The Journey Begins...

[Usagi]

Hi there
So, I got silicone for Christmas. Yay! I only have one gallon total, though, so I'm going to have to buy more as I go along. I'll be using Dragon Skin FX Pro, and I'm hoping it'll turn out as nice as tails that are made with Dragon Skin 10.
I still have to buy:
•foam sheets
•wooden board
•clay

That's as far ahead as I have thought right now. I've been sick and don't really feel like using my brain. Lol
I'm going to try to alter my Finis Wave to give it actual foot pockets, so we'll see how that goes. Otherwise. I'll probably have to buy a Finis Foil because I won't be able to afford and of the other monofins for a loooonngg time.
Well, for now it's time to watch Desolation of Smaug and eat some caramel cheesecake.

[Mermaid Alea]

Good luck with getting better! I got my first monofin this Christmas. Maybe someday in the future I can get dragon Skin silicone for Christmas haha.

Do you already have a tail design in mind? Maybe you could just doodle ideas while you are sick.

[Usagi]

Thanks. how exciting that you got your monofin! I remember when I first got mine and loved swimming in it!
I already have the design and got 2 different pigments for Christmas, as well..it was supposed to be 3, but they sent my mom blue acid dye instead of orange pigment. Blah :/

[Mermaid Alea]

I haven't even been able to swim in it yet and I really cannot wait!
That is too bad about the pigments. I got my paints in and 2 are a lot closer in color than the website pictured. It is too bad the nearby stores don't carry the kind of supplies we need.

[Usagi]

Give an update once you get to swim in it!
That stinks, I'm sorry to hear it. What kind of paint did you get?

[Usagi]

Can someone tell me if this would work for backing the silicone? Is it the same as power mesh?
http://www.joann.com/swimwear-lining...oduct&start=27

[Mermaid Wesley]

It's not power mesh, power mesh is like tiny stretchy netting and that's just a thin fabric. I saw it in store the other day. It might work but I thing the mesh effect is what makes power mesh effective


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[PearlieMae]

well, it's hard to tell from the online photos, but the description and price leads me to believe it's power mesh. I don't think they use "power mesh" as a name of the fabric. If it stretches in all four directions then it should be fine.

[Usagi]

Okay, thanks, guys. I'll be heading over there today, so I'll see what they have!

[Usagi]

Went to Joann today and they had power mesh. Originally, I was going to get white, but then I saw they had nude and decided to go with that. I got 2 yards. Yay!

[Mermaid Wesley]

Yay! Now idk if it's just me but i love to stretch power mesh


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[Theobromine]

Woooo! I also got silicone for Christmas! I got two gallons of it, and I'm already wondering if that will be enough! I guess it depends on if you plan on doing a lot of extra fins. I love watching everyone's progress! Do you have a design in mind yet?

[Usagi]

I do have a design, but I'm keeping it a secret hahaha it will make me feel better if it doesnt come out right :P
My foam sheets came in today, so I've started punching them out.

[Usagi]

I made a llittle foam scale test piece thingy..I sprayed them with acrylic spray and just went to check on them...they came off the wood and are no longer sticky...too mcub spray? Lol

[Usagi]

Okay, so I've made some progress. Here's a random photo dump:
Christmas Gifts

My pigments with the random dye they sent instead of the orange

With the orange pigment. They let me keep the dye.

Silicone


I also got my clay today and will probably finish laying the foam circles tomorrow and will post a picture then

[Usagi]

I learned something..do not make your scale sheet on the living room floor of a house with 4 cats and that is frequented by a couple of children under the age of 8.
I knew there was some fur and dirt herr and there, and figured I'd just clean/pull it off once I'd finished the whole thing.
Well, I finished last night and used a flashlight to see exactly where everything was...it was COVERED with cat hair and dirt! I suppose it certainly didn't help that the cats were always running around and walking on it.. blah. I was trying to get all of it off, but eventually gave up. I figured, if I can't see it without a light directly on it, it shouldn't make a big difference. As long as there wasn't any sulfur in it ;P

[Mermaid Wesley]

lint roller?

[OceanRose]

LOL! same thing happened to me I got little pinprick holes from kitty claws and lots of fur which I had to vacuum off my foam scalesheet.
I like the colours you're using, it's going to be awesome!

[Usagi]

Lol I've actually lint rolled it several times. Some just won't come off with that, though, and some are stuck partially under the foam.
Thanks OceanRose! I love your avatar!!

[Usagi]

Well, poopy. I tried to make a mold of my scale sheet. The first problem was that the clay wall kept cracking when it would dry. Second problem was that the nozzle on my ease release snapped off! I figured that there wasnt any way to prove that it wasnt damaged while in my care, especially since I got it for Christmas, so I decided to just deal with it. It was really hard to spray and leaked a lot and idk how much it actually sprayed. Then I was dumb and tried to brush the resin on the scale sheet. It didnt work out too well so I eventually just decided to pour some on and try to spread it out a bit. Then I put the fiberglass matting and put more resin on top of that. I tried to spread it on top of the matting, and it caused the fibers to clump up and it was just a whole lot of blah. It cured and I had to pull all the scales out, which were really slimy and gross and sticky. My boyfriend and I got a bunch of fiber glass pokes and stabs and cuts on our hands. After removing the scales, we could see that some parts had made a really good mold, but other parts looked like there was barely anything there. I decided to pour some water mixed with food coloring in it so see if that would show if there really were any indentations or whatever. That's how I discovered that there were holes in my mold! So I have to figure out how to patch that. Then, last night, I decided to take some clay and press it onto the flat-looking parts to see if it made an impression..it did...of the fiberglass! -_- so maybe I'll make some individual scale molds and attach them in the naked areas. I thought it might still look okay with the flat patches, since I've seen fish like that, but I definitely dont want the tail to have the pattern of the matting. Blah!