Monster Truck Cake

My friend Lauryn at work asked me to make her little Jack a monster truck cake for his birthday.  I have never made a truck cake before but thought maybe.....just maybe...I could do it!

His favorite Monster truck is Grave Digger....the graphics on this particular truck are very detailed.
I used this picture as a guide for my cake.

First I made my pound cake in the biggest rectangular pan I have....12X19 I think.

Then I divided the rectangle into three 12X6 inch pieces and stacked them with some buttercream icing in between.

I used these cookie sticks as dowels for the cake to keep the layers from sliding.

Then I carved the cake into the shape of the body of the truck....

I think it looks like Tow Mater here but....wrong truck :)

and covered the entire cake in buttercream icing....

Then I stopped taking pics because I was too busy with fondant and icing coloring all over my hands (frequently washed) to grab my camera.  I covered the cake in black fondant and then used different colored fondant to put the accent pieces on the cake.  Then I shooed my kids away from the fondant scraps because I may need that fondant for another part of the cake!

The wheels were made of rice krispy treat, covered in buttercream and then in fondant.....attached to the cake with a toothpick. 

I painted the designs on the cake using different colored Pearl Dust (mixed with a little bit of Vodka...the alcohol evaporates so its safe for the kiddos).

I added the Happy Birthday message with buttercream icing and Voila!  I made a monster truck cake.

I would have liked to had more detail to show the door/hood lines but I am pretty happy with my first attempt at a truck cake.

Thanks for looking!
Love,
Bronwyn