Rusty's "Fire Station and Firetrucks" Birthday Cake was so much fun to make for MY firstborn!  He is a Caption with the Dallas Fire and Rescue Department.  I am so very proud of him and his ability to lead others and make a difference in people's lives!  My plan was to take the cake to Rusty’s Fire Station and surprise him!

 

              This cake was quite an undertaking!  I did weeks of dreaming and then planning, all the while dreaming some more.  My family helped me gather pictures of Rusty's fire station and firetrucks.  I planned the size of the fire station and then the firetrucks.  The firetrucks are a bit bigger in ratio than the fire station, but they have so much finite detail work on them; it's just the way it had to be.  I then made templets to cut the cake by.  Please understand that I dreamed, planned and studied pictures for more than a month before ever turning on an oven!

              Day 1:  Finally, it’s the day to start baking!!  I had to sit and pray for a while and get my mind prepared for the undertaking.  I chose a vanilla cake so maybe it would be appealing to just about everyone.  I spent the time that the cakes were baking to study the details on all the pictures one more time, especially the trucks!  After the cakes were baked and cooled, I carved them into the shapes needed.  Once carved, I crumb-coated them with Buttercream Icing and put them in the fridge to firm up while I did the next one.  By the time I crumb-coated the last one, the first one was ready for another coat of Buttercream.  Then, back into the fridge they go. 

              Day 2:  The next phase was covering them with Fondant.  I made edible “glue” using gum paste and water to glue everything together.  After the basic covering, doors and windows were glued on the station and windows on the trucks.  They were all meticulously formed with tools for indentations to show the compartments on the trucks and details on the station.  Now it was time to paint them with gel food color.  While the “paint” was drying, I made the ladders, gauges, hoses, mirrors, door handles, tires, hubcaps, bumpers, and awning.

              Day 3:  Now it’s time to assemble all the parts!  First to be glued were the tires, underpinning, and bumpers on the firetrucks.  While that was drying, I glued the brick entrance, doors, and windows on the fire station.

              Day 4: Today, I glued the white stripes on the sides of the trucks, followed by the front grills along with yellow/red stripes, and then the sign and yellow/red stripes on the backs. After that, I glued on the hubcaps, mirrors, door handles, ladder on the side of the truck, hoses and gauges. 

              Day 5:  Praying for a steady hand!  Today, DAY 5, is the finishing touches!  First, was the black paint outlining the doors and windows, bolt heads on the hubcaps and details on the gauges.  Then, silver paint outlining the grills on the front of the trucks and the glass panes on the station entrance.  The next thing was gluing on the big ladder on top of the Ladder Truck and the “Jolly Rancher” lights on the front of both trucks.  NOW, it was time to write on EVERYTHING!! 

Oh, WOW!!!  What a week!!!  Way over 40 hours!  A gift of LOVE for my FIRSTBORN!

 

My precious husband, Steve, who is always by my side in my crazy endeavors, chauffeured my Momma and I to Dallas to give Rusty his birthday cake so his "Fire Family" could be a part of it!  My Momma was 96 years young at the time and enjoyed seeing Rusty's Fire Station more than words can say!