24. There are many brands of model paint to choose from and two types: oil based or acrylic water based paints. Some are glossy, others are a flat or matte finish. The matte finish will require a final clear coat applied to create a glossy finish.

25. Using a small paint brush apply the paint to the model. This particular paint was an acrylic or water based paint that made for easy cleanup.

26. It did require 5 coats of paint to completely conceal the gray color of the plastic model. Painting the model isn't overly complicated, it just takes a lot of time.

27. After the plane had received the 5 coats of paint I added a single layer of clear acrylic gloss to make the plane shiny.

28. See the difference? I painted the body with the clear acrylic but hadn't yet coated the top of the wings. The acrylic goes on semi-transparent and milky looking. You will not want to paint acrylic over a spot you have already covered while the acrylic is still wet as it may cause it to mar the smooth finish. What is best is to gently stir the acrylic (do not shake as this creates air bubbles) and paint onto the model in a single coat. A slightly uneven but smooth application will dry crystal clear.

29. Create 4 more twisted wire strands to support the clouds.

30. Trim all ends with the wire cutters.

31. Carefully align the four additional wires surrounding the center wire with the plane attached. Use the finer 28 gauge wire to secure all of the wires in place. I wrap the bottom 2 inches of all 5 strands together with the 28 gauge wire.

32. This is what the topper should look like at this point. Later I worked in a second loop on the same wire the plane is attached to.

33. Continue making more loops into some of the cloud support wires. I created loops in the clouds that sit directly behind and in front of the ends of the plane but didn't create any loops in the wires for the clouds that sit beside the wings. I just use my fingers to do this.

34. The loop will start out slightly misshapen.

35. Continuing to use your fingers you can gently ease the shape into a nice round circle.

36. Things begin to get a bit confusing looking because each wire needs a loop at the end for the clouds to rest upon. Note that I used a tiny bit of 28 gauge wire to secure the front and back wire strands to either side of the bottom loop on the wire strand that the airplane is attached to.

37. Again, using your fingers create small oval loops to hold the clouds.

38. Use the 28 gauge wire to fasten the loop shut. Trim the ends and tuck in the rough edges with the jewelry pliers.

39. Notice how the bare wire shows through the fiber-fill cloud.

40. Take a small "strand" of fiber-fill. You will use this to cover the loops for the clouds.

41. By gently winding the fiber-fill around the loop it creates a perfect camouflage for the wire. I don't add any glue or wire to secure the fiber fill. If you wind it tightly enough it secures itself.

42. This is what the finished cloud loop looks like.

43. And the finished framework ready to have 4 fiber-fill clouds added to finish the topper.

44. Here is a close up of the finished topper. The clouds are made by taking small tufts of fiber-fill, shaping them into clouds, and placing them on the stand. To make the clouds fancier you can use the fiber-fill, spray with a spray adhesive and lightly coat with a crystal clear glitter to create a sugar plum effect. Add several more coats of spray adhesive to seal the glitter in place because you don't want the glitter falling off onto the cake. A small amount of craft glue can be used to securely attach the clouds to the loops. You can also add additional embellishments to the plane like flat backed Swarovski rhinestone crystals like on the original biplane cake topper. I simply glued them on using Tacky glue.

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Idea submitted by: Stacie Tamaki of The Flirty Bride