This is a 12" cake on the bottom. The carousel is a 10" cake drum on the bottom, covered in fondant, horse replicas with holes drilled in them with a dowel inserted and saddles of fondant/gumpaste, the top is another 10" drum with a half ball of rkt all covered in fondant. There is a 1 1/2 inch dowel in the center covered in gold foil. The 10" drums and the dowel are fixed together with a large 1/14" washer (top & bottom) and screws. The carousel is only attached to the cake with a large dose of royal icing. It was very stable and traveled well.