Not quite like that.
It's more simple im afraid. I make the individual things like pipes (just cylinders stretched) and then place them. Some other bits are more complicated of course but that's it in a nut shell. That's basically where you should find hope, if you look at it as one thing it looks bit and scary and complicated. Break it down and see it for what it is and you find that you can do it.
Good luck with the future models.