This tail is really easy to make and it costs me nothing to show you how to make one so yeah.

Supplies

What you will need;

Tape. Duct tape and that sort of rubbery electrical tape work best. Sellotape won’t work because it won’t really stick to itself and it isn’t flexible enough.
Corrugated cardboard. Mine is from IKEA furniture.

Step 1: Cut Ou the Shape of the Tail.

Draw out tail in the shape you want on the cardboard. I would recommend making it pretty short and and a fairly vertical shape. The more horizontal it is, the less flexible you can make it.

Once you have the shape you want, cut it out, and trace it again onto the cardboard. Cut out several. For the small model I made for this tutorial, I used three layers, but for my large wearable version, I used eight layers.

Don’t forget to make the tail slightly shorter because they will be spaced out by the hinged parts that will make it flexible.

Use a pencil to mark out the segments of the tail. The more you have, the more flexible the tail will be, but also more difficult to make. About 10 is a good number.

Step 2: Add the Barb to the End of the Tail

If you don’t want your tail to have a different shape on the tip, you can skip this step.

The tip segment of the tail can be removed from a few layers, and replaced with the shape you want. On my small tail, I made one barb, but on my large tail I replaced four of the eight layers.

Step 3: Sticking the Segments Together

Each of the segments you marked out with a pencil should be wrapped with tape. The barb (if there is one) should be wedged between the other layers of cardboard before being wrapped.

Step 4: Cut the Segments Apart

Slice each segment apart with a knife or scissors.

Step 5: Then Stick Them Together Again

You will need three pieces of tape. Stick one piece on either side of the segment you plan to stick. Bring these two pieces together in the dead centre of the segment before wrapping them with the third piece of tape. You will have one open end (though they might have stuck to each other, in which case you will have to peel them apart) which you should stick to either side of the next segment, as seen in the third picture.

In the bigger tail, you will need to add more cardboard in between the segments.

Keep doing this until you’ve joined together the whole tail.

Step 6: Reinforce the Hinges

In a bigger tail, you will need to do a few extra layers of tape. On the small one, I only needed to wrap one extra layer of tape between each hinge. Keep the tail flat as you add the tape so it doesn’t automatically swerve one way or the other. Get a separate piece of tape for each hinge. Do not try to wrap the whole thing at once.