Hello everyone. I'm about to start on my 2nd 3d cake ever. My last 1 was a monster truck cake which turned out pretty good for my 1st time. This time I'm attempting a 3d dirt bike. I know I'm going to have to make a stand to support the weight but as far as the handle bars and pedals.

I'm thinking the main part of the bike is going to be cake then after that I guess dowels covered in fondant?

Any help would be awesome???? Its for my step-sisters sweet 16 party.

Thanks

Nate

i would use a t-pin looking something that is firmly planted into foam that is resting quietly under the bottom board

either pvc pipe or something metal like copper tubing that is food safe

how big is it going to be?

you can get pretty small pvc

if you get an elbow joint

http://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/sissybao/product-detailybQxhzYdLjVO/China-PVC-Pipe-Fitting.html

see the t shaped joint and the one in the bottom left corner? i'd use those for handlebars and insert the pvc pipe in there--this all comes in a most confusing array of sizes so have fun with that

but the big box hardware stores have it all out where you can mix & match and think yourself into a coma

that's how i do it

but i've also gone to plumbing stores and those guys were real helpful too

your step sister has a great step brother

Thanks for the info! I'm thinking its prob going to end up being 2 ft. tall. I'm worried about making the tires sturdy enough for both standing and transport of the cake.

Next week will be 1st trial run

that's gonna be a huge bike sculpture!

too cool

i've done a large enough tire for that, but it was laying down

for family birthday--they are so forgiving

esp since it was a red velvet cake and white chocolate cream cheese cake

sometimes my shabby on the outside is offest by the chic inside

and there was some kind of liqueur too

spaghetti spokes

But for your venture i would use foam for the tires

or cast solid chocolate

then i'd cover that with candy clay aka modeling chocolate to make the treads

hope you post a picture!!!

 i think i saw your vehicle in another post--well done! very cool

i mean you def could carve tread on the cast chocolate but every time you touch it you'll leave a mark

you could cast it with popsicle sticks coming out of the bottom of the tire

(where they can be inserted into foam for stability --located under bottom board)

but yeah it'll be fragile

i'd have extra hands to hold it during delivery

and valium

edited to say:

oh gosh now i wanna cast big chocolate tires

oh man, what fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I change it to a flat cake and carve the image to kinda be laying on top of the cake I think could use k8memphis wheel. Mosst of you guys are much better than me so I have no clue what I'm getting into til I start again. I got lots of ideas...If I do it flat I could turn the front handle bars so the front tire is actually coming out of the cake. Just drew my first pic so I'm ready to start buying my material. Any post will be awesome I'll be back next wknd hopefully with good news.

Thanks a lot!!!!!!

so exciting!

i used rice krispie treats for that tire and this was a good idea and a bad idea

that dang rkt would not stay in shape--it flexed  <grimace>

even though i let it setup overnight

somehow i arm wrestled it under the fondant  <rahr>

copper tubing would work great

you need some structure for the tire--unless you cast the chocolate

big learning curve working with choco, but doable

foam would work...can't eat that though

can't wait!!!

here's a low key 2-d  scooter

My 2nd ever 3-D cake was a motorcycle, also 2 feet high (in my pics).  Although I didn't have foot pedals I had pvc supports for them. I did use RKT for the wheels and the entire thing was covered in chocolate clay.  I used pvc supports and foam core for support in the wheels  and then covered the rkt with chocolate.  Plywood and foam core for support (with pvc) in the main cake.  It feed 200 people at that size.  My best suggestion is to make a scale drawing first, that helped a great deal with proportions.
 

sweetflowers.

so like five feet long

omg

wow wow wow wow wow

truly amazing

and the dual smokin' pipes---get outa here!!!

<chorus of applause>

I saw that motorcycle in doing some research. That thing is crazy!!!!

thanks..,   I'll just say it was 45 hours of work, not counting all the planning.  It is 4 feet by 2 feet and 2 feet high.  k8 is right about the support for the RKT, which I did do.  The wheels were 11" round approx. and the RKT will collapse if not supported.  If you have the time, do a practice one first.  Your step-sister is one lucky girl and although this is a ton of work...you'll have a blast doing it! 
 

i just tried my 1st run at this and not so good. I was thinking doing a flat cake then carving down would be easier to pull off but i didn't have any look. I had the cake in the freezer for about a half hr but it still got "crumby" when cutting. I was using betty crooker chocalate cake. Not sure if I didnt let it in freezer long enough or what. I did cut the oil down from what they call for. I also dont think a scaled large enough...It was about a foot long, kinda hard to pull off the detail.

Maybe I should try krispies fo form the bike and form up from there or vice versa or scrap and begin a standing bike.

been wondering how you were doing

i mean in this thread you have from the simplest to the bad a$$inest

i do let my cakes fully freeze

are you used to rice krispies? that's another learning curve

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

do you have a pattern?

