light-brown-nude colour all throughout. I’ve had some really good advice from the lovely Winged Mermaid and I’m going to try and patch this up.
- The “feel” of the tail is a plus and has definitely surprised and impressed a few unbelieving children. Texture was something I wanted in this purchase, as I’d been working in fabric tails previously which were kind of destroying the illusion as soon as anyone touched them!
I should point out with the measurement issues of both legs and feet – I definitely didn’t measure wrong. I’ve got screenshots of my order and I checked the conversion to inches and to US shoe size several times. My surname is written in texta on the inside of the tail, so I also know this is definitely the tail that was intended to fit my order.
5482
(Here you can see how it falls down around my waist, also how the tail is too tall for me)
I did send Eric a quick email asking if there was anything I could do about the tiny foot pockets, but received no reply. I did not ask for him to fix it, as shipping the thing to Australia was so expensive in the first place, I couldn’t justify shipping it back and forth.
All in all, I was disappointed with this purchase. Although the tail looks nice on its own, it looks wrong when it’s on me as it’s clearly way too loose and way too tall. I am also in agony every time I swim in it – I never thought I’d see the day when I actually wanted to get out of my tail and out of the pool, but it now happens regularly. I feel that a product that fits my measurements and has the correct sized fin inside is not too much to ask, and although the texure and paint are lovely (despite chipping off), the sizing issues are too big a problem for me.
I will continue to use this tail out of necessity, but I am so excited about a new one I will be purchasing from another tailmaker in the coming months!
This was an order for a Realistic Latex Tail in Metallic Turquoise from Mertailor LLC. I placed the order in October 2011 and received the tail in February 2012.
I bought this tail to use it in my work as a professional mermaid – childrens’ birthday parties, both wet and dry, visits at a local children’s hospital, charity work, community events, the odd corporate gig etc etc. I considered purchasing a silicone tail but could not justify it financially at the time. I was getting enough work that I needed better than a fabric tail though, so this was the option I went for.
The ordering process happened without incident – I sent a few emails to check I was converting measurements (cm to inches, AU to US shoe sizes etc) properly and asking if custom paint was possible (it wasn’t). Replies always took about a week, and were written in as few words as possible, but my questions were sufficiently answered and so I placed my order. Again, I made sure my inches were measured correctly! I took screenshots of my order form just in case I’d need them.
The only hiccup was when I was told I would get a tracking number, but never received one. This was a little distressing as my tail was travelling from the USA to Australia and I was a little paranoid about it getting lost in the mail! I sent another email requesting the tracking number but again no reply. The tail then arrived.
The product arrived wrapped in plastic in a cardboard box. It had some sort of powder all over it, presumably to stop the tail sticking to itself. The most noticeable thing when I opened the packaging was the overwhelming smell of vinegar. It was unbearable at first. I aired the tail out for a while, but the smell stayed. It remained for months. I’ve heard this could be uncured latex, but I’m not 100% sure what this smell is all about.
5479
(First attempt at putting the tail on, also powder)
5480
(Amazing shiny tail in the sun!)
Vinegar smells aside though, I think the most upsetting thing was when I tried the tail on. My feet would not go into the monofin. It became evident that despite me writing my large-ish, Rapid-monofin-sized feet on my order, a Wave had been put into my tail. More about this later!
The tail itself looked beautiful. I washed the powder off and it positively shone in the sunlight. Beautiful, beautiful shimmering turquoise. The fluke was nicely shaped and the scale texturing was mostly good. There were, though, a few nasty bits where the latex was a bit lumpy and the paint hadn’t covered it properly.
I’ll bullet point the pros and cons that weren’t part of these initial reactions:
- The monofin. This is still the biggest issue with this tail. The Wave monofin is said to fit shoe sizes 1-7. I wrote very clearly on my order that I am a US size 9 ½. Squeezing my feet into this fin is only just possible, and my feet ache the entire time I am wearing this tail. It bruises my feet badly and leaves my big toes numb for days after wearing it. Now, granted, I could just not wear it and save myself this pain, but I am a professional mermaid and this is my only realistic tail – I don’t have much choice!
- The body of the tail itself never fitted properly – it was, as many other people have also experienced, too loose around my waist. It’s also too tall and goes almost up to my shell bra. The looseness means that the tail fills with water when I’m swimming in it, making it very heavy. I think the material could be neoprin, as it has continued to stretch and stretch – in fact I noticed it was even looser after the first gig I wore it for.
5481
(the thing is practically falling off my waist)
- The paint started chipping away almost immediately. Only a little bit at first, but it’s gotten to a point now (only 6 months later) where I can’t hide it. The fluke especially is now turquoise with spolotches of weird light-brown-nude colour all throughout. I’ve had some really good advice from the lovely Winged Mermaid and I’m going to try and patch this up.
- The “feel” of the tail is a plus and has definitely surprised and impressed a few unbelieving children. Texture was something I wanted in this purchase, as I’d been working in fabric tails previously which were kind of destroying the illusion as soon as anyone touched them!
I should point out with the measurement issues of both legs and feet – I definitely didn’t measure wrong. I’ve got screenshots of my order and I checked the conversion to inches and to US shoe size several times. My surname is written in texta on the inside of the tail, so I also know this is definitely the tail that was intended to fit my order.
5482
(Here you can see how it falls down around my waist, also how the tail is too tall for me)
I did send Eric a quick email asking if there was anything I could do about the tiny foot pockets, but received no reply. I did not ask for him to fix it, as shipping the thing to Australia was so expensive in the first place, I couldn’t justify shipping it back and forth.
All in all, I was disappointed with this purchase. Although the tail looks nice on its own, it looks wrong when it’s on me as it’s clearly way too loose and way too tall. I am also in agony every time I swim in it – I never thought I’d see the day when I actually wanted to get out of my tail and out of the pool, but it now happens regularly. I feel that a product that fits my measurements and has the correct sized fin inside is not too much to ask, and although the texure and paint are lovely (despite chipping off), the sizing issues are too big a problem for me.
I will continue to use this tail out of necessity, but I am so excited about a new one I will be purchasing from another tailmaker in the coming months!