One of the the things I wanted to change about Conrad is to give him a tail (even though there isn't one in Frank's drawing that inspired me), because otherwise he looks too much a "Big head and a jumpsuit" costume, because, after all, he was a big head and a jumpsuit X-).
Originally, I was going to make the tail segments out of conical sections of WonderFlex, but I realized it just was not going to move the way I wanted it to. I'd been planning to use light chain to give the tail enough mass to flick while moving on stage, and realize I could make foam "vertebra" and string them right on the chain. Here's what I've done so far:
What's next: adding the second shock cord, and carving a top segment and rigging the harness to make it hang properly from the hips, then putting the skin on him. Oh, and cutting a hole in the jumpsuit to let it come out.
I've got most of the work to fix his underbite done; I just have to re-attach the lower jaw. I also found dark red mesh to use for the face mask instead of the black I used originally, so it will look like staring down his throat.
If there is time, we'll glue some giant acrylic rhinestones left over from Amber onto the jumpsuit, and maybe I'll put some dino-toes on an old pair of cowboy boots.
Should be plenty of time to get it all done before we leave on the 19th.