I have a client that wants a 3D fan for a birthday party next weekend. Apparently the 4 year old birthday boy is obsessed with fans and collects them. The aunt said he has 19 fans. I know... I was dumbfounded too.
Anyway... can anyone help me? Ideas, construction? Please please please.
how about this.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dfan%2520cake%26fr2%3Dtab-web%26fr%3Dytff1-amo&w=90&h=65&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freedsbakery.com%2Fuploads%2FQj%2FwU%2FQjwUB71oe7QTCQdjt8jKIA%2Fthumb-Japanese-Fan-Cake-Birthday-Cake.jpeg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freedsbakery.com%2Fvictorian-lace3%3Ffunc%3DnextThread&size=51kB&name=thumb-Japanese-Fan-Cake-Birthday-Cake.jpeg&p=fan%20cake&type=JPG&oid=15360e18b48fa9ac&no=4&sigr=1273qmb7f&sigi=13rju9dik&sigb=13np8e4l4&tt=3837
http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/holiday/mom/cake4.jpg
I did this last year. I used a mold/cutter that I bought from Creative Cutters:
I know it seems odd, but the client wants a fan like the ones you plug into the wall that blow air.
The one that look like a propeller ?
an idea:
square sheet cake big enough for the required servings -- the back of the box
then sides of hardened gumpaste to lift up the grill work high enough to clear the fan blades
fan blades -- gumpaste ovals dried bent so have that "fan" shape -- connected to a hub -- hub could be a small round of cake, part of a cupcake, a snack cake, or just a blob of gumpaste)
then the grill work -- this could be dowels covered and glued together w/ royal icing
....or...
if up to the challenge -- the whole grill is royal icing.
----
could do a round fan by using 9" round cake base...
flatter fan blades
and then using the back of a 9" CONTOUR pan to do the grill work out of royal icing so it has that rounded shape and stands up from cake high enough to clear the blades.
(and if you have larger contour pans -- then even bigger fan!)
----
and don't forget to put handle and control knob on one side of cake and a power cord (long roll of fondant)
HTH
can i just say wow Doug...you are amazing! can i get you on speed dial for all of my cake issues?
Could you make the base a round cake, use f or gp covered styrofoam for the part that attatches the base to the actual fan ( to make it sturdier and so the actual fan would attach to it with ease) and do the actual fan like he said with the the bent oval fondant fan blades and piping ri over a contour pan for the fan casing. Or you could use skewers for the casing. I would definately make sure the styrofoam in well secured to the bottom plate by using a dowel or something. Hope this helps.
I'd start with a sheet cake base just to get plenty of servings.
so....make that sheet cake top look like the top of a desk or table (could even strew "books", "doilies", etc. across the top for effect.
then....
sheet cake is on a 3/4 in plywood base.
central support dowel (at least a 1/2", better 3/4 in) is glued and screwed to the plywood base and rises as high as you want then hub of the fan blades to be.
then, using metal "L" brackets to secure --
on one side an oval cake plate cut to support a wonder mold cake on its side -- part trimmed off to get a flat surface -- this will be the motor part of the fan. as in the pic of fan on right -- this could be a series of small 4" or 6" rounds stood on edge (with one side trimmed flat) for a more block-ish motor shape. this cake plate is low enough to put center of mold/rounds at midpoint of fan blade hub
on other side at top -- a short dowel to support the fan blades.
now as to those fan blades -- well heaven help you!
i suppose one could be gutsy enough to do gumpaste blades and royal icing cage (wire covered in RI????) but t this point, I dare say, I'd wimp out and go with NONedible materials. --- say craft foam for the blades and plain old wire for the cage.
as for the base -- good old RKT molded and covered in BC or fondant. (fondant on dowel upright too)
the base and motor -- not so bad.
the blades and cage -- OY!!!!
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Could you make the base a round cake, use f or gp covered styrofoam for the part that attatches the base to the actual fan ( to make it sturdier and so the actual fan would attach to it with ease) and do the actual fan like he said with the the bent oval fondant fan blades and piping ri over a contour pan for the fan casing. Or you could use skewers for the casing. I would definately make sure the styrofoam in well secured to the bottom plate by using a dowel or something. Hope this helps.
this could work too -- I'd just be afraid of how big the blades and cage would have to be to make it all proportional ....
It would follow the same premise of construction as outlined above, except no sheet cake, a ROUND plywood base that would be at least 2" large around than the cake is widest.
I'd still use RKT instead of styrofoam to build up the curved base and then use 6" rounds for the motor.
good thinking trishawv 
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HTH
Very lame in comparison to our resident engineer Doug ...but wouldn't a lo-tech plastic pinwheel set into the cake suffice? A colorful one on a colorful cake?
Just an alternative idea....
Very lame in comparison to our resident engineer Doug
...but wouldn't a lo-tech plastic pinwheel set into the cake suffice? A colorful one on a colorful cake? Just an alternative idea....
great idea! and a toy for the child to boot!
(of course purists will decry that "but it's not all edible!" -- but then to heck w/ that -- as if cake boards, pillars, etc are?)
I'm so sorry that some of us gave the wrong answers...
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