I have used rkt before, I was hoping to keep it  cake this time but i dont think that is going to be the case.

rkts are cool

i just want to mention that even rkt needs some structure to hold up as handle bars

if i were doing this i would have a skeleton of some kind in there

and when i use rkt i mold mine right out of the pan and let it set up overnight before further carving

mine need that overnight set up time

my recipe is the one on the box less one cup rk--we use butter and i add some vanilla to the marshmallow

we are rkt fanatics

GOOD LUCK!!!!

i hope you have a pattern

rkt can be a little inconsistent and flexible

try not to get too stressed or anything

these things can get so complicated even for the pros--i know you've probably seen some of the tv cake shows--so you are in very good company

I'm working on the back tire now. The body is covered in icing in the freezer. Looks pretty good. I'm going to wait to cover with fondant until I have everything the way I want it.

I believe my main problem was the size when I 1st started. Its up to about 1.5 ft without both tires.

Question as of now is how long will the cake last covered with icing? A week...2,3?

if you can store it in the freezer--

wrapped like a mummy to avoid smells entering into it and to prevent freezer burn

sure a few weeks

in a dedicated freezer that is rarely opened a couple months

but otherwise--maybe a week max or 5 days

i would not go over 2 days myself unfrozen

ooooh you're making great progress!!!!

and for the thaw --you want to go by degrees

from freezer

to frige overnight

then to room temp

you can use the outdoors too if it's winter where you're at

i mean like a unheated space outdoor space--garage or something

where bears & puppies won't be attracted to the aroma

geez it's huge!!!!

Yay!!!!

This is what I got...If you see improvements that could be done let me know. I don't want to put the fondant on because of the cost of it. Over all I think it looks decent.

i mean it's all there--you got it!

is this a trial run?

no fondant?

you can handily finish it in buttercream

you may already know this but

you can smoothy smooth buttercream with viva paper towels

because they have a smooth surface

or with any brand new super clean smooth towel

it's a-w-e-s-o-m-e

Wow, I love the front tire coming forward like you have it.  You can use modeling chocolate (aka candy clay, chocolate clay..etc..) instead of fondant, it's much cheaper.  Otherwise the buttercream will work well.  Can't wait to see it done.

Yeah this was just a trial. I wanted to give myself enough time just incase I didnt get it. Not very confident just my 2nd cake.

The modeling chocalate is just the wafers with corn syrup rite? I guessing use white chocalate the dye it to your color...

That would probably taste much better then the fondant...so sweet along with the 5 tubes of icing already on it.

Thanks when I actually do the real deal I will post a pic. Any other ideas to better I'm all ears!

Just thought of a question...How do I make the fondant or chocalate clay have a shiny finish? The last cake I did everything was a dull. I used marshmellow fondant on the last one not sure if that matters or not.

i'm doing a little experiment for you -brb

i'll have results before noon

ok so my suggestion is to mix gum arabic* with a little water and paint your object for a nice engine cover sheen or whatever you want uber shiny

gum arabic comes in a mccormack spice type bottle with a screw on lid

a few bucks--may be available at your cake deco store (not hobby lobby type store)

but def available online

but there's another way to get *gum arabic easy peasy

in a reverse process

you can buy 'white edible glitter' at the hobby lobby type stores and cake deco stores

i don't know if wilton makes this --i've never seen their brand of it

it comes in a wilton food color style little jar

it looks like the lightest weight tiny paint chips --would blow away in a breeze or a snort

lighter than air

it's gum arabic just not in powder form

make a paintable substance with it

dissolve a teaspoon of it in a little water and paint it on store bought fondant or candy clay--easy peasy--works to perfection--

it does dry fine on s.b. fondant and candy clay--i just tested this for you

does not dissolve in alcohol (which is often used to mix cake deco dusts)

for nice shine but not as bright as the gum arabic you can paint the s.b. fondant piece with vodka

most of it evaporates away--does not leave much alcohol taste if any--just cleans it up nice

candy clay stays it's same finish kinda matte-- even with the vodka scrub (i used everclear today)

the warmth of your hand will restore candy clay surface (before the gum arabic is applied of coures)

candy clay is much more forgiving than any fondant

cc can be made with grocery store candy coating available in cake mix aisle

be sure choco is all the way melted

warm the clear karo syrup to about the same temp as choco

combine & mix well until it seems to seize

wait till it comes back to room temp

you might already know how to make this so anyhow

more information than you might need but there it is

AThanks for info, I think ill go with vodka for multi purposes!

perfect

when is the birthday?

AFeb. 22 but I'm suppose to do football helmets after that for a friend. So I'm gonna do a practice run at super bowl. Then my sons bday. Hopefully I can start doing some cakes for paying customers soon.

Heres my bike. It turned out pretty good I think. A couple things could've been better. I was wondering what kind of icing everyone uses for under the fondant. I've been using whipped icing and it doesn't seem to hold any body to it. As far as getting a nice edge on anything I cover. I was wondering if I should use a different type. Also I know I have 2 cakes to make for March 9th I wanted to know if I could make 1 of them next week and freeze it or at least make the cake and not cover it with fondant as long as I freeze it.

Good news I got 4 more cakes to make.