Hi!
I am new to the cake arena - trying to do something fun for my son's first birthday. I making a train cake and I have found that just icing the forms looks pretty blah. When I researched "train" cakes the nicest looking cakes have all over star tip icing. I have been testing the star tip and some turn out and others not so much. Does anyone have any recommendations on the best way to do this or is it simply trial and error with a star tip and pastry bag? Or is there another way to ice the forms that isn't so flat looking?
Thanks so much! 
You could use the form to make MMF decorations:
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-611152.html
HTH
I agree...fondant accents would look much nicer. However, if you are going to go with the star tip, my advice is to only add small amounts of icing to the bag each time...especially if you have hot hands. I used to add too much icing and the stars would gradually start getting worse as my hands started to warm the icing in the bag. The consistency of your icing is key.....if it starts to get warm they will not look as neat and formed.
Oh, and the triple star tip does make the job go a little faster:
http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30DE2F-475A-BAC0-58342337945664F3
HTH
Ditto all of the above, plus the more you make, the more consistent your squeezing will be. The trick to star decorating is "don't try too hard". 
It's something that if you overthink it, you make it harder to do. Just a good easy-to-squeeze consistency and steady consistent squeezing.
I try to avoid doing straight lines of stars, too. I work in small areas, trying to do a random pattern (now there's an oxymoron if I ever saw one! "Random Pattern"! 
)
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