Are sugar paste/modeling paste the same thing as gum paste? I would like to make figurings but the directions I've found call for sugar paste and I have gum paste at home. Would that work the same?

they are the same.

haha thank you. I feel silly now.

Sugar paste is fondant. Modeling paste is fondant mixed with tylose or CMC powder and gumpaste is made with gum tragacanth. Gumpaste dries harder and faster than modeling paste. Sugar paste is used to cover cakes and isn't the best for modeling because it doesn't dry as hard.

is gumpaste edible?

In my new cake decorating book it says to use 50/50 of sugarpaste and gum paste to make models with apparently it says it is the right combination of both that makes the models easy to model and helps make them less delicate when using sugarpaste alone

Gumpaste is edible, but not palatable. It won't kill ya if you eat it, but it doesn't taste good. Once it's dried, it's very hard, so I wouldn't recommend eating it.