How Do I Make Gumpaste/fondant Figures Stand Up?
Decorating By Rhoda1111 Updated 14 Feb 2010 , 9:33pm by malakainrop
Hi everyone, I want to make a 'man figure' out of gumpaste (or combo of fondant & gumpaste) and I want him to stand up on his legs. Any ideas? Do I just make the legs, use spaghetti and dry his legs/torso/head completely before attaching it altogether?? Thanks for any insight!
Yes, I think it helps to give the legs support with spagetti. You definitely want to let the legs dry before attaching the torso. If the legs are still soft when you attach the body it will cause the legs to be pushed down and they will look like Rhino legs.
Are you planning to attach your figures to a board on top of your cake or are you placing it directly on the cake? If putting it directly on the cake, you might want to have toothpicks or small skewers extending from the bottom of the legs to push down into the cake for stability.
I have found it best not to dry all pieces seperately before putting them together. Make the legs dry them, then make the torso and attach while still soft with a little edible glue. Then do the arms and the head. You will also want to use spagetti or toothpick to push down into the torso to attach the head.
Another option is to put the supported pieces together right away, but dry it on it's back on a piece of foam.
I used spagetti for my latest figures and swore to never use it again - it kept breaking and you cant insert new ones into dried gumpaste ....
Somehow I made it anyway with gumpaste glue, RI and a lot of luck. Next time I will definately use tooth picks and declare the figures as non-edible
Thank you soooo much for your replies!!! They really helped. I am planning on attaching him straight to the top of a cake, he is going to be 'playing golf'! I never really though about skewers on his feet , I was going to try to balance or glue his feet - so you saved me! And thanks for the tip, I think I will use tooth picks and skewers too! And do you find much change in shape/denting if you dry figures on their back??
And do you find much change in shape/denting if you dry figures on their back??
No, I use a piece of memory foam to "cushion" the figure while it's drying and I turn it every once in a while to even out the drying process. I use Tylose in my fondant so it dries pretty quick and hard.
You can model the legs and lower torso straight onto a skewer - to make it easier to dry you can stick the skewer into a piece of stryrofoam to dry upright. You don't have to have skewers in both legs either, one to insert in cake is sufficient.
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