Check it out! Red tail! The final 5% is because I noticed that it hangs a little crooked and I need to fix that. Somehow. Hmm....

This is the second tail like this that I've made. Since my first one was so long and heavy, I wanted to try making something more wearable. Red Tail weighs in at 12.5 oz and is about 19 inches long. The core is good 'ol Joanns green foam covered with polar fleece, then a spandex sock.

I wasn't going off of any specific character, I just wanted to make something very generic dragon. Airbrushing the yellow on was a little difficult. I alternated light coats and a hot hairdryer to build up the yellow gradient. (If I were to do this design again, I'll add a bit of gold pearlescent color to my yellow. The gold micro glitter will reflect the light, and make the yellow appear brighter.) I learned that just like with faux fur, it is hard to make something lighter without really affecting the hand feel. The purple was a breeze, in contrast. The black scales are just acrylic paint, then a coat of gloss varnish to make them stand out from the matte spandex.

The black spines are Flex-Foam 17 from Smooth-On. I got a great tip from Monoyasha during a livestream: Heating up your mold in a 200 degree oven helps the foam create a more even skin. I also found that popping the mold back in the warm oven while the foam was curing (after rising) made the spines squishier overall. The are glued on with E6000. It's the same spine over and over, I just cut it shorter and shorter.

You can't really see it in these photos, but there is a bit of belly scales on the underside. I used some costume pleather from Joanns. That stuff is a pain in the butt to sew, but it's worth it.

Concept art and some progress pictures

---MATERIALS USED---
- Joanns green upholstery foam (glued with 3M super 77)
- White blizzard fleece (underneath the spandex)
- This red spandex (really great stuff!)
- Golden Fluid Acrylics and Airbrush Medium(for the airbrushing)
- Craft store acrylics and varnish (for the black scales, brand really isn't important)
- FlexFoam-it 17 and so-strong pigment in black (mold was made with Rebound 25 and Plasti-Paste)
- 2" nylon webbing