How To Support Standing Fondant Figure
Decorating By ilovefondant777 Updated 16 Jun 2011 , 9:37pm by WykdGud
Hey, I was wondering if anybody has tips or tutorial's on how to make fondant figures stand and be properly supported so they dont fall or sag under the weight of the figure. My last attempt at making one stand didn't go to well, I used kabob skewers, but that didnt support the weight.
please help! 
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(im new to CC, & im already addicted) 
For larger figures, I put a lollipop stick through the figure and let it extend about three inches beyond the bottom of the figure. Then I push a bubble straw into the cake where I want the figure to be. Then I slide the lollipop stick that is embedded into the figure into the bubble straw. This way, the figutre sits on top of the straw and cake, but is supported by the three inches that is in the bubble straw. If I have a number of smaller figures to go on top of the cake, I generally make a flat gumpaste/fondant disk that is about two inches smaller in diameter than the top of the cake. I set the dried/hardened disk on top of the cake and then set the figures on top of the disk. The disk helps evenly distribute the weight of the figures and prevents them from sinking into the fondant on the cake. It also makes it easy to remove the figures from the cake without messing up the cake for serving.
Thank you for the suggestion on the lollipop sticks Im going to try that
My problem was that the skewers poked through my figure like in the stomach are of the figure, he is a jack skellington figure, and he looked great, so I let him dry and poked the skewer's through foam so he could dry, but then when I checked on him like 20mins later the skewers had poked through his body. I think his head and body were to heavy for the skewres, and he started leaning foward, like he looked hunched over. So how can I keep him standing straight while drying?
Thank you very much for responding to this post, and if you could give me some advice based on what I wrote above I would appreciate it!!! 
I usually let my figures dry just a little... maybe 20 - 30 minutes, before I push in the stick - which I coat with gumpaste glue before I insert. As the figure dries, I sometimes "massage" the figure gently to recover his height as he settles a little.
If you're worried about the stick poking through, calculate how long it needs to be to stay safely away from the gop of the figure.... depth of cake plus height of figure minus one inch... for example.
I generally don't complete all the details on the figure until after the main portion of the figure dries. Then, if the stick does protrude, I can clip off the end (with a great pruning cutter that I have just for my cake work), and add a detail, like a hair curl, hat, etc.
While the figure is drying, I almost always prop them up. I set my foam base next to my heavy Crisco can and roll up a soft pad of Saran wrap to act as a pillow between the figure and the Crisco can. My silicon rubber molds (the long ones for beads, ropes, etc) work great to keep cans, foam, etc. from sliding on my counter.
Sometimes I lay the figure down and prop it into the shape that I want with crumpled Saran wrap... it just depends on the figure. Sometimes figures that are sitting work best laid down with their knees/legs/feet propped up.
i made a figure similar to the one you are making last month. (in my photos) i used really long skinny skewers for his arms and legs and painted them black. i used some fondant with tylose to make it more firm for body and head. i made the head seperatly and let it sit and dry in an egg carton to help keep its shape. i attached the head a day or two later to eliminate sagging. hth!
Hello - you can also try gumpaste it dries quicker and hardens nicely. Both taste equally bad. But, since it's a figure you probably won't have someone chewing on it - ha. Take care - cakesmith
If you are using fondant, I'd mix it 50/50 with gumpaste so that the drying time is seriously lessened. I also did a Jack Skellington figurine (among many others) a few years ago (for a Gingergread village contest entry) and used skewers. I used a gumpaste glue so he wouldn't slide down the skewer, and I let him dry lying down on a bed of cotton batting (covered with cheesecloth) for the first hour or so and turned him over about half-way through the drying.
You should be sculpting your figures in pieces (torso first, arms, legs, head, etc.) so that they can have some time to dry and harden before assembling. You can ruin an entire piece trying to fix a single part if the rest of it isn't dry yet.
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