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View Full Version : Fan cake thoughts



Pyro6
04-23-2018, 10:58 AM
Hello all! Debating between some of the fan cakes from SO76. Anyone have any thoughts about Pigzilla vs Swinenado vs Amazing Ballet. Thank you.

James76
04-23-2018, 12:58 PM
Pigzilla is my pic of the three, great colors. Can't really go wrong with any of these, just personal preference.

Rick_In_Tampa
04-23-2018, 04:16 PM
So here's my $0.02. Of the three, I like Swineado the best. It's the most consistent cake. You have great color ground to sky. If you set off a case with 2 going left to right, and the other 2 going right to left, you're really going to fill the viewing area with color and flames. Not to mention a great overhead finale.

With all due respect to James (I love ya man, I really do!) Pigzilla looks like a sampler cake. A little bit of everything. No central theme. I would envision something like that in a finale when you're trying to fill the sky with everything and the kitchen sink. I have trouble envisioning it anywhere else in a show.

Amazing ballet would have been my number 1 pick if it used the same effects start to finish. Why they threw in the whistling nonsense at the end is nonsensical and unfortunate. I'm assuming to keep in under the 500G limit?? I don't know. But once again it's too weird to even think about how to incorporate it into a show. Likely due to my lack of creativity, but, it is what it is.

Just my $0.02.

Mattp
04-23-2018, 09:09 PM
Pretty funny that out of 3 people your gonna get 3 differemt amawers... but i like the amazing ballet best out of those 3 choices i loke the color tails to the little white breaks.. and the step of speed.. but all 3 are def nice cakes

cptnding
04-23-2018, 09:12 PM
For what is's worth, I like Swineado best out of the 3 as well. Amazing Ballet is good as well.

joed2323
04-24-2018, 06:40 AM
You could always fire amazing ballet backwards and start of with the whistle rows first!

Get the whistle bombard out of the way first, or just remove those whistle rows and put them in your finale

NWA_Fireworks
04-24-2018, 06:46 AM
Like Mattp said, 3 cakes means 3 opinions. Here are my thoughts on each.

Pigzilla - 142 shots. 30 seconds. Has the best color of all 3 cakes. The color pearls are bright, vibrant neon pinks/greens/purples/oranges that hang nicely in the air for a couple of beats before fading out. I’m not typically a “fan” of the whistling Saturn missile effect in this type of cake, unless the cake throws up a whole bunch of them at the same time and then quickly moves on to the next effect - which is exactly what Pigzilla does. The finale row of delayed crackle shots was a decently exciting finish with great timing, unlike the weak finish often seen in some Z cakes. 7/10

Swineado - 182 shots. 30 seconds. Excellent crackling comets that reach some great height. The color pearls are bright but do get somewhat lost amongst all the crackle. The pacing on this cake is excellent. It starts at a speed that gets your attention and builds up from there. The trail from the comets hangs long enough to create a nice tracer effect that really fills some vertical space. I think the 26 second mark is where your audience will start to go crazy, as that rapid fire sweeping of crackle creates an intense few seconds that make for a real crowd pleaser. If that last bit of rapid fire had lasted another second or two, it would have earned at least another half point from me. A strong finish lets the crowd know it’s time to start clapping. 7.5/10

Amazing Ballet - 220 shots, 27 seconds. This one starts strong with a super fast paced barrage of shots. The colors, however, aren’t nearly as vibrant as the two previous cakes, and they seem to fade quickly. Unfortunately, the excitement ends after 15 seconds, as the last 4 rows are all whistling Saturn missiles. This cake is exciting enough for an audience that hasn’t seen a Z-cake before, but a weak finish makes the “220 shots” description feel a bit embellished, and it may leave the more seasoned audience members asking each other, “Is that it?” 6/10


If I could only choose one of those three to sell in my tent or put in my show, it would be Swineado for the win. Pigzilla would be a fine choice as well, but I would skip the Ballet and spend that money on an extra rack of ribs for the smoker.

chriskrc
04-24-2018, 06:53 AM
Truly it's going to come down to where in the show you plan on using the cakes. If it's a segment in the show than pick the one that's more uniform in effect and color. In the finale, like Rick said everything including the kitchen sink goes up. All three are great just depends on where and when you use them.

Pyro6
04-24-2018, 08:44 AM
Thank you all for the input! I'm leaning towards swinenado and pigzilla.