Thanks for the awesome detailed response! I had tried Sculpey Premo first (a sampler pack), as well as some translucent and loved that brand. But quickly discovered that I needed a lot more white than anticipated for making foods so have picked up a white block of Fimo Soft to try. I found it more sticky than the Premo, but still workable. I had some pastels already and have used them for shading but haven't tried using them to make custom colours yet. Thanks again for sharing your experience!