Mertailor Latex tail - LOVE it!

[Blaze]

I decided a few months ago that I really wanted a 'realistic' tail. I made myself a swimable spandex one & it's lovely but as I wanted to do some serious photoshoots and also use it in several large performances coming up I wanted a 'real' tail. I considered trying to make myself one but I honestly didn't have the time to spare to experiment nor the space to do it in so I needed to purchase.

As with everything I researched as much as I could. Researching is what actually let me to this forum (well the one right before it; came over with the move). I did see the bad reviews as i read everything I could since it's a big purchase. Finally I decided that i was going to take the chance as I honestly didn't want to pay $2000+ for a tail elsewhere just yet. So i sent a few emailed to Eric asking questions and chatting about the tail; he was always very quick to reply even though I'm sure he gets a MILLION emails a day (not to mention all the FB posts he gets from people with the same questions over and over again. oi. It's not even my page and it drives me crazy!).

I placed my order on July 29th; I had hoped to be able to bring the tail with me to DragonCon which was 4 weeks away; Eric said he'd try but couldn't promise as his current turn around time was 4-6 weeks. Alas that couldn't be met (Sadly Eric's grandmother passed during this time frame & I would never fault him for time off from tails for that) but it was probably a good thing I didn't get it before Dcon; I was already over weight limit on my suitcases anyways and never even made it to the pool!

So on Sunday Sept 11 Eric posted a pic of my tail saying it would be arriving in Texas this week! Sure enough it arrived on Thursday (almost 6 weeks to the day since I ordered); less than an hour after I left for the airport to head to New Orleans for the weekend! *facepalm* Eric even paid extra on the shipping over what I paid (two day air) in order to try and get it to me before I left. Hubby was home though and he carefully unpacked it and snapped a quick pic for me; it looked lovely! When i got home on Sunday night after loving on Hubby and my fur-kids for a bit I ran to check it out! I was too tired to try it on as we had been stuck in the air for hours circling the airport due to a electrical storm. it looked amazing though!

When I got home from work on Monday after taking care of the pugs I immediately slipped it on. It fit great! Perfect length; I didn't want to to come up to over my belly button and it didn't! Alas when I sit up & bend at the knee the back slips a little too far down and reveals the top bit of my butt; not sure how this could have been avoided as it is the correct measurement I gave that was taken while standing. The length is great when laying flat out as i would be while swimming. A friend said this is a normal problem most Mers have though so I think I will make a hip belt or something to put on while sitting up. I'm sure it would be a little problematic while being carried as well; do not want to flash people! Any advice on that would be appreciated; I'll ping Eric about it too.

Here are a few pics my husband snapped of me last night! Forgive the after work makeup & hair; was just trying to get quick pics!

(FYI I know there is a wrinkle at the ankles in this pic; it wasn't there the first time I tried it on when I got home from work but Hubby had hurt his back shortly before this and I was just trying to get him to lay back down but he wanted to take pics. lol)


Also will note here that he said my tail was one of the very last latex tails to be made with a smooth edge fluke; I'm glad i got in under the line on that one as I LOVE the shape of this fluke!!




I'm planning on bringing my tail to a lake this weekend; will see if i can get better shots as well as will find out how it swims! Will update when I can!

So overall I love it!

[MermaidAubrin]

Kelly showed me the picture on Facebook I literally jumped and squealed (no I am not misusing literally) so glad it worked out

[AniaR]

I'm really happy that you're happy with the tail

Alas when I sit up & bend at the knee the back slips a little too far down and reveals the top bit of my butt; not sure how this could have been avoided as it is the correct measurement I gave that was taken while standing.

I had that same issue, in the future should you have the time/funds I was able to get someone else to add an extra piece of treated latex/neoprene to my tail and it's amazing. I tried really hard to swim in it when it was too short because I assumed the same thing as you- I'd be stretched out (it was the same for me if I stretched out it seemed to cover so I thought I'd be fine) but it wasn't the case and I kept having to pull it up and eventually that just made for unfun swimming. With my extra 10 inches I had added on it comes up over my belly button on land (unless I pull it down some) but your tail is always going to pull down some when you swim so when I'm in the water it's below my belly button.

So there's a couple of avenues you could go
1) Have someone add on an extra piece- you'll have a tiny seam but I promise you people never notice mine and having that extra length makes SO much difference.
2) Try a belt- this will cover the bit of your bum but it wouldnt really help keep it up when you sit or swim unless you sew it into the tail (I say this because I tried EVERY avenue with mine before sending it to Raven to add the extra 10 inches)
3) I know Eric does alterations for a small fee too if you send it back
4) Meshpa had success with filing her monofin down a few inches. It let the monofin slide a little further into the tail so your feet go deeper and the tail comes up. It wont work if your tail is glued down, and if you're not careful you can make the bubbling fluke thing worse and end up with a bulge. (which you *could* fix if you were able to take in the fluke on your own)

Just a few ideas for you. Really you wont know what works til you get using your tail a bit more in and out of the water. The stuff stretches naturally anyway overtime so after a bit of using it it may end up long enough anyway. I hope one of these suggestions work for you

Can't wait to see what you end up doing with it!

