Mermaid Lily's First Silicone Tail

[Lily]

I actually live in Portland but I'm down in the Bay Area pretty regularly visiting family. I would definitely traffic your tail across state lines. Alternatively, you could road trip up to Portland! It's a gorgeous drive and we have amazing food up here.

[Mermaid Mystery]

I have friends in Portland and would have no problem driving up there! I love Oregon so much the drive is completely worth it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Your sculpting is fabulous! May I ask what clay you're using and if you're airbrushing your pieces? (My apologies if you mentioned it earlier and I missed it.)

[Lily]

No worries, I mentioned it a ways back but I'm using Prima Plastilina. And yes I'm going to be airbrushing my tail.

[Theobromine]

I love Prima Plastilina. I used it to sculpt my side fin/tester for my tail project and it's like butter. I had asked my husband for more for Christmas but he got me Monster clay instead, cuz he apparently looked up what other mermaids were using :P You must be a much faster worker than me, though. Mine is taking me foreverrr....

[Lily]

@Theobromine Yes, I love Prima! I started off using Monster and it was awful. I'm not entirely sure if I got a bad batch or what, but I just could not get it to work for me. Prima is like sculpting with tiny bits of heaven. Also it's much easier to clean out of the molds, since some scalding hot water, Dawn, and a toothbrush will take care of 98% of anything left after you scrape out the bulk.

Speaking of which.

I think I had my most awkward mermaid moment ever on Friday. I'd spent Wednesday and Thursday scraping clay out of the fluke and needed to scrub out the last stubborn little bits. Unfortunately, this fin is so big (the total footprint is about 36"x48" [91.5x122cm]) that I can't really get more than a piece of it into the kitchen sink.

So I have to put it in the shower. It barely fits. And I have to get in there with it.

Cut to me in my bikini, wearing yellow rubber gloves and water shoes (because to dissolve the clay, the water has to be hot enough to burn my skin), on my hands and knees in the shower, alternating between a toothbrush and a scrubby brush, scrubbing away at a mermaid fin that's basically my size.

I'm really glad my husband wasn't home to see that, because he would have taken pictures, and then I would have had to murder him.

(Our shower, btw, is MASSIVE. It could comfortably fit probably 5 people, and uncomfortably fit nearly a dozen. It also has 3 shower heads and no door, no door to the bathroom itself either. I think the previous owners might have been a little, um, adventurous.)

I had planned to start casting silicone today but I quickly realized all my molds are warped! I guess the Bondo/fiberglass combo twists as it cools if it's not weighted down, so all the molds have a bit of a curve to them. The fluke was the worst - each little frill was twisting in a different direction! So, back in the shower with everything to heat it up and then weight it down flat to cool. Hopefully they'll cool fast enough that I can at least pour if not demold today.

There is literally a cloud forming in my bedroom from all the steam (because remember, no bathroom door).

[Morticia Mermaid]

Wow. Those sculpts look incredible Great work!

[Theobromine]

BAHA Lily that is awesome. Good thing you were able to get the warped molds flattened out! That would be tragic if all that gorgeous sculpting work you did was rendered unusable!

[PearlieMae]

Just a heads-up for next time...some baby oil on a toothbrush breaks up the clay nicely, then you can clean the oil off with warm water and dish soap.

Oh, you'll still be in the shower with your giant fluke, but you don't have to scald yourself or expose yourself to your hubby videoing potential YouTube gold!

[Lily]

Pearlie:



Just kidding, that's a great tip, thank you! I'll definitely try that with the next molds.

Poured the first casts of each mold today! Part of me is so excited!



And part of me is super anxious



I just want it all to turn out all right! Also Omg, so much silicone! My fluke alone will wind up using about 1.5 gallons.

[PearlieMae]

Holy crap! My entire tail and fluke was a gallon and a half!

[Mermaid Wesley]

Who says i DONT fall over all the time lol

[Mermaid Wesley]

Yeah yeah pearlie your stuff is thin and dainty and beautiful *grumble* I dont even know how to sculpt things as thin as your crap... *grrr*

[Theobromine]

Yeah yeah pearlie your stuff is thin and dainty and beautiful *grumble* I dont even know how to sculpt things as thin as your crap... *grrr*

[Lily]

Damn Pearlie, I don't know how you managed that! My tail is definitely going to be on the heavier end of the typical range, probably around 30 lbs... and half of that is going to be the fluke! I better start doing leg day at the gym. Also, I should start going to a gym.

I pulled my casts last night and they're GORGEOUS!!!!!!! The scale sheet worried me the most, as I did two layers of silicone with powermesh in between and I was worried about bubbles. But there are almost none! My side fins are absolutely perfect, and the fluke is pretty great - there are one or two thin spots I want to shore up with more silicone and/or powermesh just to make sure they don't tear with the monofin inside, but overall it looks amazing. I just finished pouring the other halves of the fins and the second layer of the second scale sheet.

I might be able to get away with using 3 scale sheets depending on how I seam it, otherwise I'm going to have to order more silicone. A lot of the scale sheets toward the ankle area will wind up getting cut away, and I'm thinking of making a scale top from the scrap to match my tail... if I could find a flipping strapless bra in my size for under $40. I'm a 32D, which isn't a terribly uncommon size, but you would be amazed at how little selection there is in store. Big Box Stores don't seem to carry them at all, and even the Nordstrom in town doesn't have them listed in stock. I'm hesitant to buy online, because really, if there's one thing you need to try on it's a bra. Gotta make sure the girls look and feel just right.

WHY CAN'T I HAS PRETTY MERBOOBS!?!?

[Theobromine]

If you don't want to waste silicone, you can probably pour just what you need for your pattern, rather than making a whole sheet that you have to trim away like scrap fabric. I'd recommend making your pattern to your measurements on paper first (leaving a couple extra inches all around for a seam allowance) and block that out on the scale sheet (make a mold wall with clay directly onto the scale mold of the shape and size of your pattern).

[Mermaid Wesley]

You're already working with silicone girlie. Pad those seashells


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Wesley]

You're already working with silicone girlie. Pad those seashells


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edit: I think I misread. Is your problem too much padding? If so: GOD I FEEL YOU.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PearlieMae]

I think her problem is she's got big knockers and a tiny chest. 32"???? A THIRTY TWO D??? Jeez! One of my THIGHS is 32" around!

I have the opposite problem. Try finding a decent 38B.

[Lily]

I think her problem is she's got big knockers and a tiny chest. 32"???? A THIRTY TWO D??? Jeez! One of my THIGHS is 32" around!

I have the opposite problem. Try finding a decent 38B.

Yep, that's definitely the problem, although I do hate bras that have a lot of padding built in. I already have plenty of natural padding, stop trying to make them bigger!

I'm actually more like a 31DD but that is straight up impossible to find. I have a narrow rib cage and my boobs have somehow grown 3 cup sizes in the last 5 years or so. I turned 29 in January - isn't puberty supposed to be over now???

BTW I just found out Aerie is having a 30% off sale on their bras! So I ordered 2 of these babies. I've never worn an Aerie bra but I figured I wouldn't find a better deal any time soon. And Pearlie, they have 38B