Thankyou so much for such an informative reply! :)

I don't know if box/poly or "nurbs" will be more my thing, but whatever program I pick, I will learn whichever approach it uses without much comparison to the other kind. I haven't done any 3D modelling before so this is all very new and there is no point of reference for comparison.

Rhino 3D isn't an option because I don't have a whole lot of options for buying it in Australia, and when I do, the price is more than I'm willing to spend, particularly if Rhino is just going to be the modeller.

C4D and Maya are the same- far too expensive. And someone said in a previous post that C4D is aimed at pros.

I'm thinking Modo or Silo. I have downloaded the trials for Silo and Modo, and I'll be grabbing Carrara just to have a play around and see what program does what. I might not even a secondary program, depending how I like Carrara. I don't mind slow and tedious when I'm making something- with a hobby, there are no deadlines.