Hi everyone! I am new to using Fondant icing. Last week I made my son's 1st birthday cake - Sesame Street theme and it did turn out really well. But the hardest part was making the Cookie Monster, Big Bird & Elmo. I did what I thought was right - and I used premade Fondant icing from a Cake decorating shop. However everytime I sat the head on the body it would sag because it was too soft. I used a toothpick for support and it was quite humid when I made them, but it seemed as if the Fondant just would not set. I went back to the shop and they gave me a powered hardener but told me to lightly dust in and knead it in - it worked a little but they all still sagged. In the end all I could do was put them in the fridge to set, which made them sticky and 'wet looking' on the day.
I have to make a cake for my Dad's 60th in a few weeks and make another figure out of Fondant - so would really love to know the secret!! Thanks in advance!!

Let me start by saying that I'm not good at making the figures...but I did see it on TV! The baker said that you must make the bodies first and let them harden before adding the head and such, otherwise it will sag. From figures that I have made, even with tylose added, it takes days for them to fully dry. Hope that helps a little!

The 'powdered hardener' they gave you was probably Tylose powder. You need to knead this in (about half a teaspoon per 250g of fondant) before you start working with it. It's best if you can leave the fondant overnight before you start modelling. When making figures I find it best to make the head separately first and leave it to dry for a while. Then make the body with whatever support is needed internally. If you're putting a toothpick or skewer through the whole thing then leave it exposed out of the top of the body. Then when the body has dried a bit, ease the head onto the exposed skewer.

If you're going to make big figures then carved RKT covered in fondant is a better option.

HTH

Thanks for the help ladies....
Sugarandslice: Would you add the powder, knead it in and then let sit overnight, do you mean? I found that even when I sat the 'body' to dry for a while it still changed shape... I thought maybe I need to use more hardener, but I thought I did use a fair bit?? Maybe not enough though! But I didn't let it sit with hardener for very long before moulding it, so maybe that was some of my problem?!
I've seen some people say to put it in the oven... any ideas on that?

thanks! the "melting figures" happened with my first fondant figures (also for my sons first bday! lol) do the same sort of rules apply to modelling chocolate? ive been making flowers out of that and have found it much much easier to work with, so im attempting my next figure next week...=/ kinda worried they will melt too! lol

yep same thing happened with my first fondant figures and yet i still kept making them cose i didn't have any gumpaste at the time lol They still worked out but were trickier to make.

Now i use fondant and tylose and don't have that problem at all anymore. I just sprinnle the tylose powder into my fondant and knead it in and use it stright away after that because if you leave it too long i find it firms up too much to work with and turns into a blu-tack consisteny after awhile....if i left it overnight it would be way to hard the next day even wrapped up

Anyhoo that's jsut the way it is for me

I use part gumpaste and part fondant. The figures dry more quickly and don't have the time to sag. Adding tylose is another way to make fondant dry faster.

Another idea is to use Wilton fondant for figures. It is very hard and dries well. I would still add some tylose to it though to make it dry faster.

I just posted my first ever figure. I used marshmallow fondant and tylose powder. I didn't have any sagging and mine was really firm in a day.

I do what Elise87 said, I sprinkle it in and prefer to work with it right away. If I do let some sit, I like to microwave it, to restore it back to pliabilty, before trying to use.

Also, when using homemade fondant (don't know for sure about pre-made), darker colors will need more tylose than white or lighter colored.

All are great tips, plus you don't want to place your figurines in the fridge it wont help at all

Thank you so much to everyone's replies. I have used the powder but it doesn't seem to have the real hardening effect, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong - maybe I didn't use enough? I might use the 1/2 gumpaste idea. Thanks!

my thanks to Rhoda1111 for posting this. i'm in the middle of planning some 3-D figurines!

I use MMF mixed with tylose powder for all of my figures. I add a little bit of tylose powder until it feels a little rubbery.

I make the body of the figure first and stake it with a piece of spaghetti. While the body is setting up a bit, I make the other pieces for the body (arms, legs, clothes, etc.), and attach them right away. Then I make the head. While the head is setting up a little bit, I make all of the pieces for the head (eyes, ears, mouth, etc.) and then apply them to the head right away. Then I dry fit the head to the body. I do not attach the head to the body until the next day because I have found that it tends to squish the body. The next day I attach the head to the body.

A

This might be a silly question but what is MMF.??

marsh mallow fondant
 

AOhh haha, thanks

Thanks for posting the picture of the figures!  They are adorable!   I'm making a pirate's chest cake filled with silver and gold "coins", "pearl" necklaces, gold nuggets, etc. and thought that cute parrot would look great on top.  Hope you don't mind me copying!   

AI am obsessed with gum paste for figures! They dry so fast!

I use a 50/50 mix for all my fondant figures. Half fondant half gumpaste. Gumpast alone dries way to fast so adding the fondant helps slow down the drying process. I also allow the body to sit for 10-15 minutes before adding the heads with a tooth pick and a little water or gumpast glue (drop a small ball of gumpaste into a tbsp of warm water and let it desolve and you have gumpaste glue)

Oh GREAT!!! I'm making a baby shower cake for my daughter in law's shower TODAY. I save the fondant figures until last and was going to make them today!!! I know I can't put them in the oven because they'll sag even more.

Errrrgghghgghghghghgh!!! ;)

hi, my question is.... as i make figures... how should i attach hands and other stuff to body... bcz with water they drop soon, even if i insert toothpick or spagetti....they drop... looks so embarassing... plz help me.. i didnt find tylose powder here in abudhabi....i use only mmf.. and thats very soft to make figures... plz solve my problem... i have to make mickey mouse club cake .. very soon.. and concerned abt the figures... thnks in advance

AIm no expert but i have made a few firgures. I use gumpaste. It dries much quicker and stays in shape alot more than fondant. I usually make my arms head body etc and let them sit for a couple of minutes before putting them together so they don't go out of shape. I also sometimes prop it up with a cup or a box so they don't fall backwards. You can also use glad wrap or paper towel and scrunch it and put it under the arms to hold them in place.