So, after swearing off cakes for a few months after a TT disaster, i've been asked to do a giraffe cake. I will be making the body out of either a ball pan or carved 8" round, and his legs/neck/head out of RKT. The giraffe is sitting so the legs aren't an issue but the neck is skinny and has to support the weight of the head. Should I build the neck around a PVC pipe or something? Also, this will be my first attempt with RKT, so any helpful tips on that would be appreciated.
TIA!

Yes, his neck will need to be built around a support (strong dowel or PVC) anchored to the board. I would use a flange screwed into the cake board (masonite or plywood) to support the pvc pipe. I have not had the best luck with using RKT - the humidity here tends to soften the RKT even when I coat with melted chocolate. I have better results using modeling chocolate (or candy clay) instead. Learned that tip from Bronwen's standing clown sculpture class but had to test it on my own .

These should give you some sort of an idea

http://www.flickr.com/photos/schmish/5120088085/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/schmish/5131955456/

Good to have you back! I agree a dowel secured to a plywood base. I drill a hole in the base and insert the dowel into it. For the neck of my Jack bottle I used cake. I cut out the cake with a round cutter and cut a smaller a hole in the middle to slide over the dowel. Every 4", I used skewers for the support underneath. I used buttercream in-between the layers and ganache on the outside to crumb coat it. Once the ganache firmed up, it was very strong and stable. Good Luck!!

Thanks y'all! So, my other question is how would I attach the head to the neck securely? Just ram the pipe into it? I'm getting excited to do this cake but I just really don't want another disaster!!

So, I wanted to say thanks for all the help and inspiration! The cake came out beautifully, and without any accidents...it was sooooo smooth that I really was waiting for a large disaster!!! I enjoyed working with RKT for the first time. If you are interested, the pic is now in my gallery at http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1916473 .
Thanks again!!

OH - it came out adorable!!!!