Michelle first Silicone tail

[Starbubbles]

Hi guys :) so I have finally taken the plunge to post on here! I have been reading the forum for a little while to figure out how to make my own tail and the amount of work that you put in to tail making is amazing! I also want to say that without all the amazing threads I would be lost so thanks everyone!! So I live in New Zealand and there is not a lot of places to get dragon skin silicone here and Its like $150 NZD for 900 grams so I am going with a NZ silicone that is safe to use. So I guess I will just post what I have been doing and my process. So firstly I made a fabric tail :) Its lilac purple and its a 2 piece so the mono fin is separate. This was because my grandma thought I would drown and would not help me sew it all together. :) Its swim suit material and cost me $3 for 2 metres (Score!). I brought my mono fin online for $25 and it was pre cut already!
19818

Then I made my foam scales! I was going to mold them with clay but I was way to impatient after a few rows so I brought 2 packets of Little Hands foam for $7 each! Also brought the only hole punch I could find for $10. I just glued them down with a PVA wood glue I had at home.
19819


I then used my Victor superfine utility plaster and made a mould box. First try failed miserably! :( I had made my mould box to strong to take off once it had set and it ended up cracking all the plaster when I tried to rip it off lol!. So some advice would be to make an easily removable mould box and to try take it off gently! 1982019821
I was pretty gutted but apart from it cracking it had no air bubbles and all the scales were still perfect.. So I made a new mould box with the help of my granddad and did it again yesterday and it turned out perfect!
19822
I was so happy!! I used a silicone spray as a release agent and no foam stuck to it! I was so glad I only had to do it twice now I have cleaned it out and I am waiting on more silicone to be delivered and some paints as well! going for a nice turquoise colour! In the mean time I am sculpting my fluke and making a top to go with it! I will be coating over the rhinestones so none fall off into the water! 4000 rhinestones later and it looks like this so much more work to do but I am happy it sparkles! :D
19823

19824

Sorry for the low quality Images It is taken off my phone! I hope to update you soon with more progress and hopefully a finished tail!

[BayouMermaid]

Good luck! I also had a problem with my first scale mold. I'm making my second one this weekend. Your tail looks like it is off to a good start! :D

[Mermaid Wesley]

Hooray! Another person making a tail! I love these.


Sent from my shellphone using Tapatalk

[XMermaidMarinaX]

Where did you get those rhinestones they are absolutely gorgeous and I want to make a top for myself.. My seaweed netting top is on hold I guess due to a few issues with the bust, and such.. Have you ever considered making and selling tops?

[Starbubbles]

BayouMermaid (http://mernetwork.com/index/member.php?2617-BayouMermaid) - Thank you! good luck I hope your second one works!
MerHopefully (http://mernetwork.com/index/member.php?1457-MerHopefully) - :) I saw all the amazing tails everyone has and could not resist!
XMermaidMarinaX (http://mernetwork.com/index/member.php?1904-XMermaidMarinaX) -Thank you! I got them off eBay they were really cheap so maybe this means they are not a good quality? But they look amazing its like $1.50 for 2000 of them
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2000pcs-Acrylic-Rhinestone-Half-Round-Flatback-Beads-DIY-Craft-/390662595562?tfrom=330827293209&tpos=top&ttype=price&talgo=undefined -these were very tiny ones and then I got these ones for $1.90 for 2000 http://www.ebay.com/itm/12g-Half-Round-Acrylic-Crystal-Flat-Beads-For-Craft-Nail-Art-3mm-17-Colors-/180951123187?pt=US_Nail_Care&var=480186513689&hash=item2a218704f3
.. I would sell them in the future but at the moment I don't know how durable they would be and I would have to test it out as I wouldn't want to give anyone a top that may fall apart :)

[Mermaid Wesley]

I did the same thing. My clay is coming tomorrow!


Sent from my shellphone using Tapatalk

[OceanRose]

Hi Michelle :-3

I love what you've done so far :-) Your top is soo pretty, and you got some sweet deals on the fabric and monofin!!
I had a problem getting my scales out too, but mine are resin so luckily it didn't crack all the way.

Where did you order your silicone? I tried lots of places here but I couldn't find anyone and I was thinking I'd have to ship from Australia

[Starbubbles]

MerHopefully (http://mernetwork.com/index/member.php?1457-MerHopefully)- Exciting :) good luck on your sculpting! PS. I love your signature!

