I'm making a steamroller cake and am just wondering how people raise their car cakes up on the tires so that it looks like a real car (instead of just building the car body on the cakeboard and putting the wheels on flush so it looks like the car belly is sitting flat on the ground). I've seen a semi-truck cake like this where they completely elevated the truck body so it looked like it was being held up by the tires, as a normal semi-truck would. Question is, how do you build that platform on the tires and how do you secure it to the tires? I'm assuming the tires need to be RKT or styrofoam, but I don't know how to attach them to a platform and what to build that platform out of so it's strong enough to support the weight of the cake. Hope this makes sense. Thanks for any help!
I made a riding lawn mower and had the same problem. What i did is make an extra cake and put it under the mower to lift it up, because the tires were too big. I made my tires out of rkt and covered them with fondent. I hope this helps you. I also covered the bottom cake with grass icing to disguise the bottom base. you could go to my picks to see it.
I just put the car on a cardboard cake board, and carve the board around the base of the car cake.
Then make a narrower board...maybe a strip of foamcore...and wrap it in a color that matches the wrapped board...then use strong carpet tape on both sides to hold it to the board. Then stick the cake-on-board on the platform (on the carpet tape) and dowel it through a couple times. Then you can finish detailing the cake and add the tires using royal icing or dowels or skewers or whatever.
Not sure if that made sense?
I just put the car on a cardboard cake board, and carve the board around the base of the car cake.
Then make a narrower board...maybe a strip of foamcore...and wrap it in a color that matches the wrapped board...then use strong carpet tape on both sides to hold it to the board. Then stick the cake-on-board on the platform (on the carpet tape) and dowel it through a couple times. Then you can finish detailing the cake and add the tires using royal icing or dowels or skewers or whatever.
Not sure if that made sense?
she's describing the right hand side of the diagram I posted.
(thanks Kitagrl for typing out what I was to lazy to do!)
I just put the car on a cardboard cake board, and carve the board around the base of the car cake.
Then make a narrower board...maybe a strip of foamcore...and wrap it in a color that matches the wrapped board...then use strong carpet tape on both sides to hold it to the board. Then stick the cake-on-board on the platform (on the carpet tape) and dowel it through a couple times. Then you can finish detailing the cake and add the tires using royal icing or dowels or skewers or whatever.
Not sure if that made sense?
she's describing the right hand side of the diagram I posted.
(thanks Kitagrl for typing out what I was to lazy to do!)
Hahaha, I saw "hidden pillars" in yours so thought I was describing a different way! But yep pretty much what the second diagram shows!
I use small blocks of wood screwed into a wood base. They are positioned behind where the tires would be. Then I mount a small piece of wood on top of all four pieces of wood. It looks almost like a small table. I then mount my cake on foamcore cut to the size of the car with the tire areas cut out of the foam core. I then mout that on top of the small piece of wood with strong tape. I then cut out the tire area with a round cookie cutter. Making sure it is big enough for the tires to fit in. I make my tires out of RKT covered in foundant. I hope this makes sense. I have two cars in the photos. Good Luck it is not really hard at all.
I use small blocks of wood screwed into a wood base. They are positioned behind where the tires would be. Then I mount a small piece of wood on top of all four pieces of wood. It looks almost like a small table. I then mount my cake on foamcore cut to the size of the car with the tire areas cut out of the foam core. I then mout that on top of the small piece of wood with strong tape. I then cut out the tire area with a round cookie cutter. Making sure it is big enough for the tires to fit in. I make my tires out of RKT covered in foundant. I hope this makes sense. I have two cars in the photos. Good Luck it is not really hard at all.
and julie just saved me from typing out what the LEFT hand side of the diagram shows -- tho' she likes blocks and I like round dowels (hmmm square peg vs. round hole?)
blocks of course could be "borrowed" from those blocks kids all too often use as weapons (let's see how far this will bounce if I hit my sis/bro in the head with it!) than as building devices. (now Johnny, be good or mommy will take your blocks away to make her cakes!)
This is exactly the info I need for my 3D car cake. Thanks so much to everyone for posting. Doug--your drawings are always amazing and so helpful!!!
At the risk of sounding totally dumb, I'm confused about the dowling/hidden pillars. If the car is on the board and there is the small rectangle support underneath it, what am I using the dowels for? My cake is not going on top of another cake, it will be sitting on it's tires on top of the main cake board. I don't understand what I am doweling into. Again, sorry that I'm not getting it! 
This is exactly the info I need for my 3D car cake. Thanks so much to everyone for posting. Doug--your drawings are always amazing and so helpful!!!
At the risk of sounding totally dumb, I'm confused about the dowling/hidden pillars. If the car is on the board and there is the small rectangle support underneath it, what am I using the dowels for? My cake is not going on top of another cake, it will be sitting on it's tires on top of the main cake board. I don't understand what I am doweling into. Again, sorry that I'm not getting it!
pick one: dowels (left side of diagram) or rectangular support (like that brick you always keep handy to knock some sense into the DH!) (right side of diagram)
one or the other, whichever looks better for the given vehicle or is easier
I suggested dowels for this one due to how high the trailer portion sits off the ground and how the space under it should be totally open.
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