Fondant last forever 
Just apply a thin layer of royal icing underneath (this makes it really smooth) but you have to work fast there. I normally roll the fondant, cover it with cling wrap and then put a thin layer of RI on the dummy (not to thick RI of course) and cover the cake.
You could alsof use a bit of water, with a paintbrush underneath the fondant.
Good luck and lots of fun with them!!
Lara
i use shortening under the fondant on my dummy cakes. it works great, you can check out some on the wedding cakes in my pics. the butterfly one and the one with pink bows are both dummies and i used shortening.
you could also use BC to ice the cake with instead of fondant if you want. for some reason when you put BC on a dummy it dries rock hard. it will last for a while. and you only need a very thin coating so a little BC goes a long way.
I make allot of dummy cakes to go in our bakery on display and they need to be very durable because people cant seem to keep their hand off them!
Most of the time I use royal icing to cover and decorate with, like you were told before, you need to work fast with this.
When I am using fondant I like to sand the top edge of my dummy to give it a more natural look, and it helps the fondant not tear on the sharp edge. I like to use a very thin layer of piping gel to my dummy for the fondant to stick to. It has worked well for me.
If you would like more detailed direction on construction or stacking, let me know.
what does the shortening do??
it gives the fondant something to stick to, instead of making up BC or RI that would essentially be wasted because no one can see it and no one will be eating it. shortening is cheap, cheaper than piping gel and works really well.
you could also use BC to ice the cake with instead of fondant if you want. for some reason when you put BC on a dummy it dries rock hard. it will last for a while. and you only need a very thin coating so a little BC goes a long way.
That's exactly what I do and how it sets up. They can touch all they want ... no fingerprint indents!
i reuse mine over and over for practice. i don't bother with plastic wrap, just ice however i want, decorate, scrape it all into the trash adn rinse under hot hot water. and its ready to reuse! i've reused mine at least 12 times doing this, making dummy cakes to build my portfolio.
Thanks! It's just I'm about ready to order some and just want to make sure it will serve a purpose for me.
So it can definitely be used for buttercream and fondant?
Is it a lot of work to scrape off?
Do you feel like your wasting fondant or BC?
Sorry about all the questions- it's just these are the thoughts keeping me from ordering!
thanks!
I tried spraying water on my dummies and then putting fondant on. Problem was that I couldn't get the fondant off after it dried. I had to run them under warm water but I still ended up taking chunks out of my dummies. I used BC and that worked great but I felt bad wasting all that BC. I think I will use Crisco next time, the cheap kind.
Is it a lot of work to scrape off?
Do you feel like your wasting fondant or BC?
Mine hardens like concrete, but I can easily get a knife under it and it pretty much just pops right off. I cleaned one the other day and it took less than 5 minutes.
No, I'm not wasting BC because it's an asset to my business .... an investment ..... to create display cakes to advertise different ideas and suggestions. If it's just practice to improve skill or in anticipation of a big event .... again, it's an investment.
(don't add flavoring, tho ... no one's eating it!) 
I'm sorry for all the questions...but I'm just so curious about this. I mentioned in another post that my family is actually tiring of my practice cakes- everyone is on a diet!
Do both BC and fondant harden like concrete? After how long?
I'm thinking I'll probably decorate within 2 days and only keep it decorated long enough to take a picture.
Will it still harden in that time frame?
Also, can you have it "pop off" without damaging them?
Thanks! Hopefully I'll calm down with the questions!
its fairly easy to scrape the BC off when i do it, and i only keep mine around for a couple days. it can get messy though. i use shortening under my fondant, and its never hard to get the fondant off. i just peel it off in chunks. i've rarely lost pieces of foam, and when i did they were small pieces, easy to ice over. i consider them an investment too, its essential to build a portfolio before i can launch a website, or comfortably advertise. and heres a tip, if you're just using them for a picture, don't decorate the backs! i only decorate (and if using BC, i only ice) the front of rounds, and two sides of a square. you could even ice an entire dummy, then deco the front and back different for two different cakes! saves on time and ingredients.
It hardens so that when I tap it with my fingernail, it makes a 'tap-tap' sound, but it's very easy to get a knife underneath it ... run the knife along the dummy (I hold it over the trash can when I do this) and the BC pops right off with no damage to the dummy. I wash it with a damp rag to remove the residue and it's ready to go.
When I do my displays, I do it all in one day .... and I can pick the cakes up by the sides to move them.
I dont' work with fondant so I'll leave that question for someone who has expertise with it.
You guys are great! Everytime I come to this thread I get so excited! I love those ideas- I'm so excited to decorate but limited due to the baking part- which I've been doing since I was 10. What I really need to work on is decorating. I think I'll order my "dummy" now. Thanks so much! 
..... if you're just using them for a picture, don't decorate the backs! i only decorate (and if using BC, i only ice) the front of rounds, and two sides of a square. you could even ice an entire dummy, then deco the front and back different for two different cakes! saves on time and ingredients.
I never thought of doing front and back different for a 2-cake look! What a great idea!
I have done dummies with only partial decorations, though. The "Autumn Pearls" .... I only did the dots on the front on the top tier, and only did the florals on the front half. I did half-florals because I ran out of silks in the color. On the M&M cake, the flower borders only go 1/2 way around.
I use a very thin layer of shortening under my fondant. I've tried buttercream, water and piping gel... but I like using shortening better than the other methods.
If I'm just icing with buttercream, I will wrap them very well with saran wrap first, that way it just peels off when I'm done with it.
Are there any tips to icing them with buttercream? I tried it once and it just didnt work out very well. It was hard to keep the styrofoam from moving while I was icing it.
I have a board with nails in it. I hammered very long nails straight through - flipped the board over and put the foam on the nails. Keeps it in place while I ice it.
could you please tell me where you ordered your cake dummies from or where i could get one ? I need to practice as well as make one for a display at our diner! i am trying to sell cakes on the side and our diner is good advertisement!
Im a wilton instructor and I know we can order them from them for pretty cheap. Other that that...I dont know. If I need one fast, I just go to Michaels and buy the styrofoam discs and glue them together. This works pretty good.
Candice and everyone, thank you... I just bought some styrofoam cake shaped rounds in the floral dept at Michael's and am about to try a dummy cake. You dirty dogs about the decorating half the cake! I'm doing that too! 
All your suggestions will really help.
Thanks Miriel, What a dummy, I should just buy some dummies.
Are there any tips to icing them with buttercream? I tried it once and it just didnt work out very well. It was hard to keep the styrofoam from moving while I was icing it.
I put double sided tape between the dummy and the cardboard, then sit the cardboard on a piece of non-skid matting. zero problems.
I found a site where yo can order the dummies from 3 for $12
candyland .com
they have all shapes and sizes
I found a site where yo can order the dummies from 3 for $12
candyland .com
they have all shapes and sizes
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