"Lots of questions"

I find it easier to use a mix of both. I also like to use modeling chocolate.

I just posted one a couple of days ago. I used a fondant/gumpaste blend for the characters, but I wrapped the cake in Modeling chocolate and used it for some of the embellishments (like the cannon and the portholes). The sails where all gum paste, tho. Everything on the cake was edible except the masts…

Here it is…

http://cakesdecor.com/cakes/9712

I agree with everyone so far, saying to use a mix (50/50) of gum paste and fondant. If you use 100% gum paste, the figurines will start to dry while you’re working on them and cause cracks and crumbles where you don’t want them. If you use 100% fondant, the figurines may be too soft and not hold their shape as nicely while drying. Although, if you were making parts of the ship (sails, masts, anchor, etc) that didn’t take much time to create and needed to hold their shape very well, I would go with 100% gum paste for those..

Thank you all for your helpful hints.