[HBMermaid_Angela]

So glad you like your tail...it looks stunning on you!!

[Mermaid Jewel]

I saw your picture on facebook! <3 So glad you love it!

[Merman_Ryan]

I still will never buy from him.

[Blaze]

Ryan, please keep negativity off this thread. I'm tired of it & there is no cause for it here in my thread.

[MermaidAubrin]

Ryan, please keep negativity off this thread. I'm tired of it & there is no cause for it here in my thread.

I think he is getting better the negative reviews could have been a wakeup call and the recent reviews have been good and the pictures on his Facebook look good i hope every one can kiss and make up

[Blaze]

As a follow up to the low in the back problem; I pinged Eric to ask if I sent him a pattern piece (remember I'm a seamtress part time) if he would send me a matching piece that would match the tail. I have a sewing machine that can pretty much sew through anything but if that doesn't work I'll hand sew it on with a leather tool. It will save the time, expense and worry of me shipping it back and forth and I can have it higher in the back.

I want to stress that this was not a mistake on Eric's part; he made the tail to my measurements I sent. I forgot to allow for the dipping in the back when bending and just made it to where it would lay normally if standing. I also want to point out that Eric did offer to fix it for me himself if I wanted to send it back but we'll try the pattern piece first. Well I'll try the whole thing out first with swimming in it to see what works & what doesn't work!

[MermaidAubrin]

I want to stress that this was not a mistake on Eric's part; he made the tail to my measurements I sent. I forgot to allow for the dipping in the back when bending and just made it to where it would lay normally if standing. I also want to point out that Eric did offer to fix it for me himself if I wanted to send it back but we'll try the pattern piece first. Well I'll try the whole thing out first with swimming in it to see what works & what doesn't work!

my tail has the same issue for the next tail I make I need to add an extra 4 inches

[AniaR]

but see my main complaint here, is I feel it IS his responsibility to accommodate for that in what he asks you for measuring. That's just my opinion though- but it's clearly an issue that still needs tweaking on his end if people are *still* continuing to get tails that show their butts even when using correct measurement. That's a design flaw. The measurements should specify for that type of information and as far as forgetting to add extra inches etc he says right on it to give exact measurements not to add or subtract.

I think it would really help Eric (and since he does read my posts and still takes my suggestions as I've clearly seen, I will state it in hopes he'll take it!) would be to have an actual measurement chart. Describing where you want measurements from can be tricky e.g. "the widest part of your hips starting from your belly button." what if from my belly button across is not the widest part of my hips? I think having an actual drawing of someone from the waist down with notifications of where the measurements go, and perhaps having the measurements taken while sitting instead of standing, or he should by default add an extra few inches of height etc.

Andrew sent me a really smart diagram to show me how he wanted me to measure certain parts of my feet for his monofin. There's no way I would have understood without the diagram but now I am that much surer he'll get the right measurements.

Rose, just keep in mind if he does send you an extra piece that it'll still have a curing time when Raven did mine it took a while to stretch and cure first and then she attached it. (she actually took apart my whole tail though to make the measurements what mine actually were) but yeah- I think that's THE best way to go. You will have a seam but it'll likely only be noticeable to you and really it's just piece of mind. You dont want your butt showing or being afraid of it showing. Plus you can have the extra part so it covers your butt and if you find it too high in the front just trim it down

Good luck! I hope you can make it all work I think the silicone tails Eric does look very nice and they seem to get mostly a positive review- but I do feel the latex are lacking and need to be improved with all the issues for sizing, fluke bubbling up, hiding the monofin etc. Hopefully you can figure out a solution that works for you. *nods*

[Merman_Ryan]

Why my comment was very blunt and to the point. If you like his work, feel free to express your opinion.

[Blaze]

Why my comment was very blunt and to the point. If you like his work, feel free to express your opinion.

I believe I did which is why I started this thread. As for your comment, you have the right to express your opinion in your own review thread rather than mine. I am *very* tired of all the negativity on this board and your comment was of no use except to be snarky on this thread.

Raina, I will ask about the curing time. As for the seam I'm actually thinking of having a sort of crescent moon shaped piece that stars from the side seams and goes up in the center to give that higher part in the back. I do not need any extra length in the front that I know of at this time but will make sure this weekend when I swim with it and decide from there. That way there will only be a seam in the back. We'll see; I will experiment!

