Merman Marinus SLOW Extended Tail Project

So my grandpa heard about me making a tail and decided to go ahead and buy some silicone tubes from Wal-Mart I think that o wont use this for my Extendo tail because i was thinking of using strictly Platinum Cure Silicone... Soo o cant let his gift go to waste and for so I've decided to go ahead and start a fabric/silicone hybreed tail with it, the only problem is that the silicone he bought is white but I'll work it out.

My test Attachment 38692


The silicone. Attachment 38693

Note; I will not stop the construction ir my ex. Tail for this, the hybreed is only so I can have something to swim in while I build mr long john...

Aw he is so sweet to think of you! I love when families are so supportive towards something that is usually frowned upon (or just not being understood).

you can tint the caulk by adding pigment powder into it before you apply it, or dab the pigment in after you've applied the silicone (let it sit for around 5 minutes before you dab the pigment in but it shouldbe still sticky). Check out my thread in my signature for tips! I'm using caulk too.

Mionee thanks alot for the tips, and I've read your thread let me tell you, your artwork is amazing when I saw how you made the fins I was amazed great Job btw the tail looking good.

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Originally Posted by Trident True

Love your fluke. mine is the same fluke design. now in regards to size of fluke mine measures in inches. 36X29X16, 3ft wide is the largest you should go. i'm quite slender and that size is more than enough. you also want it to be proportioned to the size of your body. I have used Urethane to cast my fluke but it needs to be tested once my extension is done.

the Urethane that you have suggested please DO NOT use its only suitable for people that know how to used it safely. the urethane i used was called https://www.smooth-on.com/products/smooth-cast-45d/ you will notice you can tint it to the colour you desire. semi rigid means that it is stiff but flexible. do not get a rigid urethane as there will be no flexibility and it may shatter.

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http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...26e822fc98.jpg
Hey Trident True,
So I was thinking to go a little larger on the fluke, if I stand correct? 36" is the length, and 29 is the width, but what is the 16"???

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Attachment 38886

the Width really doesn't come into it has its an odd shape.

Ohhh that makes more sense, lol😂 because the way I measured mine was, i traced the shape of the fluke over a computer image on a clear over head sheet, then I projected the image on my wall, with a projection screen.

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Following!! I've always wanted a tail like the h2o ones, they're my all-time favorite so if you guys manage to make one, I'm a fan.

I have a question though, as you've probably noticed, the h2o tails are way thicker than the legs in some areas (eg. the shins) so the leg shape is totally concealed... How do you think they do this?? A thicker layer of silicone? Neoprene?

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Hi Moonchild!!!!
A good friend from the studio there, once said that they used and glued water resistant foam, and shaped black medium foam to rid the tail of the showing of the feet. Then of coarse silicone and nylon fabric with more silicone over is then layered on the suit, colored, scaled, detailed, then colored again.
Hope this helps 😁🐋🐬🐟

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And yes we all are so forward in the making of our own awesome extended tails, so If you have any questions, we are all here to help you out! 😀

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moonchild

Following!! I've always wanted a tail like the h2o ones, they're my all-time favorite so if you guys manage to make one, I'm a fan.

I have a question though, as you've probably noticed, the h2o tails are way thicker than the legs in some areas (eg. the shins) so the leg shape is totally concealed... How do you think they do this?? A thicker layer of silicone? Neoprene?

Enviado desde mi Aquaris X5 mediante Tapatalk

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Hi Moonchild!!!!
A good friend from the studio there, once said that they used and glued water resistant foam, and shaped black medium foam to rid the tail of the showing of the feet. Then of coarse silicone and nylon fabric with more silicone over is then layered on the suit, colored, scaled, detailed, then colored again.
Hope this helps 😁🐋🐬🐟

Sent from my SM-J700T1 using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moonchild

Following!! I've always wanted a tail like the h2o ones, they're my all-time favorite so if you guys manage to make one, I'm a fan.

I have a question though, as you've probably noticed, the h2o tails are way thicker than the legs in some areas (eg. the shins) so the leg shape is totally concealed... How do you think they do this?? A thicker layer of silicone? Neoprene?

Enviado desde mi Aquaris X5 mediante Tapatalk

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From what I've learned they built up layers of silicone on top of fabrics to get the desired thickness that's how I'll be doing it atleast.

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Originally Posted by GulfMerman101

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...26e822fc98.jpg
Hey Trident True,
So I was thinking to go a little larger on the fluke, if I stand correct? 36" is the length, and 29 is the width, but what is the 16"???

Sent from my SM-J700T1 using Tapatalk

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Personally I'm not so worried about my Fluke size cause it's gonna be BIG and when I say big I mean 51in↔️ and 31in↕️ Yes I know about proportions but I just can't help it I want and love big Flukes

Must be so hard swimming in those tails... But damn do they look good!

