Cost of making a tail?

[Mermaid Lily_Pad]

I am curious, how much is the average cost of materials for a silicon tail?

[Mermaid Wesley]

Well for the silicone itself, it will be between 200 and 400 depending on thickness and size. Maybe 60-70 for casting materials, 20 for clay? And then a monofin on top of that. Then you will probably spend at least another 100 on pigments tools and other odds and ends so on the very low side it costs about 350 plus a monofin.


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[malinghi]

I think it depends on whether its your first silicone tail. For the 1 gallon unit of dragonskin its around $200. For a Rapid monofin its another $100. Then there's powermesh and pigments, which will be less than another $100, so in the best case scenario the parts can be under $400, like Wesley said. But if its your first time making one you're going to have to buy a lot of other stuff- materials for moldmaking, clay to sculpt stuff, sculpting tools, foam, paintbrushes, airbrush, cups, stirring rods, release agents, thinning agents for silicone, respiratory protection... it really adds up. And that's not including the materials that will be used up in the process of learning from experience.

[Mermaid Wesley]

^ What he said. For example, I just wrecked a bit of my resin and if I don't figure out what I did, I might have to buy some more :(

[Mermaid Melanie]

Also of you have to get the materials shipped it get even pricier ! Wish I could find more locally sourced materials so I could try making another tail once I'm finished with the current one !


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[Mermaid Lily_Pad]

Alrighty, bit more then I thought it would be. I would love to just "try" and make one, ya know? I wish there was a class you could take LOL. "How to make a mermaid tail 101". Just to see if I even have any of the artistic skills I would need ya know? I am an artsy person, and I like doing things with my hands, but I am more flower arrangements then sculpting.

[MarkF]

For a great silicone, I'm expecting to be closer to $1,000 because of the experimenting with fin types and scales and like you I enjoy the process of discovery and building.
The part that isn't said is the time it takes to learn what features and details you want, then learning all the skills that may be new to me. Before it's finished you may be another year older or more.
For me personally it would be nice even to ask Phoebe Tonkin or Hanna Fraser who tried the longer tails, what they thought?
Maybe meet with a local Pod and see if there's someone your size and try their tail and let them guide you. That would be fun too. Try this-
http://www.hannahfraser.com/mermaid/slippages/faq.php

[Mermaid Melanie]

if you read through the forum there are great tutorials - a class would be awesome - maybe check out if there are any Special effects workshops in your area - that would for sure give you more insight and you would learn techniques that would be very helpful in tail making I'm sure - such as sculpting, mold making , castings and pigmenting etc - I didnt have any experience in this sort of thing but am giving it a go - I would say if you can afford to make one then go for it - its a great project and a big learning curve but you will end up with a unique tail that you made yourself and thats pretty special ! sometimes I wish I just bought a tail because its been a lot of hard work but in the end it will be worth it for sure ! Hope you have fun exploring the tail making process!

[Lily]

Also of you have to get the materials shipped it get even pricier ! Wish I could find more locally sourced materials so I could try making another tail once I'm finished with the current one !


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Ugh, seriously. I live 3 hours from the nearest Smooth-On retailer. Never should've left San Francisco, where there was one right off a bus line. That stuff is super heavy and some of it can be hazardous to ship, all of which increases the cost :(

[Arella]

I really want to try to make a tail but it's so expensive! I think when I have time I'll start with a silicone top :)