Okay so this is my first time trying to ice a dummy cake.
Ive already smoothed my edges and away I go icing, im thinking things are going to go just fine but then I look down and .....*gasp* all of my RI is running off the sides of the cake.

Okay okay so too thin of a mixture I think and I add a lot more Powered sugar...try again....*gasp* same thing happens..

Is there a recipe for Royal icing frosting that people use on icing dummy cakes?

I just wanna practice and be better....waaaaahhhh

Are these new pieces of styro? Or have they been iced w/b'cream before?
I bet your didn't whip your royal long enough. If that is the problem adding more sugar isn't going to help that much. Mix up the royal. It take a full 10 minutes (if using a hand help mixer; about 5-7 for a KA).
But...........is there is reason you must use royal? I've done 100s of display cakes in b'cream. Mix some b'cream into that royal and you should have a great icing consistency.

I am interested in the responses for this post. I would like to try covering styrofoam dummies with fondant, but wonder what you should put underneath? It will need to keep for quite a while, so buttercream would not work.

I guess the main reason for using Royal is that you can sand it so you can achieve a flawless finish. Other than that it more a pita than anything else.

If you cover a dummy in fondant you just brush the dummy with a little water, that is enough to make it stick.

Oh gosh.. just do fondant.. it's WORLDS easier. I just rub some crisco on the dummy and put the fondant on. Works like a charm.

okay next question I guess is, i tried the fondant covering and it kept ripping on me ( that's why i thought of doing it in RI)

i used the boxed Wilton fondant because I didn't want to waste good fondant on a dummy.

any suggestions on this?

Take an unused nail file and buff the sharp edge off or push the edge into the counter to take the bite off of it.

Sounds like maybe you rolled the fondant too thin. If you have buffed/rounded off the top edge it should not be tearing unless it is to thin.

If you use fondant, how long would the cake last? Or better, how long does fondat last? I have made cakes in the past with RI and the colors fade a bit but the cake I made for my sons teacher about 5 year ago still looks pretty good.

And how long would BC stay good for? And if you'd mix it with the RI?

Peet

I can't imagine using bc on a dummy cake, but obviously lots of very talented decorators do so with much success! I, on the other hand, still stick to my royal icing or fondant!!

I've done dozens of royal icing dummies and I've never had any just roll off, so I'm thinking it was definitely too thin.

When you make royal it starts off pretty thin, but when it's done, it should have almost doubled in volume and should no longer be shiny. You can go with it just a little thinner than you would use for making flowers, but it shouldn't be runny at all. I'll ice mine the same as I would with bc, and I even smooth it with a Viva. It's a little trickier than smoothing bc, but once you get the hang of it, you don't even need to go back with sandpaper. Of course, if you do have some flaws, you can take some sandpaper to it, to work out the bumps and smooth it out some.

Good luck!

.....how long does fondat last?.......how long would BC stay good for? And if you'd mix it with the RI? .......

'Fondant will last for years B'cream does tend to yellow over time....Usually I would re-do mine about every 12-18 months. By then you are wanting new styles anyway
As for fading.....yah, that is a problem. Any light - especially sunlight will fade certain colors more than others.