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Double-Amputee Gets Mermaid Tail

by Laura June on February 28, 2009 at 10:29 AM


New Zealander Nadya Vessey, who lost both of her legs to the knee when she was a child, has just received a prosthesis that's unlike anything we've ever seen, outside of 'Splash'. About two years ago, she approached Weta Workshop, which specializes in design and manufacturing of costumes and special effects -- their credits include The Lord of the Rings' trilogy -- to see if the company might be interested in making her a working, prosthetic mermaid tail. Turns out they were, and they've just completed the final product. The tail, which is composed of wetsuit fabric and plastic molds, has a custom paint job and digitally-imaged effects. Apparently, it enables Nadya to swim quite effectively and is an all around sexy piece of machinery. No word yet on what one of these slick dudes would cost in real life, but we have a feeling we couldn't justify the expense just to tool around in the kiddie pool.

Check out the video after the break!

[Thanks, Pyper]



Tags: amputee, double amputee, DoubleAmputee, mermaid, nadya vessey, NadyaVessey, new zealand, NewZealand, swimming, tail, weird, weta, weta workshop, WetaWorkshop

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