Lets start from the ground up, the base. The original was made out of 8mm MDF because I wanted it to be a stable platform for the cake to move on. It certainly was stable but 8mm was total overkill.

This version will use 3mm MDF with 3D printed elements (not pictured) to strengthen the high stress area at the rear. Using 3mm MDF allows us to use affordable laser cutting services to have the pieces cut out and delivered cheaply.

I consider using 3D printing for the base but my 3D printer on has a 150x150cm (6x6") base. I would need to print in 6 different parts and screw them together and that all seemed a bit clunky to me.

MDF has a nice finish if you want to paint it (in food safe water colors of course) or will happily take an plastic adhesive-backed covering like the original has.