I am making my first fish cake and need help. any suggestions on how to make the scales on the fish andother details. Also is it possible to get good color details without airbrushing? thank you for any suggestions!!!

I used the open side of a tip to make scales on the bass I did for my son's birthday cake last year. Just use part of the round part to make cresent marks. I covered it in white fondant and used dry luster dusts for the colors. See my fish cake in my photos. He really loved it.

thats what i did too. i used a beige colour for a base colour of a carp the i used a piping tip at the larger end to indent semi circles in the fondant while it was still soft. the i used various browns in lustre dust to create different shades i sprayed over the top of it all with a pearl spray and it gave it that shimmer that fish have. the fins were just cut into with a knife to make indents and glued on with edible glue. my cake turned out ok here it is:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1764806.html