Finfolk Productions: anyone ordered a tail from them? I just did!

[Mermaid Syrena]

How long till it's delivered; do you have an idea on shipping time?

If I seem a little anxious to see what this tail looks like in the water it's because I'm talking with the girls on getting my flame one with this design. ;D Still don't know what details I want; additional fins, scales (what options are there?) and scale tipping need to be considered.

As for the waist NO; I would discuss with them how to remedy. 1 inch shouldn't be that bad but may squeeze you a little tighter than you'd like; my initial though would be to cut a splice in between a few scales to give a little room for expansion but I don't know what that would do to the integrity of the silicone. Talk to the girls!

My boyfriend is an absolute sweetheart, so he made sure it's coming over by expedited FedEx shipping. I'm expecting it to be here on Friday, maybe Saturday.

I think a flame rendition of this would be lovely. You mean reds/oranges/yellows? I'm pretty sure they only have one scale mold atm (they recently changed their scale patterning, so the one they're using now is what they say is the new and improved one). But for fins... go crazy! I'd also really recommend scale tipping. The girls did a great job on mine- it adds to the realism.

Yeah, I talked to Abby and she said it would be fine to neatly snip away maybe two or three scales from the middle, depending on how much I need to let out. I just want it to still sit above my bellybutton, but not compress me like a mer-dumpling, lol. Esp as I tend to bloat.

[Blaze]

My boyfriend is an absolute sweetheart, so he made sure it's coming over by expedited FedEx shipping. I'm expecting it to be here on Friday, maybe Saturday.

I think a flame rendition of this would be lovely. You mean reds/oranges/yellows? I'm pretty sure they only have one scale mold atm (they recently changed their scale patterning, so the one they're using now is what they say is the new and improved one). But for fins... go crazy! I'd also really recommend scale tipping. The girls did a great job on mine- it adds to the realism.

Yeah, I talked to Abby and she said it would be fine to neatly snip away maybe two or three scales from the middle, depending on how much I need to let out. I just want it to still sit above my bellybutton, but not compress me like a mer-dumpling, lol. Esp as I tend to bloat.

Woohoo on the shipping! OMG I am super excited FOR you so yeah; the description you used of you being "ALL KINDS OF MAGICKAL BATSHIT" is really accurate I'm sure. ;D

Yup, it's loosely based on the coloring on the bottom half (no white except maybe a little 'fade' at my waist) of the 'Fire fish':


The actual fin on my tail would look more like actual flames. So I'm not sure what extra fins would look good; was wondering if there was a side long fin option to make it look more like the fire fish or flame.

Not sure also on what the difference scale tipping would make since I'm not sure how the color scheme will go. Will most likely let the girls decide!

Cool on the waist!

[Mermaid Syrena]

Woohoo on the shipping! OMG I am super excited FOR you so yeah; the description you used of you being "ALL KINDS OF MAGICKAL BATSHIT" is really accurate I'm sure. ;D

Yup, it's loosely based on the coloring on the bottom half (no white except maybe a little 'fade' at my waist) of the 'Fire fish':


The actual fin on my tail would look more like actual flames. So I'm not sure what extra fins would look good; was wondering if there was a side long fin option to make it look more like the fire fish or flame.

Not sure also on what the difference scale tipping would make since I'm not sure how the color scheme will go. Will most likely let the girls decide!

Cool on the waist!

Eep! Finfolk DEFINITELY has a long side-fin for that. Check out the fins they used for Zelah the Mermaid, Mermaid Alora, as well as Siren Nasreen.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

Hope this helps!

[Blaze]

Can't view FB pics on my work computer and too small on my phone. I did google and found this clip though; yes I love the side fins on the gold tail!

[Mermaid Riia]

OMG SYRENA DAT TAIL!! Piece of art! Congratz!
Do you have any idea how much the shipping for your tail is/was?

[Theobromine]

Syrena, just try the tail on first before you trim any scales. It may fit just fine. My tail is I think 2-3 inches smaller than my measurements and it fits me fine. When I was doing the measurements, Abby and Bryn told me take off an inch all around anyway, to account for the stretchiness of the silicone and keep it snug around your waist so it doesn't gap. This works very well. They took off an additional inch from my measurements because at the time I was doing a workout competition with some work friends and was losing a fair amount of weight. Well, I didn't lose much more after that but oh well :P Still fits.

If you do trim scales, make sure to be very careful and round all the corners between scales. Do NOT make a cut down into the tail between the scales. This will just give it a place to tear from very easily. Yes, Dragonskin is very durable but it is not indestructible, and if you give it a pathway to tear on a high-stress area like the waist, it definitely will. I had a small tear in the waist of mine due to this, because there was an area where the point between the scales was too sharp. Luckily I was able to fix it easily (well, Lorelei fixed it for me, with a little more Dragonskin). Anyway, you just want to be very careful with that area. That's why I lowered the waist of mine a tiny bit, to take a little pressure off it when I pull it up over my rump.

