if i needed to re attach a piece of a figure on again what would be the strongest option do you think....royal icing or a gumpaste/fondant 'glue'?

I need it to really hold, any other ideas welcome

You didn't mention what the figure was made of, how large it is or to what it would be attached... so I'll just share my own experience.

I have found that gumpaste glue can make fondant go gooey. It has worked great for me sticking gumpaste to gumpaste.

I have found that royal icing is fairly fool-proof, no matter how I use it.

I have used for small items a 50/50 mixture or meringue powder and water, and that works well.

Oh sorry it is made entirely of fondant and i need to rettach 2 small hands that will be holding up a tray, i know...very tricky lol

Anyway thanks, i will try the royal icing then

If the hands actually need to bear weight, you might consider sticking a small piece of toothpick into the wrist end of the arm and into the hands, as a sort of brace.

For the next time, consider making your figures out of gumpaste or at least a mixture of gumpaste/fondant. It dries much firmer and faster, and it's just so easy to work with.

yeh i made it out of fondant because that is all i had at the time but i knew that would cause problems.

It's already dried so i can't stick any toothpicks in it, I tried the RI but I don't think i made it right in such a small amount so it's not working too well so i just stuck something underneath to help support what it is carrying so that will have to do