Hi John, it's possible to do stuff like you're describing using the Transform > Deform > Flow command which is described here:
http://moi3d.com/3.0/docs/moi_command_reference8.htm#flow

But the whole process is going to be fairly advanced technique for someone with no prior 3d modeling experience at all. You might want to look at ArtCAM and see if that will do the job for you more simply.

- Michael