I guess I am going to purchase and decorate some dummies to add more work to my portfolio...

I have several questions though...

1) Where can I get the best deal on dummies? Ebay seemed to have some good deals.

2) I don't want to keep the cakes after Im done decorating them but would like to reuse them if I can. Is this possible and if so, how?

3) What do you recommend using on the dummy and under the fondant?

Like I mentioned before, I am making them just to take pictures. Not to keep since I bake out of my home and have no room for them. Any help would be totally awesome! Thanks so much guys

First of all, let me thank all the kind cakers who helped me with all the answers I posted below! Invaluable..like a cake school for people who don't have the time or money for cake school!

1) Where can I get the best deal on dummies? Ebay seemed to have some good deals.

You can find them at any cake supply store or online at any cake supply website. GSA is where I got mine.

2) I don't want to keep the cakes after Im done decorating them but would like to reuse them if I can. Is this possible and if so, how?

Yup, just wash with soap and hot water and let air dry. With fondant you can just peel it away and then wash the dummy with soap and water.

3) What do you recommend using on the dummy and under the fondant?

You can just wet the dummy with a misting of water, a thin coat of buttercream or even piping gel to help the fondant adhere.

Here is a tip I learned for decorating them. Get some shelf liner..the type that looks like a rubber grid...and cut out a small piece to put in between the dummy and your decorating stand...this will keep the dummy from turning and keep it steady for covering.

HTH
Cat

Thank you so much cat... You have helped a great deal and answered everything I was looking for

I get mine from Dalla s Foa m ..... and I coat mine with a thin layer of crisco before adding fondant...or just ice it straight with buttercream if no fondant.

A really cheap place to get them is dallas-foam.com. They have really cheap prices and are shipped quickly. Catlharper is right, when you are finished, peel off the covering, wash and they ready to go again. I haven't tried it but I've heard that press-n-seal between the styrofoam and fondant helps the fondant come off easier.

Tfs I'm gonna look at Dallas foam my self

I understand limited space and why you are doing dummies...but here is an idea that you may not have thought of:

If you are doing a wedding cake design...contact wedding coordinators and leave with them... OR There are companies that now "rent a cake!" At least there is one in the Atlanta area and I would think their cakes get kinda grungy <--- not sure if that is even a word, never mind the spelling!...and sell to them.