OceanRose - Thank you! I ordered it online here this is the 1kg option http://www.stmpro.co.nz/store/product_info.php/stm-pro-x50-casting-and-mould-making-silicone-1kg-p-1
or the 5kg option http://www.stmpro.co.nz/store/product_info.php/stm-pro-x50-casting-and-mould-making-silicone-5kg-p-11
We used this stuff in my art class when we were making masks cause it was safe to be on the skin! The shipping was fairly cheap aswell at $10 NZD

[OceanRose]

Awesome! Thank you for the link :-3
I also found some pretty sweet clay on there too yaaay <3 thanks again

[Starbubbles]

No problem, I used the clay too! It is very easy to work, let me know how you get on! :)

[OceanRose]

Thank you! I will probably order the clay :-) I need to get a refund on the monster clay I ordered from Australia because they calculated the shipping incorrectly and it works out to be too expensive.
The ups and downs of making a tail!! I was so excited, only to be so disappointed, and now I'm tentatively excited :-D

Hey ... so we kinda have a New Zealand pod ..... you and me and Lollikit! <3

[OceanRose]

Oops I was meant to ask how much you used ... I am estimating 8 blocks? (8lb)

[Starbubbles]

Yup 8 is probably good. I only used 6 and It was enough for the base but I need a bit more for more details! also check out http://www.zigzag.co.nz I have ordered my paints off of here! ordering everything is so fun! I was so excited to see more kiwis!

[OceanRose]

Be a bit wary of zigzag ... I ordered lumiere from them but the owner unfortunately had a stroke and nobody knew her system and then their computers broke down and records were lost etc. Up until that, everything was great but they messed up an order of mine and still owe me paint and have not sorted it out one year later :-(

Maybe everything is ok for new orders now, but their facebook page is not updated much and it's hard to know.

[Starbubbles]

eek! thank you for the warning! Sucks to hear that they still have not sorted it out for you though! :/ what a bummer!

[Mermaid Saphira]

I love your top! It is definitely not something I've seen before, very unique and beautiful!

[Ariel-Starfish]

This look so promesing! :D That top is amazing!!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Hi Michelle :-3

I love what you've done so far :-) Your top is soo pretty, and you got some sweet deals on the fabric and monofin!!
I had a problem getting my scales out too, but mine are resin so luckily it didn't crack all the way.

Where did you order your silicone? I tried lots of places here but I couldn't find anyone and I was thinking I'd have to ship from Australia

Hi OceanRose, quick question, where were you going to order your silicone from in Australia? I'm an Australian mer and I'd love to get hold of some silicone. Thanks! :)

[OceanRose]

http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?6928-Oh-look-another-person-making-a-tail/page6

(http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?6928-Oh-look-another-person-making-a-tail/page6)Hi Mermaid Kera!

I'm thinking if you made a new thread specifically asking, you may get a better answer because maybe not everyone who knows the answer may read this ...
But for Dragon Skin silicone (which is from a company called Smoothon in the USA) their Aussie distributor is www.rowetrading.com.au (http://www.rowetrading.com.au)
For silicone which is not specifically Dragon Skin, Elle (in the thread I linked to at the top of this post) used Vario 15 from Barnes ... she does a really helpful breakdown of the price differences on the last page of that thread.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thank you so much OceanRose! I'm fairly new here, so I didn't feel comfortable making my own thread on this, but I'll investigate those links and I may make my own thread if it doesn't work out :)

[OceanRose]

Thank you so much OceanRose! I'm fairly new here, so I didn't feel comfortable making my own thread on this, but I'll investigate those links and I may make my own thread if it doesn't work out :)

You're welcome!! And welcome to Mernetwork too <3

[OceanRose]

No problem, I used the clay too! It is very easy to work, let me know how you get on! :)

Hi again Starbubbles! (such a cute name hehe)
I researched the clay, and I wish I knew this for certain, but I think it might be quite a bit softer than Monster Clay, and I'm worried that if I cast with resin it (the resin) might heat up and melt it or soften the clay so the details are lost ... I don't know if that will happen or not.

So I think I will get 5lb Monster Clay and really stretch it out lol :-)
I just thought I'd update you.

How is everything going with you, has your silicone and paint etc arrived? Im so excited to see how the turquoise will look!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thank you! ^_^ I'm learning so much from everyone here, it's amazing :)

[MermaidxTalia]

The tail looks like it's coming along well.
I will follow this thread closely.
Also that top is just gorgeous!
Patience really is a virtue!