PearlieMae's Silicone Tail Journey

EEE! I like the key chain so much! I want to see that pectoral fin put together so badly.

I gotta ask--what are you using for foot pockets on your homemade monofin, and how are you attaching them? I bolted swim shoes to mine, but they don't work very well. I bought some finis zoomers, but I have no idea how to attach them (they're too tight on my feet to leave room for bolting them)

those would make good sun catchers or stained "glass" windows... especially if you did it in clear acrylic.

How heavy are the de-molded parts?

Stop being so incredible, Pearlie XD (no, just kidding, please keep being incredible- because its amazing to watch!!!)

Thanks for asking Pearlie. Just ordered the materials to make her monofin. Maybe here by Friday. Attach the fluke and she's done!

Pearlie, you are fantabulous. Just FYI. Your stuff is always so awesome!

:jawdrop: :drool: :clap:

Gah I LOVE those swirly colors! The first thing I thought of was a Tridacna!

Wow, those colors are going to be awesome PearlieMae.... Looking good!

This is going to look awesome!

I look forward to seeing your results of attaching scales individually to a silicone skirt! Novel idea.
I LOVE your inspiration art by Victor Nizovtsev

Isn't it going to be very heavy with doubleup silicone? Or am I all wrong?

I love what you've done so far, but wouldn't it be cheaper/easier if u just used fabric instead of silicone a the skirt piece? Or are u worried about it not bonding as well. It will also be quite heavy won't it? It would be nice though since there will be minimal bulges at the ankle and heel. Those pictures are really beautiful, and the marble effect of the silicone scales you did I neat! I think this is going to look pretty darn cool and unique! Good luck!


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XD it'll come out amazing!


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Thank you Pearlie Mae,
for sharing your experience with us and inspiring,mer-comunity members (me included)to give tail making a try ^-^
I've been trying to collect enough information for more than a year and now I feel confidant enough to try it!
Your tail is coming along beautifully ,We are all rooting for you :D

I have a bit of an open ended question. About how many pounds of clay do you think you've used ?

Make sure your leg form is a little small!

PEARLIE!

I was browsing etsy for christmas gifts, and I cam across a shop that sells cicada accessories!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/12512401...ed_tlp=jewelry

It reminded me of you and I thought you'd like to take a gander at it.

Those are beautiful! Thanks for the link! :D

THOSE COLORS

I don't want I NEED that!!!!!Can I haz one pweese!!!!!

OMG! those look incredible!

oh. mah. gawd.
Incredible!!!

Those look really cool, but I wonder how they would look on a full scale tail? I kinda get a feeling from far away it would look kinda like an oil slick but close up it would have more details.

Abalone Pure Genius, One of a Kind.

That was my concern too, but it seems that you thought of everything:)

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Originally Posted by ShyMer

That was my concern too, but it seems that you thought of everything:)

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Hahaha! I'm trying!

Holy Carp girl!

Dang, that's going to be one heavy tail. I hope your mertender can do some serious lifting! ;)

I ADORE the texture on your scales, Pearlie. They make me gasp and moan in ways that is making the small dog sleeping on my legs a little nervous. She's all: :no-no:

Don't abandon it! Me loves too much, and I think the colors and gleam of the abalon will look gawgeous with them!

I love the texture of the scales too!!! As long as you put that glossy silicone layer on top i think it will add a nice texture and really bring out the color. I'm thinking it will end up looking like this which would be perfect and really benefit from the scale texture....:D
http://mernetwork.com/index/attachme...6&d=1386743854

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Originally Posted by PearlieMae

Thanks, everyone!



I love the idea of the colors of an oil slick! It's one of my reference photos! The entire tail wouldn't be the oil slick randomness... Center back will be very dark, paua shell abalone, lots of black; transitioning to royal purples and deep blues down the sides; moving into brighter blues and greens towards the front. The center front (fish belly) will be peachy/pearly with interference violet and gold.

Pale green iridescent fluke and fins with purple veining/ribs. I think.

Also, chances are I won't be seen from far away anyway, no?

At least, that's the plan today. :thumbs up:

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That sounds really great! I cant wait to see more!!!!!

Are you going to give yourself an abalone top? Or do you that that would be overkill?

The abolonie is genious! I can't wait to see how this turns out! It's going to be beautiful!

You have some pretty outstanding ideas! Wings/fluke, fabric with silicone, and now I found the reference to the using to glass to smooth. Thanks for all the sharing.

PearlieMae, I am just blown away with how good this is looking. I am like bouncing around waiting to see the finished product!

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Originally Posted by PearlieMae

Hahaha! Even without a tail, my mertender is going to need a forklift!

I don't think it's going to be all that heavy, really. The power mesh is just going to be lightly saturated -wetted- with the silicone. The individually cast scales are going to be very thin, then "glued" to the power mesh with brushed on silicone. Then finished and sealed with a thin, glossy 'slime' coat of silicone. When it's all said and done, it will actually be thinner than a foam-circle type, fully-poured scale sheet. I won't be adding additional silicone through painting because the color will all be built in to the scales at the casting stage.


Here is a photo of my test scales all piled together. These are much thicker than the scale mold I'm making now.
Attachment 16375

Since I'm making the scales to resemble abalone, do you all think I should ditch the texture on the scales? Am I overthinking this?

Attachment 16376

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Oh how funny!
I'm going to be doing something similar to fix my disaster of a latex tail. I'm going to make thin sheets of latex, then punch them out with circle punches (or maybe a different shape. We'll see.) and then glue them onto my tail base individually because latex and e6000 luurve each other a lot. That way, I can blend the seams as I go, making a seamless partial latex tail, using my Oceanika as the fluke. I'm also going to hunt down an epoxy to glue the tail body onto the fin, since they're both a type of rubber.
Any ideas?
I think it's interesting how similar our methods are.

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Originally Posted by PearlieMae

Hahaha! Even without a tail, my mertender is going to need a forklift!

I don't think it's going to be all that heavy, really. The power mesh is just going to be lightly saturated -wetted- with the silicone. The individually cast scales are going to be very thin, then "glued" to the power mesh with brushed on silicone. Then finished and sealed with a thin, glossy 'slime' coat of silicone. When it's all said and done, it will actually be thinner than a foam-circle type, fully-poured scale sheet. I won't be adding additional silicone through painting because the color will all be built in to the scales at the casting stage.

Here is a photo of my test scales all piled together. These are much thicker than the scale mold I'm making now.

Since I'm making the scales to resemble abalone, do you all think I should ditch the texture on the scales? Am I overthinking this?

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I meant more because of all the crystals ;)

And I personally like the texture. I think it adds a nice dept to the tail.

:doh: I totally forgot those existed! Ooooooo sparklies. I hope there's no barracuda where you end up swimming!