Client has me stumped

[brink]

I have a regular customer who typically gives me a challenge. This time I'm thinking she just may have stumped me. She is asking for a cake to feed 40 people, will probably be either 12x18 or 11x15 with 7x11 on top. She wants the cake to be decorated like a stage with a complete drum set on top (from gumpaste) plus a figurine of a drummer beating the drums. The figurine isn't the problem, the drums are. She would like something like a Pearl set similar to what Queensryche uses, with the chains and such.

Any one know the best way to accomplish the drum set-up. The actual set is about 13 pieces, but I will probably only make 5 or 6.

[momoreg]

Without actually seeing the specific drums she's referring to, I suggest you support them (if possible) with wooden skewers. Cover up the wood with gumpaste or royal icing, and run the rest of the skewer down through a disk of soft gumpaste (the base of the drum), and further down into the cake, so that they don't move around at all. For the bass drum, just roll a wide flat cylinder, dry, and decorate with royal icing and paint with colors, if you'd like.

Which part of the construction is worrying you?

[Chefkell]

I pastry retarded myself, but here's a few ideas anyway...

Wouldn't marzipan work? Maybe sugar for the chains?

I've also seen silicone that you buy, melt and pour into a cofee can or whatever and suspend whatever shape (toy drum set or figurine type thing) and let set. Cut it in half, remove the figurine and carve half a channel in each piece. Glue back together and you have a chocolate mold for whatever the shape is.

I think Albert Uster sells it??

The chains are gonna be tough no matter what you do.

[momoreg]

Chains: Tedious, but not necessarily tough. Are they supposed to be like thick industrial type metal chains? Why don't you pipe each link out of royal, onto parchment, leaving the rings open at one end. When they set, you can connect them at the open end, and paint them with silver dust and alcohol.

[LotusCakeStudio]

I second what momoreg said.

Sounds like you have a fun customer! I wish I had fun ones like that, and more importantly, fun customers who don't mind paying!

[LotusCakeStudio]

BTW, I used to rock out to Queenryche in the 80's. *metal*

[brink]

Unfortunately, after quoting my price, the customer decided to go with a drywall paste bucket.

Thanks for all the advice on how to go about doing this. I will keep it for future use!