I am making an Abrams Tank cake for my son's birthday and I need to make the turret turn and shoot sparks (I am ambitious, I know).  Can anyone point me in the right direction?  I know I need a remote control turntable mechanism, but I am coming up empty during my searches.

For the turning turret part, you need to scrounge an old record player and take out only the driving mechanism.  Then you need to wire a control box that will have to be carried in with the cake.  The batteries can sit inside the turret. Back and forth means a double switch (forward/reverse polarity) instead of a single switch.

But to shoot sparks, you need a whole lot more hardware.  You need to find yourself a piezoelectric barbecue starter and find a safe way to switch that.  It will shoot sparks for a limited time before it needs to be recharged so do your testing well in advance.

OK so find an electronics geek who understands these terms and you are in business.  Otherwise you will have to use a lit sparkler in the muzzle of the gun with a fixed turret.

A«°~°»*****yikes!! Ummm yeah good luck sorry cant help

AWait maybe you can go to a hobby store that makes or carries miniature train stuff...maybe you could find a small motor there to move the turrent around..just a thought

and for what it's worth--i've only had one cake with parts that moved on purpose   (notice there's no picture attached   )

and the only fire on my cakes have been candles

but

get a heavier duty motor than you think you might need--so often on the cake shows the motors fizzle out on them because of the underestimated weight

just a random observation--food mechanics for thought

oh i got one more

can you get some gentle fireworks??? and proceed with extreme caution of course

with small kids around, I'd keep away from open flames, they could get too excited

How about inserting a flickering red LED light into the turret, no danger with that