Take two, partial silicone tail

**Lili** · 06-16-2016, 06:02 PM

So I think last year or maybe two years ago I put up a post and I was going to make a full on silicone tail, but I got a few suggestions from this community, telling me to go with a hybrid for my design...I then didn't have time for this project because we went on vacation.
Onto the actual tail, I want the fluke to be silicone but the body will be either lycra or spandex, I can't get a hold of neoprene anywhere. For the scales, I'm going to use plastic ones, I had begun cutting some out of plastic bottles and I'll be attaching them with e6000 or fishing thread, I'll do tests to figure out which one works better and which one is easier as well. The dorsal fin will be made out of silicone as well, and my monofin will be handmade out of lexan, I found some in my garage today actually. Anyway I've sculpted the fluke already and the dorsal fins (the dorsal fins I sculpted out of polymer clay, I don't think polymer has sulfur in it so it should be okay, but I'll do tests, in case it fails I still have some leftover clay so it's okay)

**IllynReaver** · 06-16-2016, 10:16 PM

Oh! I like the fluke, looks like it's H2O or Mako Mermaids inspired?

**Lili** · 06-16-2016, 10:17 PM

Yes indeed, I really like the way they looked so I tried making a similar version of it.

**moniee** · 06-17-2016, 05:48 AM

Oh great! I love how you sculpted the fluke, very nice!
I'm just thinking, the top of the fluke looks very bulky (which I love about it to be honest) but is it not going to be too thick for the spandex to handle?

Have you looked at eBay for neoprene? I actually got an old swimsuit made of neoprene and altered it to make a snug tail base

If you want to stick to using spandex, I would suggest to take a look at Keiris' hybrid tail as well!

Good luck!

**Lili** · 06-19-2016, 08:55 AM

Ah yeah I actually checked ebay the other day and I found some neoprene after all, I ordered it just before we had this huge storm and I lost WiFi till Monday, so it's traveling to my house now, it should be here soon so I can continue the project, also, I had a massive fail with plaster, my entire mold shattered because the layer I put on there was way too thin, so I'm getting some fiberglass resin after all, it's okay, I bought the plaster with a gift card so I technically don't feel that bad abo it ruini ng it, it's a bit unfortunate, I had to reconstruct the fluke a bit, as the shattered plaster ruined some parts, I feel like it turned out well though because I was pretty sure my fluke was too thin at the bottom anyway, but I'm excited to continue this when I get off work (that's the only reason I can post right now haha)

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**Lili** · 06-21-2016, 01:22 PM

Yay, I did my first successful mold, the initial one I sat on and smashed haha but this one turned out pretty well, I'm happy about it, I kind of broke my sculpt trying to get it out but it can always be glued together

**Lili** · 06-21-2016, 02:42 PM

This is so messy...also should I back my plaster mold with wold or something? I'm afraid that when I flip it it's going to crack

**Lili** · 06-21-2016, 06:22 PM

Wood*

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**Mermaid Wesley** · 06-21-2016, 09:11 PM

You could do that! Some people use cheesecloth or similar

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**Lili** · 06-21-2016, 10:32 PM

Cheesecloth ? I haven't a clue what that is, I'll look into it, thanks for the suggestion! I'm just like terrified that it'll get shattered like my previous mold, but I'll definitely look into something like cheesecloth

Update: you know what I looked at images of it and j realized I have some canvas fabric that j could potentially use?

**Lili** · 06-22-2016, 04:57 PM

So I actually began working on the body now because I'm going to give the mold a day or two to dry just in case...I have a phobia of cracking it in half, literally lol.

Anyway I just traced my legs on the neoprene, they had yellow and not white which was a bit upsetting but it's okay since I'll be sequining it, and I'm ready to cut now, I love sewing so I'm excited about this....now I wonder whether either of my sewing machines can take this thickness, wondering whether I'll have to hand sew it hmmm

**Lili** · 06-22-2016, 09:51 PM

I don't think water would be appropriate to use on a plaster mold, but I'm trying to clean mine out at the moment and it's taking ages, is there a quicker way to do this?

**Imogen Finnly** · 06-22-2016, 10:04 PM

Ive heard tooth brushes work for the finer grooves?

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**Lili** · 06-22-2016, 10:13 PM

Oh I didn't think about that, thanks Imogen Finnly!

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**LouLouBelle** · 06-23-2016, 07:56 AM

Water is absolutely fine to use on plaster - just don't completely soak the whole thing and don't be too rough! You'll probably find water and a tooth brush will work best. Good luck!

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**Lili** · 06-23-2016, 11:08 AM

Awesome I tried dried toothbrush last night, and it got so much of it off, I'll be wetting it today then, also polymer clay worked wonders I had zero crumbs to clean up when I pulled it off the mold, now if I had 10 pounds of polymer clay for the fluke, it would've been so much easier haha, I sprayed the final mold with some shellac, just to be sure...now I need to wait for the garage to air out, meanwhile I'll work on the sewing

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**Lili** · 06-23-2016, 05:42 PM

I finally got to pour the fluke mold, silicone rubber seriously smells bad, I had to wear a face mask during the process...Tapatalk isn't letting me upload pictures but yes I'm excited ^▪^