Texture mats!

[MermaidAllie]

I found pretty cool site while doing some research on tail texture designs and figured you guys might want to check it out too!

The link below is to the site's Dragon Scale mat, but there are many others!

http://www.theceramicshop.com/store/product/1078/Texture-Mat%2C-Dragon-Scale/

Here's the link to the Fish Scale mat:

http://www.theceramicshop.com/store/product/1076/Texture-Mat%2C-Fish-Scale/

I know lots of people like to use the sticky foam dots to make their scale molds, but who knows these mats might help save time and money.

[Mermaid Wesley]

WOW. Thats a great find! Even if they don't work for tails, they look great for making accessories, too!

[MermaidAllie]

That's what I was thinking :) If you lay out a sheet of clay about a half inch thick (or less) you can make a scale mold easily and then reuse the clay for your fluke!

[Anahita]

I wonder what rubber they're made of....

[lynsea]

Thank GOD! No more damn scale punching. Those are pretty good prices too!

[Mermaid Wesley]

Even if it is silicone you could make a cast and then a mold and then cast your scales from that. An extra step or two but they look like they would be easier to use than a bunch of foam spots


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[MermaidAllie]

They are a kind of flimsy silicone-like material, easy to clean and reuse!

[Anahita]

Silicone would actually be the ideal rubber IMO because you don't have to worry about using it to cast the clay and then tainting the clay with something that'll inhibit your tail's silicone from curing. Silicone can be a real jerk about contaminants before it's cured, that's why I was curious about the unnamed rubber. :)

[Mermaid Wesley]

Oh I thought you can't mold silicone with silicone?


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[Anahita]

Technically you shouldn't but you CAN if you're very careful and use waxes or a dish-soap and alcohol solution in addition to the release agent. But you really shouldn't, because that's two rubbery things together, which causes stress-pulling when separating the molds (both want to stretch rather than separate) and can damage the final product.

I wasn't thinking of molding it directly into the silicone any how though (that would make for very small scale patches that'd have to be adhered together later on, which = more seams and more work) I was thinking heating up the clay, pouring it into the mold, then letting it cool and removing it from the mold, doing that a few times, then piecing all the parts together, then making a plastic/fiberglass mold of that. Which seems like the mat rubber doesn't matter much in that sense, but if the rubber is one the silicone is sensitive to and it comes in contact with the clay, there's a chance that, with the heat of the melted clay, the non-silicone rubber could leave a bit of a film on said clay, which could affect any mold cast off of it, which would in turn, affect the silicone later put into it.

I think my English kind of miffed up the end there, but I tried, lol.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Oh yeah that makes sense :) I'm just getting into this silicone tail thing so i'm learning still :) Your English is just fine :)

[Anahita]

Your English is just fine :)

You are way too nice, but thank you, I appreciate it. :)