I'm gonna use AniaR's review as a template for mine, because otherwise I WILL end up going off on a billion tangents, and that's no fun.
Made by: Mermaid Raven of Merbellas
Cost: My tail is her performance model, and cost $3,000
Features: Raised molded scales, a Finis Foil monofin, Dragonskin Silicone, and a glitter topcoat.
Used For: My tail will be used for both swimming and dry events.
Craftsmanship:
Where's the button to import photos straight into the review? D:
My tail took a bit longer to make because of the white base coat that I had requested. The lighter the color, the more layers the tail needs to not be transparent, thus the longer the tail makes to create. My tail colors were inspired by a bracelet I had made when I was younger. It had silver beads, and then every 3 beads there would be a pink heart. Three more beads and there would be a purple heart. That bracelet is still laying around here somewhere, but that perfect mix of silver, pink, and purple has stuck with me ever since that day. The black tiger stripes were inspired by Raven's orange and white tail, and do very well to hide the seams. They were also a very nice addition to the tail because I could extend the black down the sides of the fluke to highlight the tail and give it more detail. The paint is mixed in with silicone and then airbrushed onto the tail. This means the paint will not chip or scrape off or detach from the tail at all. I don't even think it will fade or turn white from the water. The one thing I absolutely cannot get over with this tail is how stunning the purple color on the fluke is. Its mesmerizing. Its like a wonderful pearly/metallic vibrant purple color. I can't even hnnnngggg
The fluke of the tail is completely solid. the silicone is bonded to itself and is either bonded to the monofin, or very tightly around it. Either way, the fluke will not balloon up in the water at all. The foot pockets of the competitor monofin are open toed, so if I slide my feet down into the monofin far enough and wiggle my toes, you can see it through the silicone. That's as far as the water can get. However, there are drainage slits at the bottom of the fluke, which means there must be some way for water to escape from the foot pockets. These slits aren't noticeable at all. I discovered them by accident when I first got my tail, because I pretty much sat down with a magnifying glass and went over every single inch of my tail, just admiring it. The fluke has amazing detail. The ridges running from foot to fluke tip are very deep and very precise. One thing I really wanted in a tail is symmetry, and this tail does that perfectly.
There is glitter up at the top of the tail, from waist to hip, and then on the bottom of the fluke where the white silicone is. This glitter is very fine. It won't show up in photo shoots, but I can get it to show up if I take the camera very close on it. In person the glitter shows up really well. Its a very fantasy colored glitter, all sorts of greens and blues and pinks. It reminds me of a mother of pearl shell, or an abalone shell. I didn't want a full glitter topcoat because I thought my tail was girly enough already and I didn't want to overdo it. The glitter is also mixed in with the silicone and will not come off. These sentences are really short. I'm not good at writing. Perkins.
There is some sort of nylon type fabric on the inside of my tail. It's like a very fine, yet strong mesh, that I'm guessing is either to reinforce the silicone, or was used to help lay the silicone sheets. Now that I think about it, it might have been used to draw the measurements onto the sheet so it could be cut to my size. I'm not sure how well marker would stick to pure silicone. Either way, I see the mesh as a plus, as it seems to add a bit of strength to the tail, and it also helps the tail grip my legs.
Production Time:
When I ordered my tail, I had made two payments. I made the first payment of $2,000 in the beginning of July. Raven was very understanding about the financial situation, since my parents had paid for my tail, we had to do it in installments because my dad was pulling the money from his monthly retirement checks and wanted to replenish his bank account before making the second payment. I sent Raven the last $1,000 in the end of August. After we had sorted out all the details of my design, I heard very little from Raven. Turns out, I had ordered at probably the worst time possible. She had her wedding to focus on, then there was Merpalooza, then she went to a few Renaissance Festivals, and when she finally got back home, she was moving her shop around or something. So it took a few months for her to get started on my tail. I didn't mind, I had actually mostly forgotten about my tail anyways. Then my friend brought it up one day and I was super anxious to get it. My parents worried about how long it was taking. Mostly because it was such a big financial investment and they were wary about internet scammers, thinking Raven would take the money and run. But they settled down again when I got into communication with someone else who had also ordered from her, and she had also started updating her page more often.
