Settle in folks, I am about the write a book.
Before I get into this I want to say I am not trying to throw Jesse under the bus. Jesse is a kind and loving person with a lot of passion. I think he - like so many others- bit off way more than he could chew way sooner than he should of. It's my understanding when he's done his orders, he'll be done with tail making. He is just trying to get through them all while working full time.
I have had concerns about Jesse's tails since the start. But I never felt like it would be appropriate for me to voice them publicly. in 2012 with no warning, Jesse gifted us with his own version of a splash tail. He wanted us to test it out, give him feedback, and help promote his work. Given the circumstances of receiving something for free, I never felt like I could publicly say anything. It was a prototype, it was free. But the reason I do say things to people in private is because
all of the issues with our tail are present in currently made tails. Meaning Jesse hasn't improved much on his technique since making ours, and I think it's important people realize that.
There are a few issues with our tail that pretty much ever single MC customer I've ever known has had (they tell me personally or I can see it in photos, or I witnessed it at merfest) even in BRAND NEW tails. To date I have only known two people that are totally happy with their tail. one still has a certain problem that I'll list here. The other had to have the fluke replaced because it was too heavy and is waiting for it to be resized. (something I'll address too) Nothing against either mers but when I look at their tails I still see the problems I am about to list, and I think they're issue people should be aware of before they buy. I have been trying to hint at them all over the forum or I'll directly PM people to avoid drama. Now I think it's best to just get it out in the open even if it causes me drama...
Perma Wet- Despite a conversations on here, and my feedback from our own tail, jesse still uses perma wet. It's what gives the tail the shiny look. The problem with perma wet is that it's latex so it never fully cures over the silicone. It will peel off and take colour with it. And you can't repaint overtop of the permawet. It wont stick. Our tail peeled like crazy and I see peeling in most MC tails I see onilne. I had warned christian about the use of perma wet and suggested he be very vocal about not wanting it on things if he wanted to be able to repaint later. Raven was going to touch up my MC tail for me and was unable to because of the perma wet. Latex is also a concern when exposing it to kids. Jesse DOES use it. He admitted it on this forum and there was drama when he tried to delete the post after people calling him on it- admins can attest to that-, and I saw it first hand on tails at NC Merfest. I'm not sure if he used it on Christians tail or not because I advised Christian not to let him use it and I know Christian had spoken to him about it. I have been advising all his clients to ask him to not use it. Extra silicone can certainly be used as a clear coat. Extra silicone doesn't peel off. Extra silicone can be painted over. The majority of Jesse's tails have perma wet.
Thickness- Jesse tail's are the thickest on the market. Inches thick which make for heavier than they need to be tails, and hard to get on. They're thick because he doesn't know how to paint on top of the silicone. He achieve the colours by layering pigmented silicone until it gets to be as dark as he wants. If you're dealing with a lighter colour, it takes way more layers. Same with multiple colours. It shouldnt matter how wide the fluke is- mine is 38 inches wide and I can lift it with ease. the colour ends up streaky and I see the same issue in others as we have in ours in that it ends up over time becoming transparent. You can see bathing suit and legs right through our tail. I photoshop it constantly. Because there are so many layers of silicone that have had different curing times, they can end up separating which is what happened to ours. Our tail split into 3 and I had to sew all along the seams and the waist with clear line to reinforce it. You can go on about it being your own fault that you're not strong enough to lift Jesse's fluke but the fact is... Jesse's tails are the heaviest on the market. That's not really a clients fault, and comes directly from layering.
Attachment 25842
monofin- Jesse hasn't figured out how to glue down the monofins, and since the fluke are so thick and fill up with water it makes it not only super heavy to lift because it collects water, it makes the seams of the fluke spit open under pressure. Also, the monofin edges poke through the fluke. This happened to ours and has happened to most people I know with an MC tail. The monfins are also very noticeable. Our monofin poked through the silicone very early on, and this past summer our fluke split into two pieces. I have had many people email me about the same issues. Because it's not glued down the fluke can also get filled up with mold like ours did.
Seams- very sloppy on practically every tail I see it's just less noticeable on darker colours. You can see on christian's tail they're awful along with the lines where extra fins are attached.
Just sharing some pics of ours to back up what I'm saying. I'd point it out on other tails but I don't wanna make any other mers feel bad.
This is the day we got our MC tail, you can see in spots the perma wet is already coming off, the monfin isn't glued down and paint is very streaky and see through
look at that seam to the right of this photo... :/ I always photo shop it out or have a mermaid wear a scarf over it. I saw this on new tails at NCMerfest...
You can see that seam and sloppy paint right here (flash made the orange look blood red)
Most of the photos you see of our tail on our pages have been heavily photoshopped.
I bring up these points because I STILL SEE THEM ON BRAND NEW TAILS and I don't think that's okay! You may have noticed I never wear this tail?? I tried it once and found it almost impossible to put on and way too thick when I was trying to swim. For me personally the fluke had no push. So I put it on mermaids who are smaller than I am and they have an easier time. I tried to give Jesse feedback when he first gave me the tail but he wasnt very receptive.
It breaks my heart to see Christian get a tail that is so sub par and on the same level as the first one he made so long ago.
I had warned Christian about a few things but Christian wanted to give his friend a chance and really believed Jesse could fufill his dreams. I am heart broken that ontop of all these issues it doesnt even fit him. Adding insult to injury for sure.
So many people have contacted me about their MC tails with complaints and Christian is the first review I've felt actually hit the nail on the head. I hope more people will post them. There are a lot of unhappy clients but no one wants to say anything.
These are all things people need to consider when buying from him. Though it seems like he wont be taking new orders in the future.
I am sorry I wasn't more up front about our tail. I hope people can understand the predicament I was in. I tried to post accurate photos though so people could see for themselves in my thread. I was shocked when I saw the state of brand new tails at NCMerfest and I know several people who got their tails refunded right away including Cicero (a NCMerfest attendant)
I will always be grateful for the tail- it allowed my sister to enjoy mermaiding. I always tried to give Jesse good photos and I gave him a good (but still honest) recommendation when the Hawaii Oceanarium contacted me to see what I thought of his tails. I think it's an example of taking on too much too soon before you really know your product and your clients.
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