[Winged Mermaid]

but see my main complaint here, is I feel it IS his responsibility to accommodate for that in what he asks you for measuring. That's just my opinion though- but it's clearly an issue that still needs tweaking on his end if people are *still* continuing to get tails that show their butts even when using correct measurement. That's a design flaw. The measurements should specify for that type of information and as far as forgetting to add extra inches etc he says right on it to give exact measurements not to add or subtract.

I agree. My original thought was that Eric asked for the exact measurements so he could add any extra inches that are needed for a well fitting tail. One example would be the extra length issue, another would be extra width in the ankle and knee area. I believe this is why there are bunching issues. Measuring with your feet together are going to be different measurements than when your feet are inside a monofin, and this affects the width of the ankles and the knees. Therefore the tails are made too tight and end up most of the time with wrinkling issues at the ankles and knees. If he is going to ask for exact measurements HE needs to take responsibility for adding the extra measurement necessary to make a well fitting tail. After all he is the tailor in this. He says that he takes no responsibility for inncorect measurements, but he needs to take responsibility for altering the measurements correctly to tailor the tail correctly- it's his job.

As for the seam I'm actually thinking of having a sort of crescent moon shaped piece that starts from the side seams and goes up in the center to give that higher part in the back.

That's a wonderful idea! I know my tail I added a few extra inches when ordering as I'd heard people had issues with them being too short. It fits great in the water in that I don't have to worry about pulling it up, but on land it comes up above my belly button and can look a bit unflattering at times. Dipping down in the front could be the solution to this. Let us know how it goes!

[Toxotes]

Nevertheless, you are looking really good with your new tail.

[AniaR]

it's really important to see how it fares in the water too like you said- because the natural pull will bring the waist down lower. Mine covers my belly (which is great because I have minor scoliosis so even on my flattest days I get a nice roll, lol) dry but the second I hop in that water and it gets wet it drags back to my waist line top of my bathingsuit. So when you're swimming if you find a lot of your suit is showing you may still need it in the front. I think it's safer to go all around and then trim to your desire. I prefer having the extra bit there to cover my belly. I have a birth mark right next to my belly button that some kids find waaay too weird. lol. So it's nice to cover it up.

You'll also need to see how the fluke feels for ya too all of that aside. It doesn't look like it's glued down and you'll have to decide if you wanna do that or not. I find it really helpful- but I guess silicone is the way to go to fill it from what I've heard.

Isn't it so exciting to have a realistic tail though? Wait til you get that dolphin kick down! The power behind that monofin is so awesome you'll never wanna swim without it again!

you have the right to express your opinion in your own review thread rather than mine.

Ryan, Im actually interested in hearing your experience because I'm not sure I ever heard it! Maybe you should make a thread, or you could PM me I promise not to bring it up publicly if you dont want

[MermanMatty]

"It fit great! Perfect length; I didn't want to to come up to over my belly button and it didn't! Alas when I sit up & bend at the knee the back slips a little too far down and reveals the top bit of my butt; not sure how this could have been avoided as it is the correct measurement I gave that was taken while standing. The length is great when laying flat out as i would be while swimming. A friend said this is a normal problem most Mers have though so I think I will make a hip belt or something to put on while sitting up." -Scarlet Rose

"That's just my opinion though- but it's clearly an issue that still needs tweaking on his end if people are *still* continuing to get tails that show their butts even when using correct measurement. That's a design flaw." -AniaR (Raina)

I am not looking for an argument or problems I'm just wondering how the statement above makes any sense in any context. If he follows the measurements of the client to the letter, why is he responsible for the mistake of the client? Please elaborate. He gives directions on his website about how to measure properly. If they decide not to follow said directions it is their responsibility to pay for alterations to their tail. It is not Eric's fault for making the tail to the measurements he was given, and it is NOT his responsibility to take the financial impact of the clients mistake. BUT if it is Eric's fault he does take it back for free, and I know this first hand since I live with him.

-Matty

[HBMermaid_Angela]

I agree with Scarlett (who started this thread in the first place)....this thread should be kept positive! Clearly she is HAPPY with the product she received, and even though seems to be a minor "hiccup" as far as how low it sits. However, she has found solutions and remedies for this and is taking care of it. There are other threads where people put up their complaints...maybe any negative comments should be kept there. This is a time that we should be HAPPY for Scarlett!

[Alveric]

I think what Raina means is that if the instructions produce a consistent flaw, the problem is with the instructions.

It is, nevertheless, a very pretty tail, and looks good on Scarlett.

Alveric

[Aquatica]

I love the tail and you make a marvelous mermaid.

P.S. Plus made me realize when I make my tail to make the back end higher so no crack shows...lol