Here's a close up from my scale mold. Because I'm working with my phone, the photo of the whole thing came out blurry so it's just this one
as a point of interest, the pink spots (if you can see them) actually came from the dark blue foam.....work that one out?
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
That looks pretty good. Pink from blue....odd.
I'm having trouble deciding what to use for my molds. How much was the fiberglass you used, and did you have any problems with the clay becoming too hot and melting while the fiberglass is curing? It's looking fantastic by the way! I am excited to see more of your progress!
For the actual scale box I probably used 1 and a half cans (1 kg cans) maybe a little less...but I reckon I should've used 2. Also my scale box was big! as in 1.4m long.
I didn't have many issues as far as heat goes. I spilt it on the back of the rubber glove I was wearing and didn't really notice it. It was warm (higher than body temperature) but that's about it. I used air dry clay, which I won't use again, but you could always do a test on plasticine? it melts pretty easy and diggers resin comes in a 250g can I think, so you can do a test run with it. (be warned family members complain about the smell)
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
I guess it wouldn't help to buy some and test it. Did you just use the resin with fiberglass matting? I was going to use ultracal for mine since it is cheap but I am afraid of breaking it
yes I got matting, purely for stability and that's what came in the kit. Jessica suggested cloth instead of matting because it's stronger and less messy. and Matting most definitely is messy making it annoying to work with
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
OoooOO!!!!
I'm doing something similar, Elle, I'm stoked to find your thread.
My box is big too - actually I think it's as long as yours ... I made mine big in case I wanted to make another tail for someone much taller than me.
I am in the process of gluing in the foam scales, using PVA glue but I haven't been waiting for them to dry and have had no issues yet. One of my cats is obsessed with trying to get in the box, and one time when I was away she succeeded and I have some scales with tiny kitty claw holes lol
I was planning on coating in Vaseline, I'm hoping that won't be a bad idea. And, planning on using UltraCal 30 but after reading your thread I'm wondering if fibreglass resin may be a much better idea.
Best wishes and I'm cheering you on from across the ditch! xx
Hi Aino Revontuletar,Originally Posted by Aino Revontuletar
I think we could reinforce the Ultracal using some matting or cloth? I'm trying to research right at the mo
Mermaid Star made a latex tail a while ago, I think she used ultracal and she had heshen (or something similar) in between the layers. She used vaseline as her release agent, and it worked well for her.
I made my box long because I wanted my tail to come up high....I just went over the top.
Resin lasts longer than ultracal. It's less susceptible to damage. but also more expensive. As long as you take care of your moulds however they last a while
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
I just watched Mermaid Star's YouTube videos and yes she used ultracal. Mermaid Mizuko used ultracal for her scale mold as well and it seemed to work for her. The problem I have is I intend to sculpt the scales out of clay and put a lot of work into them and if my mold failed that would be a huge setback. I like the sound of ultracal because I have used plaster before (not sure whether it was ultracal or not) for a sculpture and it seemed to be easy enough to handle. I know it captures details well too. I just don't want it to break before I have a chance to use it at least twice (for either side of the scale sheet since I will be using the double seam method)
I also know that Mizuko used fiberglass and it melted her clay, so I am hesitant to use it
using a polymer clay maybe the way to go....they are more heat resistant. Or talk to PearlieMae....I'm pretty sure she used clay for her scales and her molds are resin (or some of them are), she might be a voice of wisdom in this area.
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
I though vaseline was an inhibitor for silicone curing?? either that or I think it was bad for silicone.
vaseline to stop the foam sticking to the ultracal
I know it won't stick to the resin, so I won't be using a release agent when I get to that point.
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
The resin PearlyMae used was an expensive resin, I don't think it was the same as fiberglass though I could be wrong since I am far from being resin-savvy
In other news my fingers are killing me as im hand sewing my neoprene at the moment. I've also stabbed myself with the needle a few times so I've stopped for tonight as its too hard to keep going with tissues wrapped around your fingers
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
Looks great! What resin are you using?
Im not resin savvy either. I think it'll be a case of doing trial runs to see what works best for you
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
You are right of course. I will do my first tests with ultracal and just go from there most probably
Best of luck!! I hope to see your own tail making journey one day
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
It will be a little while before I start my actual tail. I am going to start off making little mini tails for my dolls I think. Then perhaps make a top
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