Enviado desde mi Aquaris X5 mediante Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moonchild

Must be so hard swimming in those tails... But damn do they look good!

Enviado desde mi Aquaris X5 mediante Tapatalk

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Yes! I agree with you all the way. They look so majestic and unique, plus I've heard they are easy to swim in, but others say it can get quite exaughting, another thing is that I have the slightest clue if they are ocean ready, due to the currents, but if your lucky that the seas are calm then go for it, even lakes and pools are great too 😀👌

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A few things i wanna discuss. firstly I believe that in h20't tails or you could say earlier tails. a dense silicone foam was used to fill in where the rod was so that it wouldn't sink in once the neoprene was placed over it. now it is evident in mako mermaids tails from season 1. as i do believe that the tails in 2 and three were made shorter so the foam wouldn't of been necessary. Remember over the course of the show the tails have gotten better in regards to performance. I noticed in season three that the tails have now become shorter with the extension. if you look at the pic below you will see clearly where the feet are then it kinda tapers off. notice how its flat, this got me thinking that perhaps silicone foam wasn't used.
Attachment 38891

another thing are the flukes. if you look at the earliest tails, from H20 you will notice that they aren't as thick as mako mermaids. My reasoning behind this is, they had some sort of nylon casting in them to help push water away. In mako they don't, the tails are made more thicker to act like a monofin. it's evident in season 3 that the flukes are cast in a silicone rubber or rubber. so in order to get good propulsion the density of the fuke on the sides and mid may down is reasonably thick.

Attachment 38892

season 1 tails
Attachment 38893


Merman Marinus, in regards to your fluke size, its important to decide on which route you will go down. if you make it dense at that size it's most likely you will have trouble lifting it in the water. this will depend on how the extension is made.

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Originally Posted by Trident True

Attachment 38891

Attachment 38892

season 1 tails
Attachment 38893

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that is NOT my BABIES

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...c3b1f3b3a5.jpg

^the ONLY h2o tails I don't hate

(I still won't watch Mako Mermaids)


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by GulfMerman101

Yes! I agree with you all the way. They look so majestic and unique, plus I've heard they are easy to swim in, but others say it can get quite exaughting, another thing is that I have the slightest clue if they are ocean ready, due to the currents, but if your lucky that the seas are calm then go for it, even lakes and pools are great too 

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Yep!! I live in Mallorca and there aren't many currents here so I think I'd be okay. But I've never worked with silicone or lexan or any of the materials you guys are using and I have to admit that the language barrier doesn't make it any less intimidating hahaha I need to google pretty much everything just to know what you guys are talking about (caulking silicone, etc.)
I'll probably end up making an hybrid tail, like the one Lili is making. I'd still need to figure out how to extend my tail though... I hate the mechanical part of the process tbh, especially since I wanna be sure it won't snap while I'm using it!!!

I know MarkF Ive made some size changes but I just keep coming back to the original but i still got time to deliberate km the matter.

Moonchild I recomend you test out the materials on small scale just to get to know how they work. And read all you can...

It definitely took a lot of designing, like I mentioned in the beginning of my thread, it's taken me about 2 years to figure out the correct design, I watched jmbfx studios create the tails and another mer on YouTube (I believe her name was jinx) she made her rod very stiff and that got me thinking...I had tk find some sort of material that would allow me to move my tail sideways and up and down, so a stiff rod wouldn't help, can't get my hands on a nylon rod (I looked everywhere and alibaba shipping is just crazy) anyways, at the end of my thread I think I'll include specifics on certain parts of my tail, once I get it in the water again fully done to test out the movement (since i used plastic scales it kind of restricts movement a bit, makes the fabric stiffer) but it's a fun adventure honestly, it wracked my brain a bit but I think I came up with a good alternative to the design, I know for future tails I need to improve on some things for sure (I found out during the process and I think I'll include that as well at the end)

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Originally Posted by Lili

It definitely took a lot of designing, like I mentioned in the beginning of my thread, it's taken me about 2 years to figure out the correct design, I watched jmbfx studios create the tails and another mer on YouTube (I believe her name was jinx) she made her rod very stiff and that got me thinking...I had tk find some sort of material that would allow me to move my tail sideways and up and down, so a stiff rod wouldn't help, can't get my hands on a nylon rod (I looked everywhere and alibaba shipping is just crazy) anyways, at the end of my thread I think I'll include specifics on certain parts of my tail, once I get it in the water again fully done to test out the movement (since i used plastic scales it kind of restricts movement a bit, makes the fabric stiffer) but it's a fun adventure honestly, it wracked my brain a bit but I think I came up with a good alternative to the design, I know for future tails I need to improve on some things for sure (I found out during the process and I think I'll include that as well at the end)

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I actually found some websites that have nylon on the perfect sizes, but nylon its self can be pretty pricy hmmm

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