construction:tails:oversized

Oversized Tails

From: Tippus Tailus
I created a skunk tail. It raises above my shoulders and is just as wide. I copied Clawz Skunkie’s tail. Indeed, I had the pleasure of modelling his tail while a group of furs discussed inprovements to the design. There are two important considerations. Firstly, if you’re going to make a big tail then you need to make a big harness. This is especially true for raised tails. Consider angular momentum. A large, heavy tail will tilt at any opportunity. My tail has a wooden baseplate 8 inches tall and 16 inches wide in three hinged sections. This should be considered a minimum. Indeed, I would recommend a solid baseplate taller than 8 inches to ensure that belts are sufficiently spaced when under load. I would also recommend three or more belts to spread load. Most of the load is on the top belt where it is most likely to cause breathing difficulties.

Secondly, do you want a segmented tail? The popular option was to weld a single, shaped piece of metal to a harness. This option wasn’t available to me, so I made a wireframe using pliers. I made segments from 7 guage (4mm) steel fence wire. Segments were tensioned with rubber bands. Unfortunately, several prototypes collapsed under their own weight - or tension. So, compromise. If you want a raised tail then just build upwards. Fake the rest with padding.

I covered a flat metal jointed structure with two sheets of foam. A sheet either side is one inch thick. (The only problem is that it *looks* like two sheets of foam covered with fur. So, plan ahead and add some curves early in your design cycle.) The foam decends below the wireframe to create the illusion of a longer tail. See http://www.tailus.com/tail/ for more details. This empty section also doubles as a rucksack, complete with zip pockets. I keep a fursuit repair kit inside the tail. The fur covering has zips and can be removed like a seat cover. Unfortunately, when such a large area of fur material is placed vertical over a flat sheet of foam, the fur material flaps and creases in an obvious manner. So, I am considering additional padding. This would also add natural curvature. However, I am concerned about fixings and additional weight.

Another consideration is size. A fursuit and a small tail occupies one large bag. A mascot head occupies an equally sized bag. Well, an oversize tail occupies the same volume again. It is very inpractical to transport. Especially if you don’t have a car. For this reason, very few of the LondonFurs have seen my fursuit. It is also too big as aeroplane luggage unless disassembled. I don’t want to discourage oversize tail creation, but if you want your work to be seen then I would strongly advise creating a smaller tail. Or getting your own transport.

A famous oversize tail belongs to Chester Ringtail. He has an eight foot stuffed tail. He is very expressive with his tail. For example, he can be shy and hide behind it. Or he can be sassy and pose with it. There’s also a picture of me hugging his tail. From this incident, I was surprised that his tail was so light. I suppose that if you make a tail that big then you *have* to carry it. So, stuff such tails with the lightest filling you can find. You’ll regret it otherwise.

PVC piping can be used to make large oversized tails.

/home/furryfursuit/faq/data/pages/construction/tails/oversized.txt · Last modified: 2011/08/11 12:01 (external edit)

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