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Thread: Masquerade Mergoggles

  1. #1
    Senior Member Pod of Texas Seatan's Avatar
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    Masquerade Mergoggles

    So after slamming teeth first into the bottom of the pool 'cause I couldn't see, I decided to try and make myself some attractive mergoggles. I know a lot of people have talked about it, but I haven't found a thread yet where anybody went through with it, so here we go!

    First thing was obviously to decide what to do for a mask. I looked online and found some light weight, laser cut metal masquerade masks that covered just the eye area. Yeah, it may eventually rust, but if I rinse it and dry it after every wear in the water, it should last for awhile. I decided to go with the purple.

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    It's from 4everstore in Etsy.

    Then I needed goggles, obviously. I searched for a pair that would show my whole eye in the opening of the metal, and found the clear TYR Racetech were the goggles for the job--when I put the mask over them, all you could see was my eyes, the goggles didn't show at all!

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    Downside, they have a white strap, so I will be hitting up JoAnn's for a clear elastic band today. I tried using fishnet tied around the white elastic, but I just didn't like how it looked. Clear elastic will be easy to hide under my hair, and since the sides of the goggles are also hidden by the mask (I bent it slightly to shape), it will give a nice effect.

    So, time to put them together. Easy, right? Uh... not so much. My hands are now covered with Gorilla Glue and I am going to have to drive half an hour to a different mall to get another pair of TYR Racetechs thanks to accidentally smearing the goggle lenses with glue--NOTE TO SELF: Tape eyes off goggle lenses before adding glue anywhere!

    The goggles only touch the mask at the nose bridge and a little bit on each side due to the shape of the lenses, so the Gorilla Glue was a major Fail thanks to it being so precariously fitted that I couldn't clamp the goggles and mask together long enough for the glue to dry. I think once I get the new pair, I will first hot glue the mask to the goggles to give it stability, then apply gorilla glue or maybe E6000 around the hot glue.

    Anyhoo, tis the start of my mergoggle adventure. I shall keep ye updated. Honestly, I think it's going to look REALLY cool. I was SO pleased by how well you could see my eyes through the eyeholes (like there were no goggles at all), at least before I smudged the lenses with Gorilla Glue!
    Once upon a time I was known as Seavanna. Going by Seatan these days. I always wanted to be the high lord of underwater hell.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod Mermaid Tula's Avatar
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    OOH! I can't wait to see how they hold up. I rely on goggles, for pretty much the same reason. Being blind under water sucks. That mask is super cute too, and if it's aluminum, it shouldn't rust.
    Hi! I'm Sam, aka Mermaid Tula, aka Comatose Angel.
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  3. #3
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    yeah let us know!

  4. #4
    Senior Member Chesapeake Pod ShyMer's Avatar
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    I was hoping someone would come up with something like this! Nice idea!

  5. #5
    Senior Member Euro Pod Echidna's Avatar
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    Cool stuff!
    I'm all for Mers with alien-looking faces (masks!) that make them look otherwordly and aquatic.
    This goes well together with a tentacled headpiece that hides the swimming cap!

    I'm going to put something similar together for myself, and be the antithesis to the pretty friendly sunshine-mers

  6. #6
    Senior Member Pod of Texas Seatan's Avatar
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    Okay, here it is! I am going to go swimming with it tomorrow and see how it does!

    So I started by replacing the white head band with two clear elastic bra straps, woven through the mask and goggles to hold them together at the sides. Then I used scissors to scratch the black "TYR" off.
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    This is what they look like on the inside:
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    And this is the little jewelry wire attaching the nose piece to the mask. You can't see it from the front. I gave up on the glue, deciding this would be easier and more secure.
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    Here it is from the front:
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    And here it is on! Please excuse the fact that I'm wearing no makeup and haven't brushed my hair all day LOL.
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    One side:
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    Other side... you can't see the fastenings too much. They're not noticeable in RL, anyway.
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    Definitely more noticeable with my hair pulled back, though.
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    You can only see the goggles when I look way down or way up... Again, not really noticeable in RL
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    Close up!
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    And just 'cause this post made me feel like Bill Nye the Science Guy...
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    Once upon a time I was known as Seavanna. Going by Seatan these days. I always wanted to be the high lord of underwater hell.

  7. #7
    WOW! Those actually turned out SUPER neat!

  8. #8
    So cool! This is such a creative way to deal with the goggle issue. XD

  9. #9
    Senior Member Pod of Texas Seatan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by caltuna View Post
    Cool stuff!
    I'm all for Mers with alien-looking faces (masks!) that make them look otherwordly and aquatic.
    This goes well together with a tentacled headpiece that hides the swimming cap!

    I'm going to put something similar together for myself, and be the antithesis to the pretty friendly sunshine-mers
    Haha, now I'm picturing a Cybergoth mermaid!

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    Once upon a time I was known as Seavanna. Going by Seatan these days. I always wanted to be the high lord of underwater hell.

  10. #10
    This is really neat! I hope you take some underwater pictures! I bet you won't be able to see the goggles at all underwater since they're only minimally noticeable in your pictures. Great job and really awesome idea.

  11. #11
    Senior Member Euro Pod Echidna's Avatar
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    Loving it!
    Prepare to get even more weird stares from pool-goers than the average mer though xD

  12. #12
    This is super cool Seavanna!!! Can't wait to see more pictures!!!
    "The cure for anything is saltwater: sweat, tears, or the sea​" ~Isak Dinesen

  13. #13
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod WillowAnne's Avatar
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    Oh, snap! These are SO cool! I must have something line this in my blind-eyed life!





  14. #14
    That looks really cool! Congrats, so happy for you!
    If you decide to buy another mask though, try and look elsewhere for a lower price. I bought a mask almost exactly like that (in black) at a local store for less than $10, and that was with retail markup. If you're worried about paint coming off of the front of the mask, you could try coating it in resin. As for rust, just be sure to rinse and dry well after each use

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  15. #15
    Neat design and execution.

  16. #16
    great idea!

  17. #17
    Senior Member Chesapeake Pod Fun123joker's Avatar
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    this is genius!


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  18. #18
    Senior Member Pod of New England Echinacea's Avatar
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    Love the idea, it looks gorgeous! My only concern is that the little swimming goggles say on them that you shouldn't use them for diving, and I think there was a post in the freediving section about the suction created being bad for your eyes. So as long as you are not going very deep, they should be fine! I may try looking for a small face mask, rather than just goggles, and see if I can find anything.

  19. #19
    Senior Member Pod of Texas Seatan's Avatar
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    Echinacea, I am a scuba diver and the deal with goggles is that you shouldn't go deeper than about ten to twelve feet, fifteen tops if they are large goggles, unless you have a nose pocket. This is because by 33 feet the air has been cut in half and small goggles will be forced to suck at the eye when the air is gone. To dive deep you need a way to exhale air into your mask, whatever the size. These goggles are not meant for freediving, just normal swim use.
    Once upon a time I was known as Seavanna. Going by Seatan these days. I always wanted to be the high lord of underwater hell.

  20. #20
    Senior Member Pod of New England Echinacea's Avatar
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    Just me being paranoid I'm so danged bouyant, it would probably be a minor miracle if I could get down to 10 feet deep! I have a similar pair of TYR goggles, so I may have to look into making them 'purty' like yours!

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