2-tier Ocean Cake with 3D Mermaid Topper

I was asked to make another cake for my friend Natalie, who was celebrating her son Austin's 3rd Birthday. Austin is such a blast, a really great little guy.  He wanted to have an Ocean Birthday, and really wanted a mermaid on his cake.  We decided to go big for Austin and give him a cake with lots of ocean creatures!

The base tier is 10", the top tier is 8"

Everything was done in buttercream with the only exception being the mermaid on top, which was mostly fondant, gumpaste, and the flesh-colored parts being Wilton's modeling compound.  I liked using it, I thought it was pretty easy to work with and also pretty forgiving.  It did seem a bit rubbery and didn't want to stay in the exact position I wanted it to, but overall very useful.

My favorite are the big buttercream octopus, the yellow and blue flounder, and little red lobsters.  All were maid with piped buttercream using various tips.

When modeling the mermaid, I used a dowel rod through her torso as the main support.  The dowel rod was inserted into the top of the cake, and I created a little rockpile using chocolate rocks and buttercream piped into waves.  It held the heavy topper in place well.