Wow, I adore the shape of your scales. I have so much respect for your patience--I would be going nuts wanting it finished. It's going to look fantastic! And I think stamping little hearts in it would be adorable, a very cute little touch!
Wow, I adore the shape of your scales. I have so much respect for your patience--I would be going nuts wanting it finished. It's going to look fantastic! And I think stamping little hearts in it would be adorable, a very cute little touch!
Once upon a time I was known as Seavanna. Going by Seatan these days. I always wanted to be the high lord of underwater hell.
Thank you everyone!
Raina, I suck at most crafty things except painting/drawing, so this has been a challenge XD haha! I hope it will turn out nice though!
I'm pretty impatient all things considered. Waiting to get the money to do this, then the supplies- I was tearing out my hair with impatience wanting to start! haha! I'm just grateful I can actually give this a go.
Just a question, I've been curious as to how I'm going to hide the black monofin without layering my fluke with piles of paint- do you think painting my monofin before sealing it in the fluke will work? Its a competitor, so I'm thinking the paint wont stick well. lol! I thought about painting it white so that it was a clean canvas and wouldn't be so obvious. Any thoughts?
I'm using a wave and have the same issue! I decided to tint my silicone white to reduce the layers of paint I will need to cover the black and yellow. There really isn't a great option, but tinting the silicone will help a lot.
Thanks Jessica! I was going to tint my silicone pale white/pink to start, so there would be less layering of pink on top, and I figured with the white Power Mesh on the inside it would also help hide my legs from showing through were any paint is thin. But the competitor monofin is so black! It will take so many layers to cover it! Hrm. I'm going to have to investigate. XD
would it be worth painting the monofin before you lay down the silicone? or something along those lines?
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
what about spray painting the monofin in similar colours to what you will be painting your tail. that way it will blend in. white could possibly work.
Can someone please get me back to the ocean before I suffocate... I need the water......
If you do decide to paint your monofin, just be sure to do a test with silicone first. Silicone can be picky stuff and you don't want to put anything on your monofin that might inhibit the cure of the silicone.
Another option....you could buy a bit of white neoprene and use it just inside your fluke.
I'm considering painting a dark layer of green on the back side of the scales that will be covering the black footpockets. You could tint your silicone, and paint a dark layer of pink on the back of the fluke/scales that will be covering the monofin. Since you're painting on the back of white/pink tinted silicone, it won't make the front of the silicone look dark pink.....It would probably just look a little more pink....but i wouldnt imagine it would change the color a whole lot. Just an idea
I was going to suggest that too, I just didn't know if it was a feasible option. or if neoprene is to thick, some white Lycra or spandexOriginally Posted by Jessica
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a Whiting to a Snail
"There's a Porpoise right behind us and he's treading on my tail!"
Tail making progress http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...-making-a-tail
I was considering sticking the power mesh to the monofin- as its white, and it will also help the silicone adhere to the fin! BUT... I dont know how much flexibility it will take from the monofin itself. I really like the way the competitor moves- its got enough bend to look realistic but its firm enough to give good propulsion. I'm worried glueing something onto it will make it stiffer.
I like you're suggestion, Jessica! Painting the inside of the fluke first. I was always going to tint the silicone, but I feel like it wont be enough to cover the black fin, so painting a layer underneath before sealing might be the way to go!
I poured the scale sheet the other night, and we had some issues!! lol!
The Shell Shock thickened too fast again and we didn't get to cover the entire sheet. I've re-inforced the entire mold with fibreglass and resin in 3 layers, so there wont be any cracking, but I'm pretty sure it didn't cover enough to make an entire scale sheet. I may have to do it in parts- but we will see once I pull the mold off tomorrow night (I've got freediving training tonight, otherwise I'd be doing it now!). I did make the scale sheet a lot bigger than my actual size, so maybe theres still enough to do one whole sheet. :3 I'm not too fussed- I know it can be done in parts, it will just take longer!
Hi Mizuko,
something to think about.....if you glued the powermesh to the monofin, the silicone might not be able to adhere to the powermesh. Silicone adheres to fabric basically by getting in and around the fibers. Silicone doesn't actually stick to fabric...it surrounds the fibers and sticks to itself. So if you used glue to adhere the powermesh to the monofin, I would imagine that the glue might fill in around the fibers...and then there might not be any room for silicone to get in. I might be wrong, so it would be best to do a test patch first!
I think you should be ok with just tinting the silicone and maybe painting the back. Just tinting the silicone white worked really well for me. It's going to take you a few layers to get the color/blending you want anyway since you're using pearl ex.
I'm sorry you had trouble with your mold! Shell shock is tough to work with! Don't worry too much though...half of my mold has too much foam stuck in it to be used and I pieced together my last tail (and I'm piecing this one too). I have a few tricks I've learned so I might be able to help you if you need it.
good luck!
Sorry for the absence, everyone. You may or may not know the local South Australian mermaid community lost an amazing person on Saturday. I've been in shock for a few days- Tiffany (Mermaid Araylia) was a wonderful friend to me and Mermaid Miel. We last saw her at her birthday only a few weeks ago. Tiffany was the sweetest person, she was caring and generous. Things wont be the same without her in our pod- or in our lives. I hope I can update soon with more tail making. Thanks for your understanding <3
Hi Jessica,Hi Delphine,
I made my tail out of dragonskin and you can check out some pictures here: http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...in-tail/page10
your thread was really helpful to me and your tail is just gorgeous! I was wondering though....I'm using a wave monofin for my latest tail....did you adhere the silicone to the monofin by drilling holes in the monofin, gluing lace...etc? I know some people have done these things before and I was wondering if its worth the trouble. Does your fluke wrinkle or fill with water at all?
