Full Silicone Tail?

[Kanti]

Hey guys, I was just thinking, how would one go about making an 100% silicone tail?
By this I don't mean using 100% silicone, I mean if you made a tail without using neoprene or
anything to hook it onto. Just puuuure silicone. How would you adjust the size or even get it
to be in the shape you want it?

The only way I can think of is making a live-cast of someone's legs and then simply building layers
of silicone on top.

Any answers would be appreciated~

[CoralMoonMermaid]

thats the only way to do that... is by making a live mold of the person, it a mold after mold proses, then making then scales and tail then make another mold ontop of that, but you would have only use Dragon Skin, as of now Dragon Skin is the only silicone that is skin safe (witch is not cheep stuff)... there will be no way if adjusting sizes, it will be only made for that person... so if you got into making tails for money you would have to make live casts for each client and its a hard hard hard proses...and long too... not mention expensive....so each tail would be vary $$$$$


oh and I wouldn't suggest just piling it on the live cast....it will just run and make a mess...you need to sculpt up scales and a full tail out of clay....

[Kanti]

Oooh wow then yea, it's as I assumed.
Thanks!

[CoralMoonMermaid]

Yeah is vary complex and vary advanced, with my silicone tail we even have to make a form me (wich is just like a live cast just its just made out hard foam with my sizes on it) and we are using Lycra and it's not a full sculpted tail... my partner even wants one of me now for the first tail that we are making that is only half Lycra and half Dragon Skin....

big pain in the butt I must say!!!
We did a FULL body cast of a girl once and it was a horrible experiences, because she didn't listen to us and got cheep materials and she ended up getting hypertherma and then come to find she broke the mold when she got it... so yup... lots of money and big pain in the but to do

[Winged Mermaid]

You can either make the waist down mold then cast that in fiberglass or what have you, then put material on that cast to sculpt the scales, fluke, ect THEN do make a mold of that.

OR you can sculpt and make a mold of a sheet of scales. Cast the scales so you have a sheet of dragon skin scales. Then to make the shape you interlock the scales (so they have to all be the same and be pretty perfect) and use silicone specific glue and/or more silicone to "meld" the scales together so it's a seam, but not really. Then you cut away the shape that you want going into the fluke at the bottom. For the fluke you'd have to make a whole separate mold from sculpting and casting that as well, then attach it in the same way you do the scales. Once you have the mold for the sheet of scales you can do all kinds of stuff with those things.

For sculpting scales some people do all of them by hand, some use patterns that they come across. Adam Martyn used pumpkin seeds for some of his tails (required extra casting and molding processes). Mike used small piping glued together and cut the way he wanted for his flukes.

[MermaidAubrin]

I wouldnt know how but I bet it's going to be very very expensive

[CoralMoonMermaid]

Fiber glass is vary unhealthy... and I do not recommend it....

[Kanti]

How so?
Fiberglass is used in lots of things you come into contact with daily, including cars and windows.
Fiberglass resin is known to be harmful, but only when it's wet. Once dry, it's harmless.

[CoralMoonMermaid]

when you breath in that powder is what is harmful you don't want to be breathing that stuff....

[Kanti]

Oh, then yes xD
You certainly don't want to inhale any powders of anything, really.
What type of fiberglass were you referring to?
I was thinking the cloth and resin.

[CoralMoonMermaid]

Even fiberglass resin (both are just as toxic), you don't want to breath in either beach of this reason, rapid breathing with lungs full of glassfiber only pulls the tiny fibers deeper into the lungs. Once buried deep in your personal breathing apparatus, the fibers are surrounded and attacked by the body's defender cells, become attached to the landing zone, and are much more difficult to expel. At this point, they may or may not dissolve. ( Fiberglass companies say the dissolution reduces the likelihood the fibers will cause lung cancer. FIN is concerned about the potentially toxic end products of the dissolution, however.)


And plus making a live cast of some one out of either fiberglass, it will weigh a ton...

[Kanti]

Fiberglass resin isn't really made from fiberglass at all. It's only called that because it's common use is to adhere fiberglass to other surfaces.
It IS still very dangerous when uncured and the fumes it releases are very strong, flammable, and bad for you. Once it dries, it's harmless, though :')
Fiberglass insulation is probably what you're thinking of. It comes in large sheets and cutting it often launches debris into the air, where it can
be inhaled. Fiberglass cloth MAY be of some concern, but it has no warning labels on it of it being dangerous, probably because it's alot less
likely to release dandruff.

Either way, I wouldn't use fiberglass because it would be pretty heavy, but if you were to coat the foam cast in fiberglass, it would probably be a
good thing since it would provide a more slick surface that the silicone may not attach to.

[MermaidSaku]

We did this in school. Actually the Fluke will be the easiest part to make. You will need plaster and silicone of course. Also you will have to build a mold fluke for you to make a plaster cast. After the cast is made you add in your silicone. Obviously it would be better if you made your fluke from that plaster mold but still be able to keep your case. The answer to that would be to put vaseline on the mold of your fluke before you make a cast of it with plaster so you can easily pull it out when the plaster has hardened. The body of the tail you would have to get more plaster to make a mold of your legs when it drys you will have to make small molds of what ever you will use for scales and put those scales on your mold one by one till fully covered, and sealing the scales down it with more silicone. It actually isn't that hard of a process but, you would have the money to at least attempt it. I've been dying to. I mean knowing how to make one but not having the money to actually make one? I feel like i am going crazy. ;-; Plaster is pretty cheap here I meaning 15 bucks for 20 pounds, it's not a bad price.

[OrcaMatt]

as of now Dragon Skin is the only silicone that is skin safeDragonskin isn't the only one, it's just the only one we ever talk about :p

PlatSil Gel (http://www.fxwarehouse.info/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=FW&Category_Code=Silicone)

[Winged Mermaid]

Dragonskin isn't the only one, it's just the only one we ever talk about :p

PlatSil Gel (http://www.fxwarehouse.info/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=FW&Category_Code=Silicone)

True. It's Platinum Silicone that is the only approved grade. :thumbs-up:

[Mermaid hannahML]

im so happy we have made it so far as a community. {Mermaiding that is lol} I have been looking though most of the old threads for tail making and it is amazing how we have grown and how we have so many different techniques we have made , its absolutely outstanding