I am just overwhelmed by the depth of knowledge and experience displayed by my fellow modellers. And more than that, I am really grateful for the willingness and time taken to share your thoughts.
OK, so based on a mixture of the suggestions received:
I made a mould (I know it looks rather Heath Robinson) to make a Milliput former:
This is the finished MIlliput article:
I then reassembled the mould (taking care to put the cling film in different places!). And here's the finished article:
Not quite perfect, but I want to leave it at least 24 hours for the glue to fully cure (I used Gorilla glue) before I attempt to clean it all up.
Thanks again.
Malcolm