Raven completely made up for the long wait. Usually her orders are COD [cash on delivery] where you have to go to the post office and retrieve your package and pay the shipping there. Well as my family and I were taking down our christmas tree, a fedex truck pulls up to our house and delivers a humongous box! Of course with my dad being the inconsiderate guy he is, he ran to the door, grabbed the box from the delivery man, carried it into the kitchen, and he f*****g opened it. =,,= I didn't even get to open my own tail. He did that with my laptop too when I started online school. I'm surprised he doesn't open my Christmas presents too. Anyways, the tail was really hard to get out, mostly because I had no idea it would weigh so much. Here's a picture of how it looked in the box. The fluke was packed with peanuts around it, and then the body of the tail was just kind of frumped over the rest of it, which made it easier to pull out. My mom and I had to both work together to pull the tail out without spraying packing peanuts everywhere. So long story short, in order to make up for my longer than usual wait, Raven gave me free shipping. It was a godsend, considering I was really stressing out about acquiring enough money to pay for shipping. It was like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders, and it made the wait so worth it. <3 <3 <3
The Fit:
A few days ago, I opened up a tinychat room to do a live review, and I ended up stripping down to my undies in front of four other women, and wiggling into my tail. They laughed as they watched me slather myself in Lubriderm, and then try to use my slippery lotion hands to grasp at the silicone. I must say, it was a lot easier than when I tried to slip into it without any sort of lubrication. In order to put on the tail, you have to fold the top half inside out over the bottom half, so you can reach farther into the tail and get your feet into the monofin. The monofin is a bit uncomfortable and does tend to bite at the inside of my feet, but I'm pretty sure that's due to the fact that I've never worn a monofin before, the foot pockets weren't broken in yet, and I didn't even know if I was putting the tail on right side up. So I'm going to get some neoprene booties to wear until I learn how to hold my feet properly in the foot pockets of the monofin. I don't want to get blisters. So anyways, here I am, trying to slither my way into a silicone tail, while four ladies are laughing their butts off at me, and I decide I needed help. I grabbed my cell phone and called my mom downstairs to come up and help me wiggle the rest of the way into this thing. Now these four ladies are laughing their butts off as my mom sits there, trying to yank the tail up my legs, while I hold onto her because I'm going to tip over. It was quite a comical experience. Hopefully I have better luck putting it on next time. Practice makes perfect :)
We managed to get the tail on to a comfortable and mostly fitting level. my hips and calves were where they needed to be, the back of the tail came up high enough, even when I bent over, and everything felt like it was where it should be. Almost. There was a huge wrinkle at my ankles that could only be taken out if I had straightened out my feet and then pulled, but ain't nobody got leverage for that. I fell backwards onto my bed and tried flopping the fluke around. Holy man, is that thing heavy. I had to move it really slowly to keep it from hitting me in the head and knocking me out. :P There is no way I'm going to be able to lift that thing out of the water to splash around. So the giggles died down, my mom went back downstairs, and I decided enough flopping around. I stood up, and that's when I noticed that the hips and calves weren't quite very tight against my legs. I'm not sure how to describe it other than if someone had ironed the tail flat and then made it stiff so that even when I pushed the loose parts in, they just stuck out. But that's no big deal, I highly doubt anyone will notice. I have some belts I can wear to hide any flaws. It could have been because of me giving Raven inaccurate measurements, I had to have my mom help me take them and we were coming up with different numbers every time.
Accessories:
Along with the tail, Raven sent an abalone shell belt, and a mermaid necklace. I absolutely love them both. I'm honestly a little nervous about the shell belt though. Raven went and picked up real shells, and every time I move the belt around, the shells clink together and I'm so scared they might break! I'm reserving that belt for special occasions and photo shoots. It's too pretty to use around kids. I always wear the necklace. It's really light and its a gorgeous color of purple that matches my tail perfectly. I think I might put it on a chain instead of a cord though, because it is a bit light for the cord.
Pros vs Cons:
PROS
-the tail is extremely realistic
-neutrally buoyant in water
-made specifically to my measurements
-beautiful glitter topcoat
-raised scales instead of pressed scales
-nylon fabric inside for extra grip
-custom paint job
-free shipping
-two free accessories
-dat purple color
CONS
-seams are a bit gunky
-bubbled silicone up by the waist
-calves and hips could fit a wee bit better [or I could just pack on a few pounds]
There's not any major cons that even come close to being anything worth worrying over. They're all very miniscule flaws that will easily go unnoticed. I did make a video review that I have to post to youtube, but you can find it by clicking the link in my signatrue, because I should have it up by the time anyone finishes reading this review.
SO 5/5 STARS FOR MERBELLAS, RAVEN IS AN AMAZING ARTIST AND THIS TAIL IS MORE THAN I COULD HAVE EVER HOPED FOR. MUCH LOVE TO HER AND EVERYTHING SHE DOES FOR HER CUSTOMERS. I WILL DEFINITELY BE GOING BACK TO HER FOR EVERYTHING I WILL EVER NEED IN THE FUTURE. <3
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