Mizuko,
We need pictures!! I can't wait to see this scale sheet and fluke mold! I used posterboard instead of cardboard for my molds and its a lot easier to peel off the mold. I put my quilting cutting mat under the posterboard when I carry it around so the clay doesn't bend...or you could just put some cardboard under. Anyway..it made things a little easier for me so I thought I'd share.
Wow! So colourful! Did you cast your tail, then paint the silicone? I mixed the white & pearl pigments directly into the tail, & only painted the glow-pigments-silcione-mix as a surface treatment. Aw, that's so sweet. Thank you, sometimes looking back I feel like my tail is only the plainer side (even though it's iridescent & glows), but it was a huge endeavor & I succeeded. It is, also, a first attempt after all. Only now, am I realizing many actually paint their tails after casting as is, so have translucent tails to work with. While I would have loved doing that, I'm not yet sure of the process. Silicone is a tricky medium to paint, so I'm wondering if it's thinned with a special rubber thinner, pigmented & airbrushed? I talked to FireMaid about the lace, which she used. I did tests & all the fabric solutions for the fluke failed. I ended up sanding the crud out of my dandelion-yellow Wave, left the original shape intact (considered mod-ing it for a time) and primed it white. I used special (but stinky.. like.. salt & vinegar chips, so gross haha but my helper loved the smell XD) silicone glue & Dragon Skin to adhere the fluke halves together at the seams & trimmed off the excess after it was cured.
The Delphine Tail totally wrinkles at the ankles most often. Sometimes I can fight with it, & win.. others, I let it wrinkle because it's exhausting doing battle with such a strong, stretchy material! XD And yes, it definitely fills with water. My main tech-friend-helper & I designed 3 drainage holes that go from the inside of the bodice section, down the monofin to the edges of the fluke & out. This helps get rid of drag & usually is easier to dump water when I take my tail off, however sometimes they don't open much & then I have a 30 lbs. tail waterlogged tail to deal with. Haha--wrinkles, waterlogging, mono fin bruises & scale marked-legs, oh mermaid problems! XD The downsides are worth the enjoyment of mermaiding, however.
Yes, more photos Mizuko! ^__^- Oh, whoa! Did not see this post a second ago! I'm so sorry you lost your friend, hun. My sympathies.
Last edited by Delphine; 10-30-2013 at 08:11 PM.
OMG this is really something for you!Well, it took me all weekend (as I thought) but I finally finished my scale sheet!
Attachment 15285
It took pretty long as I had to melt the clay in batches, pour it into an even level, then wait until it was slightly dry before cutting it and carefully peeling it out of the cutter.
Attachment 15286
I'm considering stamping some cute things into some of the scales- like heart shapes or something- to make it more 'me' lol!
I haven't been able to pour the Shell Shock on it yet! Planning to do it tonight or Tuesday nighthaha to cute!
Mizuko & Jessica,
For my Delphine Tail I encountered this problem. My solution, perhaps not the best but it worked was to sand the crap out of the Wave & spray white primer in layers until it was white & even. Why? The silicone could be peeled EASILY off my Wave once it cured (and it DID cure, though I only did a droplet on a couple spots). I wanted to be sure my fluke halves (both halves were very white-tinted & mixed in with the iridescent powder) would be cured over the monofin. So it was a pain, but it worked. Maybe you can do that, or have a better way. As always, I'm an advocate for tests! =P
That's a GENIOUS way of doing a body cast! How many rolls of tape did you go through?
"As for steps, I have made a leg cast using glad wrap and duct-tape, and finally fibre glass to give it strength. I did this while I was home over Christmas; my Dad makes surfboards in his free time so he has a huge shed and lots of fibre glass to spare! I know it has been said that you dont nessesarily need a leg cast to make a full silicone tail, however I'm taking no chances with sizing! We quite literaly took the duct-tape dummy in about an inch before fibre-glassing it (which only added an extra 1-2cm to the width) so I'm sure to have a tight fitting tail."
Hi everyone, sorry for the long absence.
So, everything was going swimmingly... until my scale mold failed.
With the death of Tiffany, followed by this: I was pretty much an emotional wreck for two days. I put so much of myself into this project, I felt like a total failure (and that one mold was about $250, which I dont have the money to replace right away). I'm feeling better now- its just a set back- but its still a kick in the teeth.
Not sure why the scale mold failed. Its like the Shell Shock didn't sink into the scales properly- so no details were captured unless it was on the thicker scales. This confused the hell out of me- we poured it just like the other molds, and considering it captured every detail down to my fingerprints on the other molds, I cant explain what happened.
I'm having to redo the scale mold (it took me two whole days last time... ugh) and I'm considering using UltraCal 30, does anyone have any experience with this? I'm only considering it because its so much cheeper than Shell Shock >.<
Anyway, besides all this, my fluke and extra fins all turned out nicely:
Although I'm struggling painting them. lol! The silicone seems so thick, it gets all globby on the surface no matter how I try and spread it out :P I've got some silicone thinner, but its not much and I didn't want to use it all up!
I really do love everything about your tail though and that fluke is gorgeous! Being a pastel type mermaid myself I would love my tail to look as girly and cutesy as yours! So don't give up because I know in the end its going to be great!
User previously known as "MermaidBonny".
I have used Ultracal for my scale molds for my silicone tails. It's very heavy when cured, it's annoying, but it's also very cheap and works. I'm so sorry that the scales didn't work out. The fluke is very beautiful though. When using ultracal, the first layer should be of nacho cheese (kinda thin) consistency and you should brush it on to capture the details. Then you can add a thicker layer. After that do 2-3 layers with burlap and then a final layer to smooth it out. It'll be a big mess!
WOW! So pretty. <3
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