Myreview is a little different I suppose because I didn't design it.

  1. My newest tail 'Arellia' is from Merbellas. It was her first hybrid tail, she said performance scales with a basic fluke. It was $2,000, so smack dab between her current basic for $1,000 and performance for $3,000. It is made of dragonskin silicone, and a competitor monofin, although I think it might be cut short but I don't know as I've never seen a real one in person, also there is a black lining inside my tail that is like mesh, it doesn't detract from the stretchiness, but it helps me to not be terrified of piercing through my tail on accident. She had made this tail as a tester, and then it wouldn't fit any of her mermaids so she posted it for sale, when I asked for the measurements she replied quickly, and my knees and waist were both an inch larger than the tails measurements but she said that the tail would stretch 2-4 inches so I would be okay. I bought it, and then she shipped it a month-ish later as I was leaving for the mainland for a month and wouldn't be home to grab the box.
  2. What I use it for: I bought the tail as I had a Fish Butt Partial Silicone, however after much use the tail was looking a little worn and I wanted to have another tail that I could switch out with, and also I've always dreamed of having a merbellas tail. I do mostly children's parties, and they are about half in the water and half out of the water. The monofin is much more rigid than my oceanika in my other tail, and so I have to be extra careful when swimming with children, because a fin tap is a little bit stronger with the merbella tail. The other reason I bought it was because it looks way more realistic, the painting job is so exquisite and beautiful and the fluke is closed down (yay no more holes), and is tight around my hips down making me look much more realistic and it's just remarkable. I also wanted this tail with a stronger monofin to use in the ocean due to currents and when I swam in the ocean the propulsion I get allows me to swim without fear of getting caught in the tides.
  3. The Craftsmanship: The tail itself is beautiful, the paint on the front is subtle and striking and the back is just a rainbow of color just like a real fish. The way she blends colors is seamless and I love it. The silicone job itself is good, there are some odd patches of overlay where the scales look a little gunky, but this is mostly on the back to hide seams and it's not that noticable, and most kids just believe its how scars heal on tails. The fluke looks like she took a fine tooth comb through the silicone and there are all these little raised lines on the tail that feel like the edges of pages in a book. The scales are the basic scale look, but there is no neoprene, just a mesh black backing. It came in a fedex box with no wrapping around it, and a sheet of how to take care of it. There was no smell or anything, just a lot of glitter reflecting off of the tail in the light. Draining the tail is hard, as it fits so well that the water that is in the tail when I flip up drains slowly. There are mini puncture holes in the fluke for water to flow out of, which work effectively. The Competitor is odd to use at first (I'm used to an oceanika in my fish butt, and a rapid to practice with). I could barely walk after due to the pressure it put on the tops of my feet of how I swim, now that my muscles are used to it (I've swam three times so far in the tail), it doesn't hurt, which is quite a relief after my past with fins and feet). She did a new thing where she put thing of neoprene where my heel and tops of my feet hit in my tail, this way when I swim and when people poke at my legs it doesn't seem as though my heels are as evident. I don't know how this effects my swimming, although I feel that it pulls in the inside of the tail a little bit. However the padding is nice to smooth out that transition that is otherwise quite evident in tails. The neoprene on the inside by the heels took two days to dry, using a peet wader dryer, without that, I'm not sure if it would have dried in a short amount of time as the first time I tried drying it with a small fan it took 2 days and it still wasn't dry.
  4. The ordering process. She posted the tail on facebook, and then I messaged her on facebook with my information and questions, and bought the tail the day she posted it through paypal. I gave her my address and after she sent it she sent me a tracking number. It didn't seem difficult, however three weeks prior to that I had tried to order a basic tail and received no communication back whatsoever. She wasn't taking orders at the time, so perhaps she saves emails that are ready to order, but I didn't know what the wait time would even be, so when the chance to order a tail and skip the wait time of 4-6 months I hopped on that train faster than a bandit.
  5. Communication. I honestly had a very simple experience, she communicated well with me, and sent me screenshots of the tail when I asked, (well a week later, but it was because the weather was bad). Overall, she kept me informed, and was nice to talk with, and I'm a little relieved I didn't design the tail, because I don't think I could have come up with as cool of a paint scheme as she created. I was impressed, and glad I was able to contact her with questions. The only thing was I didn't know I had to pay for shipping until she said the day before she shipped it that it would be $136, as we scraped together 2,000, I was little like, Okay hold on! But we figured it out.
  6. The pros and cons. Pros: Fits well, BEAUTIFUL paint job, closed fluke, awesome sculpting, pre-made so it shipped to me in a month (would have been less than had I been home), responsive in communication, very realistic (for a mermaid) swims well in the ocean, new padding in bottom by heels to hide my feet! Cons: Some scale smudges, a little tear in the silicone in two places on the tail, which might be my fault because I'm a little bigger than the tail, and might just be thin silicone patch, I'm a little bigger by the waist and so sometimes the tail rolls down the front, also the competitor monofin rubs the tops of my big toe and first knuckle under the big toe on both feet raw, so I have blisters from them, but it'll eventually callous, so I won't have to worry about that in a month or so, I need a second person to help me put on my tail as I have to be 'stuffed in' at the end, and it's really hard to do with just me, not completely made to my measurements, when I swim the back ends up getting pulled down from the extra padding in the back so my swim bottoms can peek out if I'm not careful.
  7. Adaptations. I wear a zumba belt around my waist so that the roll down when it does happen isn't noticable, and I wear socks with the tail. I use water and water based lube to put on my tail, which made it easier, putting it on without that is impossible and would hurt.:
  8. Conclusion: I had a great experience, I didn't have to wait because it was premade, Raven was lovely to talk to, and I love my new tail. I would recommend that she start padding all of her tails because I love that. The paint job is fantastic, the tail itself is really well made and the quality is evident, it feels amazing to swim in and becomes a part of me and the fluke is so easy to lift out of the water and to splash, which is tons of fun, I like this tail because I know that it's going to hold up for the long run, I don't have to worry about kids poking holes, or any craziness, although the fiberglass monofin makes me nervous when kids accidentally step on it.
  9. **Go to http://www.facebook.com/mermaidharmony for pictures of the tail, it's also the galaxy tail that was talked about in the merbellas thread a while back.