Kalani's Hybrid Tail Adventure

[Vrindavana Starfish]

Haha, its what happens when your mom, dad, brother (and soon, yourself) are all in the film industry

My husband and I are both filmmakers and videographers. There is camera equipment everywhere. Sadly, no drones yet.

[Ashe]

Alright! Guess who's back? ... After over a year

I got so close to finishing this thing but I had some really huge setbacks. But I've been working on this lovely thing for about a week now and There are only a few things I need to do. First, I'm modifying my Competitor monofin. I'm not cutting it because I still want it intact for when this tail gets old, but I'm adding on to it. I cut off the ends of a Magictail monofin and I'll be super gluing the pieces onto the end of my fin. The fabric will extend even past that a good bit but now when my tail is out of the water, the tips of the fluke won't just fold over into a straight line like the tail which I rush made (like a week) for Hawaii.



Next, scales! Because of the nature of this tail as it isn't completely silicone, I opted out of the usual fish scales. I took a look at the Hawaii tail and it looked nice, but it just wasn't my style. Plus since the way the tail curves around my knees and hips, you get some really wonky liking scales towards the seams even while using a stencil. So Saelyyia helped me decide on doing some pretty cool freehand dragon scales. That way I can also have different sized scales like larger ones on the back and smaller ones towards the fluke.

Here was my little test sheet



And here is my layout before I paint over them. You'll see a few painted scales by tonight



And lastly, fins. I'll have a good few on this tail including a secondary dorsal, pelvic fins, lower calf fins and and heel fins (possibly). I'm in the process of creating them, but here are a couple of the templates.



So there you are. Proof that I am the world's best procrastinator and was void of any motivation for the past year, yet I've prevailed. I think with the progress I'm making I have this done fairly soon *crosses fins* and in time for my lake trip and some meetups

[Ashe]

Alright, here's a little sneak peak of the scales. I want them a little more raised so I think I'll go over them again with another coat. Gah, I don't want to think about how much paint I've bought for this project

[Mermaid Mia]

Its looking amazing!


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[Agent Dragon]

LOVE the scale pattern.


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[Ashe]

I have conquered the scales!!! Almost. After what felt like 45 years I finally scaled the front side of the tail and I LOVE how they look. The organic dragon-type scales were perfect. So my next step is to blend everything together once again so there isn't this huge divide between green scales and gold scales.



I'll need to take a couple of pictures in natural light because all you guys have been seeing is the garage lamp. Oh well, it's lovely in person and I'm excited

I also used the fantastic toxic fume filled E-6000 to glue the plastic pieces to my monofin and set some sandbags on top of it for the night. Now, that's not going to be the shape of the fluke. The plastic pieces are just to give the fluke a bit more structure so it doesn't just flop right over. It will be extended and have a nicer shape




So my To Do List:
1. Scale the back of my tail
2. Blend the paint once again
3. Finish the fins
4. Apply the fins
5. Paint the fluke

Woop woop

[Saelyyia]

I am loving those dragon scales, they really read beautifully on your tail and the colors are so pretty. I can't wait to see it at the summer Pod swims.

[Ashe]

I'm hoping to get it done by the 26th, it looks like I'll be at a fun lake for the day. Even if it isn't completely finished it will still be good to take it for a test swim

[Saelyyia]

I'm jealous. Haven't made it out to a lake in years. Just lots of beach swims so SAND EVERYWHERE lol

[Mermaid Wesley]

woo! Scaley fun!

[Ashe]

I'm jealous. Haven't made it out to a lake in years. Just lots of beach swims so SAND EVERYWHERE lol

See I haven't swam in any Californian seas yet! Just once in Hawaii with that recycled Frankenstein tail I'm really excited for this summer when I'll be flipping around as much as I please with this new beauty.

[Mermaidrey]

What is DAP silicone? Why is it different to average fox silicone?


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[Mermaidrey]

*fx silicone


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[Ashe]

What is DAP silicone? Why is it different to average fox silicone?


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DAP is a brand of silicone that is not meant for prosthetics like DragonSkin, but instead is a caulk. I'm on mobile and can't give you a picture but if you hit page 3 of this thread and scroll down to post #55, I gave someone a brief explanation.

Just remember guys if you haven't read through the entire thread, I am no longer using silicone. I'm experimenting with something new that I hope to share with you all

[Ashe]

Here are those sunlight pictures! Look at that SHINE. On the second picture it was so bright that my phone couldn't capture the light correctly. Scaling the back of the tail today and then I'll get to blending the colors together tomorrow or tonight after work.

[Ashe]

Alright, some of the bigger scales on the back. Had fun playing around with the sizes (and I pretty much definitely did not try to make my fish butt look bigger probably.)

[Mermaid Mia]

Its super shiny! Excited to see the fins go on this


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[Dancing Fish]

Neat! I love this look!

[Ashe]

Finished all the scales! I'd say that's just about seamless, what about you? I'm really digging how this is turning out.
I'm starting to work on a new top (I trashed the older one, just wasn't up to par). I think my accents will be browns and a touch of gold. Netting as well.

[Slim]

This is just becoming way more better than expected. I know it off topic but your signature fits you very well.