Mizuko's Silicone Tail

You are supercute in that pic! :) pleeease finish that tail fast because I want to see it alreadyyy,
The mold looks great!

Wow your tail is looking amazing! I am definitely jealous! I will be nearing the $2000 mark soon in my tail savings, but I have been feeling disheartened thinking that it will be all too much for me and I will ruin it, having no previous knowledge of any of this stuff, no shed full of tools, nobody to help me who knows what they are doing, etc. And living in Australia on top of that, with everything costing so much. I am thinking that with the amount of money I would be spending on it, I could just buy a Merbella's performance tail. Which would be wonderful, but it's just not the same as making your own, y'know?

Happy New Years everyone!
Sorry for being so quiet again. Life has been insaneeee.

Well,after finishing my scale mold, I had to pack it up un-cleaned and send it on a truck to my home town (along with all the other tail making stuff)! It got to my home town the day after I arrived- but when we went to pick it up, they were closed. For a week. ARGHHHHHHHH.
So I lost a week, which was super frustrating. I spent it twiddling my thumbs and being irritating to my parents because I talked about it constantly. haha!
But Christmas past, and a few days later I was able to pick up my precious cargo!

What I wasn't expecting, however, was how difficult it would be to clean the mold. Oh goodness. I highly recommend anyone who does a unique scale sheet like mine to be prepared for THREE days of cleaning. My fingers on my right hand are still numb! There were lots of undercuts which needed meticulous gentle picking with wooden toothpicks (dont use anything metal on Ultracal, it scratches the mold!And fingernails do too, so dont use them either!) I somehow roped my dad into helping me, but in two hours he only managed to do a few inches and gave up. Haha!

I was very eager to begin pouring at this stage. But... as I was picking away slowly I decided to make ANOTHER tail, not my pink one, first. HAHA! Yep, I don’t know why but I just decided to start on another colour scheme and finish my pink tail second. So... I re-poured the fluke molds, this time in white, so I could paint it easier. I really want to share the colour scheme with you all but for now I’ll leave it a secret, because I haven’t started painting yet and it might change (again)! Haha!

Finally I could pour the scale molds, three days of cleaning paid off!
Here’s it after I had laid the power-mesh layer on:
Attachment 16772

When I pulled the first scale sheet out of the mold I ran down through the garden screaming excitedly. It was such a long time, so many mistakes, but to have a completed scale sheet was the best feeling ever!

Jessica, the angel that she is, sent me a little email about how to do the seams, and it was just in time as I was starting the seams! Thank you so so much Jessica!!

I seamed it once, and then tried it on... to discover it was far too big. Ugh.So I pulled apart one side, and took it in. I tried it on again: still too big.WHAT? Took it in again. STILL TOO BIG. I was so frustrated!! I couldn’t understand what was going on! So I took it apart one last time, and took it in quite a bit. Lol! It might be too tight now, but I don’t care (plus I’m planning to lose some weight before I visit Phuket in Feb! Lol!) Because of all the taking-in, one side seam is not as nice as I’d wish. Its quite thick, but I’m hoping some clever painting might cover it enough. I’ve certainly learnt for my pink tail how much I need to take it in now!

My fluke I tried something different with. Instead of ‘gluing’ fabric to the monofin itself, I put power mesh on both sides of the silicone fluke- it meant I didn’t have to cast the silicone thick and it also helped covering the black monofin without paint! I then used some of the silicone glue from SmoothOn to stick the fluke to the monofin in little ‘strips’, and once that was dry I shoved some lubed-up rulers into the gaps I wanted to make drainage holes with(lubing up rulers was a new experience for me, haha!). Then I poured/pushed uncured silicone into the gaps and squished everything down. It seemed to have worked! So my monofin is not only sealed into the fluke, its also stuck to it!I haven’t swum in it to see how the drainage works, so hopefully its ok!

And I have now attached my fluke to the scale body, this is just before I trimmed the bottom of the scales and stuck them down:
Attachment 16771

Also, please excuse the big seams, I need to trim them better! Haha!

I’m having a break today because I am EXHAUSTED. Lol! Its a whole lot of work,lots of waiting for silicone to cure, lots of fixing mistakes. But I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Haha!

Looking GREAT! You worked hard and I hope the final result is amazing!

It looks amazing!!! I can't wait to see this finished! I'm glad the seam video helped! :)

I love the idea of adding powermesh to the back of the fluke.....I think I will try that! I think it would help hide the ridges on the wave monofin :) I also can't wait to see how the silpoxy worked!

The scale shape is just beautiful! I really love them! :) maybe one day we can do a tail swap....you make me one, I make you one :)

keep up the great work!

Wow, that looks nothing short of incredible! Well done!

Thank you everyone! ^__^
And omg Jessica, I would love a tail swap one day!! XD

Looking good so far.

Wow! That is so awesome! I can't wait to see it finished! I like the roundness of your fluke, too! Great work!

Attachment 16797
Can you tell I'm happy that if finally fits after taking it in 3 times? haha!

The fluke is REALLY heavy; competitor + silicone = lots of weight! haha! I'll get very strong legs lifting it up like this! lol!

I begin painting tomorrow- its the part I am most nervous about. Wish me luck!!

Omg u look so cute and happy!! :D Yaaaaay!! Did u recieve my card? ^^

Taking it in three times must have been a nightmare considering they are not exactly easy to seam up! It looks like it fits now though, awesome :)

Wow! Amazing! :D

How cuuuute! I can't wait to see it when its colored!

Great job!! I really love the fluke shape! :) Its so exciting to see so much progress :)

Thank you everyone! :D
I haven't received your card yet, Ariel! >.< I will keep an eye out for it! (Checking the post office today so hopefully its there! :D )

Ahhhh, it's super cute! Congrats!

I can't wait to see what it will look like when it's all painted :D

Painting painting painting! I discovered painting is the most fun part, even though I was so scared of starting! haha!

Painting is the most fun part! :D iiiihh!!

Great work!! I'm going to have to do this one day!!!