Ok, so I made a mermaid with fondant and gumpaste mixed. The tail, face and hair came out great. The body and arms started leaning terribly and the arms fell off when I put her on the cake. So I made a new body and attached the arms and I'm letting her get stiff before I put it back onto the tail. My question is how far in advance can you make a figure? I made her on Monday and the cake is for Friday, is it too far?

You can make a figure anytime and it should last forever---or until you eat it or drop it.............

What supports did you put into the torso to help support the arms? I use bits of dry spaghetti.

Did you use gum glue to adhere the arms to the body? I use a fairly thick gum glue.

When a figure is drying, because the body is heavy, it's good to support it from the back with a cup or glass.

HTH
Rae

Ditto, I couldn't have said it better. That is what I did when I made my mermaid figure.

I made a cute figurine couple for a cake show thingy, and I liked them so much I kept them and put them on my dresser. That was from a few months ago...and it still looks just fine...so yeah...you can make stuff like that plenty ahead.

i've made my in advance before, i use small bamboo skewers for supports, i always let people know that if they are going to eat the figures there are supports in them. i second the motion of letting them dry by being supported. i use a plastic covered flora sponge, so i skewer the figure right through and into the sponge. air can circulate all around. HTH