FYI, There's a similar (identical?) metaballs modeler in Carrara, I haven't gone in to check for differences, but you might want to also pick up Carrara 3D Basics on Purplus for a ridiculously low price, and then you can use the Metaballs modeler from there, in case it has more features (I dunno if it does, I just know that it's neat there too). These are likely based on the same Metaballs modeler from the days of Metacreations (which went Mega-Cremations years ago), so there's a chance you can see the same features and shortcuts in either.  You can find the link to Purplus at www.thebest3d.com/carrara  (sorry, the other boxes like CS3 and C4 sold out long ago)