Help needed on tail makeing

[MermaidAubrin]

Pretty soon I will be making a mermaid tail out of Alex and neoprene it's seems like a lot of tutorials leave gaps on parts of the process please leave me a step by step tutorial (video or text if text pictures would be helpful) Specific questions Someone said that even though they used exact measurements the neoprene was to big how can I prevent this?how many layers of Alex do I need and how think should they be?I wanted the shape of the fin to look like mermaid ravens orange tail it looks like the mono fin is uncut and the shape of the fin is form the fabric I was told she used plastic pumping so it would be flexible but wouldn't completely collapse how would I make my fin like that I think that's all sorry for all the questions I just really want to make sure I know every thing I can before starting the tailp

[inactive account]

This is so pointless! Why is everyone making Alex tails WTF!!!!!!!!! it was figured out to be avoided and now people are using it to make tails, Oh yeh just forget it goes white when submerged in water and also that it begins to bloody degrade! swear this is so stupid! MAKE A TAIL OUT OF LATEX, LIQUID LATEX!!!!!!!!!!

[MermaidAubrin]

This is so pointless! Why is everyone making Alex tails WTF!!!!!!!!! it was figured out to be avoided and now people are using it to make tails, Oh yeh just forget it goes white when submerged in water and also that it begins to bloody degrade! swear this is so stupid! MAKE A TAIL OUT OF LATEX, LIQUID LATEX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

um sorry I did not know someone told me it was good

[mermaidwillow]

This is so pointless! Why is everyone making Alex tails WTF!!!!!!!!! it was figured out to be avoided and now people are using it to make tails, Oh yeh just forget it goes white when submerged in water and also that it begins to bloody degrade! swear this is so stupid! MAKE A TAIL OUT OF LATEX, LIQUID LATEX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hey there is no need to be so rude about it. just because Aubrin did not know that Alex is low quality does not mean you need to yell! if you have a comment, say it nicely. thanks.

Aubrin, I don't know anything about making tails from latex, Alex or otherwise, but I'm sure that someone else can help you. Good luck! I too am looking for tips on making realistic tails, so I'll be sure to check up on here to see if anything new has come up.

[Mermaid Star]

This is so pointless! Why is everyone making Alex tails WTF!!!!!!!!! it was figured out to be avoided and now people are using it to make tails, Oh yeh just forget it goes white when submerged in water and also that it begins to bloody degrade! swear this is so stupid! MAKE A TAIL OUT OF LATEX, LIQUID LATEX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The reason people are making them from Alex is because it is inexpensive. A tail can be eeked out with on box (12 tubes) said Raven and that means only $24-$25 in caulking materials. Will it degrade? Yes! Can the life of this tail be lengthened by proper care and adding silicone on top? Yes again. Also Liquid latex needs a mold since it is kinda soupy so if people don't have a mold, this is the best way to do it that the community has come up with. Don't worry Aubrin, though they are not the best materials, they can work and have worked for several mers in the past.

From what has been told to me by a tail maker was, you want to go a little smaller than you would think on the tail so that it is tight enough to stay on when swimming. They are not easy to get on and often require some intense shimmying to get the tail on (or at least in my experience) but you should be able to get it on obviously. I would say to go with your body measurements with your legs as tight together as you can get them. and start from there. I have often thought and will probably try the tape method when creating a new pattern for my self (since I lost almost 15 lbs! Woo!!!) If you don't know the method already, I can share.

As for the tubing, Raven never shared how she did this part. It was something to be special for her and the only thing she kept secret for her self. But I know other mers have used tubing before. You just have to hunt for them. Or come up with your own way to make it work. It may take some trial and error but it will be yours in the end and you will have it just the way you want it! If you have anything else, I will try to answer the best way I can. I am just pulling this from memory of old posts.

[inactive account]

Star- you are wrong, besides constantly using silicone spray and retouching up paint on an Alex tail and If Aubrins happy with having a tail like that then yes sure that’s fine, Latex DOES NOT need a mold I create latex tails all the time and am going to start selling. I can tell you that YES it is watery but I just wonder why they decided to create 'latex Thickener' Which is probably better because you can make better fluke texture with different thickness of latex. And NO latex IS NOT expensive in comparison to Alex, if you know where to look and what to get there are many great deals out there and with latex the createx paint will stick even better 'seeing as its made for latex (NOT ALEX)' and latex will not go whitish, you can make semi transparent flukes, have the tail NOT degrade within a year or two and it would be so much more cost effective then Alex, wouldn’t you rather save a little like 10 more dollars for latex which will last longer then go with Alex and make a waste of a tail which makes swimming pools go cloudy and also takes about 3 days to cure, why not latex which dries with hairdryers in only 2 hours? I still do not understand this. And Aubrin If you need help making latex tails just PM me, or anyone else seeing as I’m the only one who actually followed ravens tutorial, oh and sorry for being 'rude' I was kinda speaking out in general not specifically to you seeing as you did not know.

[OrcaMatt]

Neotail, which liquid latex do you use? Was going to add a bit about it in the FAQ.

[inactive account]

there is no sprecific liquid latex you just buy liquid latex thats it I dont think there are different types of liquid latex, i think it's all the same, but some people 'con' you and add water to make it look like theres more, avoid that!

[kazekoh]

Uhh, there does seem to be different latex actually. o__o just from what I poked around. You mean this; http://www.amazon.com/AeroMarine-Liq...ecc_rvi_cart_2

correct?

Also can you place it on neoprene so your skin doesn't touch it? And does it cause allergic reactions in other people if you swim in the same pool?

[taom]

Neotail, I had a question so I PMed you.

[Mermaid Jewel]

That's interesting, I'd love to experiment with making latex tails one day. I mean, I've worked with liquid latex but it was cosmetic liquid latex for theatre make-up xD Hm well I guess it's good I threw out the ALEX tail idea already.