I am working on the most daring 3D project I have yet and I'm really getting scared about structure. I'm *sure* it will work out but of course there's always that fear in the back of my mind. I've already had to make some last minute sizing changes that have really compromised my stability plans.
Anyone ever mess up a cake so badly that you had to call the customer and refund their money?
No. But if you have a fall back position, at least they will have cake. Maybe a sheet cake with an image? Just in case....
That's a good idea, sounds easier to do at 4am than redoing an entire 3D thing...
Hoping and praying the design works though!
whats the design? good luck! im sure you'll do a great job on it. 
Its a hot air balloon, I got some advice on how to do it mostly from Doug, and that part worked well.... everything was going good until I realized I had totally forgotten to check scale (I guess because the shape looked easy) and realized that the 10" layers I made for the widest part of the balloon should have been more like 14" to make it look right. SO I had no choice but to take 14" boards and piece together the layers using the cake I had (no time to bake new layers because the cake has to be carved and crumb coated and stuff in steps, refrigerated between steps). So the fact I pieced them together is not terrible (but not great) but I didn't realize I'd have 14" boards on there which is way too wide but anything smaller looks stupid.
So...we'll see. 
Right now I have them partially crumb coated, stacked with supports, and three dowels through the middle and refrigerating...then gotta carve a bit more and more crumb coat. Doug told me how to make a floating stand thingy and so my basket is actually hanging free and I have some styrofoam for the very bottom of the balloon.... so it was going great until I got to the cake part. 
snappy comeback ---
the balloon looked to much like the designer (doug) -- so I put it on a diet! (and use the 10" rounds)
could 12" be a compromise?
Well its already stacked and doweled so no turning back LOL....I did cut the 14" down a little so its more like 13" I think.
When I first stacked them up (10") it looked like it was deflated haha.... I'm really getting scared but we'll see!
Everything looked so cool till I started stacking cake haha....
I"ll be using ALOT of icing and praying that the 79 degrees and sunny tomorrow won't be enough to melt it all since I found out last week this is an OUTDOOR PARTY. *sigh*
Well here it is... I took a few different snapshots but don't want to upload until I take a photo at the party site. I have white satin to drape around it and took one photo like that at home but the satin didn't look nice because I didn't want to get "paint" all over it.
Soooo I'll just upload this refrigerator shot so you can get a look at the size. The board is 20" which is a bit small now that I had to make the top so big, but it'll do.
Thanks Doug, for your idea! I don't know that my dh did it just like you said, he cut some copper tubing and used joints and stuff to rig the stand. Hopefully it all stays put, it seemed pretty sturdy...the balloon weight is bending it ever so slightly forward but doesn't seem like it will go any further.
The color scheme was chosen by the customer as well as the logo in the front, which is their corporate logo.
This cake is too stressful. *Can't wait* until delivery time tomorrow afternoon... 
Oh did I mention its heavy? OH and did I mention this is the worst fondant job ever? It was AWFUL covering this thing! I had to do it in three pieces and then "caulk" it with royal the best I could.
well...
personally
I don't see what the fuss is all about --
other than...
WOW -- one great cake!
it's sure to be a HIT!
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base is proportional to size of balloon...and balloon's is good too
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if, mind you if --- you have some time -- got some fondant or toy people to put around it? or in the basket? couple having a picnic? him helping her in/out of basket?
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base is proportional to size of balloon...and balloon's is good too
I thought you said the base should be twice the balloon diameter, which would mean about 28-30"? Maybe I'm not remembering right.
at this point -- who knows -- who cares ...
it works!
that's all that counts
(oh and the couple needs a bottle of champagne -- traditional toast after a flight)
I'd love to see a diagram of how this was structured in terms of internal support, dowelling, boards etc. I can't currently see what's cake and what's not.
What an INCREDIBLE design! I get the customer will be weeping with joy about it honestly, what an amazing cake! I bet you're bursting with pride.
Wow. You are one brave chick. That looks incredible! If you can pull that off, ( and I think you did), you can do anything. Great Work!
Wow that is amazing! Well done!
If you don't mind my asking this - I have always wondered with extra complex 3D cakes like this - how in the world does a customer cut a cake like that? Do you give them specific instructions on how to dismantle it? Do they have to take all the fondant off first? Please enlighten me
That's awesome! What a great job on it!
Debbie
WOW!!!! You did a great job with it!! I would love to see a diagram on how it's put together. C'mon Doug!!! Give her a break and YOU let us all in on the secrets!! 
Great job!!!!
Transport? I'll letcha know... haha.
Actually this morning its nice and stiff, my husband says it looks pretty good.
My husband made (thanks to Doug's idea) a stand similar to the shape of the Wilton "floating stand" using copper tubing, joints, some bracket supports, and a few other pieces of hardware connected to a heavy 20" round board and then a very thick 6" round board at top.
I made the basket well ahead of time to dry.... hung it with fishing wire and crochet thread and lots of hot glue over the top of the 6" board and down over about 3 or so inches of the styrofoam I used (glued to bottom of 6" round) to make the smallest part of the balloon.
Then I stacked three layers of cake on boards.... 8" and two 14" (extremely rigged--pieced together--layers since I baked 10" layers thinking that's all the bigger I"d need...oops) and some cake scraps at top. Next time I should probably just bake solid 14" layers! Anyway I used big bubble tea straws (lots) for supports between the three layers and three sharpened dowels through out the entire structure (hot glued two 6" boards to the hard wood 6" board so it wouldn't move and so I could have a little something to anchor the dowels to.) I also used an extra 10" board under each 14" for extra support esp for doweling.
Used lots and lots of icing to make the shape since I didn't have quite enough cake to carve it to a perfect round shape.
Then piped more icing into ridges and smoothed.
Then covered with fondant only the shape makes it hard...got the top third covered nice before the bottom part all ripped off. So cut it even and then put the bottom part on in two pieces, one in front and one in back (still tricky because it was a sloping side) and then caulked it all up with royal.
Then painted using a foam paintbrush thingy that helped with the stripes because its like an inch wide.
Its extremely top heavy and hard to maneuver so transport remains to be seen. Its also an outdoor party and the weather is "80 degrees and windy" so that will be fun too. But I'm taking it this afternoon with only maybe an hour left before party time so surely it won't disintigrate by then.
I also hope when they are cutting (shouldn't be too hard with the three layers) that the cake isn't too obviously pieced together and hope they don't have to dig through too much icing to find cake. haha. They needed 40 servings so I think they will have enough.
Hope that helps some, although the cake hasn't made it to destination yet!
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