And I can't remember if I posted this before, but here's a video of me swimming in my tail (with Mermaid Lorelei who is awesome and who made the video). You can see how it fits me and how the fluke moves in the water. I have more video clips but I'm clueless about video editing so I've done nothing with them so far It's also the first stuff my husband and I were shooting with our GoPro so it was basically a practice run. I need to get some more footage and learn video editing...

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I could edit a video of just you if you want Theo. :> I still have all the footage.

[Theobromine]

That would be really sweet, if you have the time <3

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Sure thing. :>

[Jadestone]

Syrena, your tail is gorgeous!! I cannot wait to see how it looks on you

And I love that video of Theobromine and Lorelei!! Ahhh you both look fantastic. Someday I hope I can swim with another mer (: And I'm in looove with the song you used! What is it??? I have to go listen to everything that artist has ever made!

[Fifi Tigg]

Hi gorgeous video! Was this filmed with a GoPro?

[Winged Mermaid]

I'm in looove with the song you used! What is it??? I have to go listen to everything that artist has ever made!

It's Blackheart (Original) by Two Steps From Hell

[Theobromine]

Yes, my husband and I got a GoPro Hero 3 Black recently, that's what we used to get the footage. For the shots in that video, we just laid the camera on its back on the bottom of the pool looking up. It turned out pretty cool!

And Lorelei put the video together and picked the music I think she did a fantastic job.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Aww, thanks guys. Yeah, the song is Blackheart and the Go-pro is Theo's. :3 I just put everything together. XD

[Winged Mermaid]

I can say that GoPro footage looks AMAZING if you can get enough light. Outside swimming with sunshine is the best. Unfortunately most of my footage is in indoor pools because living in WA they see outdoor pools as a waste.. ya know with 9 months out of the year it's rainy cold (usually hangs around 38º-45º most of the winter and into spring and fall from what I've seen). The 2nd best footage I got was an indoor pool in Vancouver where they had skylights everywhere and the sun was shining through them strongly that day.

[Mermaid Syrena]

Riiarin: Thank you! We used the fastest UPS shipping- I think it worked out to 400 Singapore dollars or so.
Jadestone: Danke, sweetie! And, oh man. I totally know what you mean about wishing you could swim with another mer. It gets LONELY sometimes over hayerr!
Winged Mermaid: Two Steps From Hell --> hellish name, heavenly music. Seriously. Can someone say "gym jaam"??
Theo: All right, that made me feel better. I'll wait to see how it fits, and then act accordingly! And yes I rewatched the video of you and Lorelei for like the fifth time. So beautiful! And the music!

[Blaze]

I love the GoPro! Hubby got one before our trip to Jamaica; he took it with him when he went scuba diving and saw this:


His words: "The 'clicking' sound is the Dive Master ringing his "HOLY SHIT LOOK OVER THERE" bell."

We hoped to use it to capture me swimming but due to scheduling problems with the tour boat we didn't have a chance.

[Aziara]

Syrena, just try the tail on first before you trim any scales. It may fit just fine. My tail is I think 2-3 inches smaller than my measurements and it fits me fine. When I was doing the measurements, Abby and Bryn told me take off an inch all around anyway, to account for the stretchiness of the silicone and keep it snug around your waist so it doesn't gap. This works very well. They took off an additional inch from my measurements because at the time I was doing a workout competition with some work friends and was losing a fair amount of weight. Well, I didn't lose much more after that but oh well :P Still fits.

This was something I was thinking of doing if I ever make/buy a silicone tail. I love how yours fits, so I guess my theory was correct . Were the inches taken from all measurements (i.e., even knees and ankles)? Or just from 'fleshy' areas, like thighs, calves, and bum?

[MerEmma]

WOW. That was so neat to see. <3

[Theobromine]

This was something I was thinking of doing if I ever make/buy a silicone tail. I love how yours fits, so I guess my theory was correct . Were the inches taken from all measurements (i.e., even knees and ankles)? Or just from 'fleshy' areas, like thighs, calves, and bum?

You know, I'm not entirely sure. I didn't actually think to ask back then. It's pretty tight across my knees, so I suspect they might have taken it in on all measurements. I do wish it wasn't quite so tight on my knees, but I don't think that impacts the way it looks.

Last night I was really carefully re-watching some of the footage we took to see how the waist looked when viewed from the side. There is a tiny bit of flapping on the back of the waist when I swim down, but it's barely perceptible, far less than a lot of other tails I have seen. I know it's inevitable that there will be a little bit of that in any tail (unless it's glued to your skin or something), but I think it's so minimal on my tail it turned out really great. And the gold of the waist looks really good against my skin and makes a really good transition without doing a "blended" waist (I'm not a huge fan of those, because I think skin-colored scales look really weird, and the skin tone never matches the paint job anyway). So yeah, basically, they did a really good job on my tail. Despite taking an hour to put on the first time I tried, and almost being reduced to tears because I thought maybe I was too fat to ever get into it, I finally figured out how to do it and the tightness of the waist is worth the effort! (and it only took me an hour the first time, now I can do it in 15-20 minutes with lube)